Box Score

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Saint John's forced four, fourth-quarter turnovers and junior running back Sam Sura (South St. Paul, Minn.) ran for a series-record 210 yards as the Johnnies earned their second consecutive win over a nationally-ranked St. Thomas team, 24-14 on Saturday, Sept. 27, in St. Paul. 

SJU (3-1, 1-1 MIAC) is now 51-31-1 all-time against the Tommies, including wins in 18 of the last 22 meetings.

Sura became the first Johnnie to rush for over 200 yards in two separate games, and his 36 carries on the afternoon are the fourth-most by an SJU running back. St. Thomas entered the game allowing 8.5 points and 81 rushing yards per game.

The Johnnies went three-and-out to start the game, but sophomore punter Griffin Toomey (Anchorage, Alaska/South) was roughed on the fourth-down punt and the visitors took over on their own 37-yard line. The new life sparked SJU, which went 68 yards on 10 plays, ending on a 23-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Nick Martin (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) to junior wide receiver Josh Bungum (Paynesville, Minn.) with 8:30 left in the first quarter. Bungum finished with 61 yards and the touchdown on six catches and moved into a tie with Lee Clintsman (2001-04) and Kyle Gearman (2004-06) for fifth in school history with 140 career receptions.

The Tommies (2-1, 0-1 MIAC) answered quickly, however, totaling 62 yards on eight plays, including the three-yard touchdown run from Brenton Braddock that tied the game at 7-7.

SJU chewed up 50 yards and 5:21 of clock, but stalled in UST territory on the ensuing drive. Toomey's punt, however, was downed on the Tommies' one-yard line. The Johnnies' defense forced a three-and-out and Sura broke a 44-yard touchdown run on their first play of the drive. The extra point from sophomore Alexi Johnson (Shakopee, Minn.) was partially blocked but still made it over the crossbar to give SJU a 14-7 lead with 12:39 left in the second quarter.

UST made it down to SJU's 16-yard line and was about to go for it on fourth-and-one, but a false-start penalty backed up the home team five yards. The Tommies then proceeded to fake a field-goal attempt, but senior Sean Tillman (Sartell, Minn./Sartell-St. Stephen) sniffed out the play and dropped the ball carrier for a gain of one.

The Tommies took advantage of a pass-interference call on third-and-six, and moved the chains on a catch in which the ball looked to hit the ground on a third-and-five. Paul Graupner's 44-yard field-goal attempt, however, went wide left with 28 seconds left in the first half.

Sura finished with 117 rushing yards and the touchdown on 16 carries (7.3 avg.) in the first half, and now has 488 yards and five scores on 55 attempts (8.9 avg.) in the first half of games this season.

UST turned the ball over on downs with an incomplete pass on fourth-and-six from the Johnnies' 21 on the first possession of the second half. Sura broke a 28-yard gain and Martin connected with sophomore running back Zack Sundly (Harris, Minn./North Branch) for a 26-yard touchdown pass three plays later to give SJU a 21-7 lead with 7:25 left in the third quarter. Martin ended the day 11 of 16 passing for 162 yards and the two scores.

John Gould replaced Matt O'Connell at quarterback for UST on the following drive, but the Tommies were held to a three-and-out. The tides turned on UST's next possession, however, as Gould directed an 11-play, 71-yard scoring drive that ended on a one-yard plunge by Jack Kaiser. UST converted a fourth-and-15 on the drive and found the end zone four plays later. Graupner's extra point cut SJU's lead to 21-14 with 12 seconds left in the third quarter.

Junior defensive lineman Brady Tetzloff (Nicollet, Minn./Minnesota Valley Lutheran) tipped a Gould pass at the line of scrimmage and the deflection went right to junior safety Randy Perez (Murrieta, Calif./Vista Murrieta) for the first of four Tommie turnovers in the fourth quarter. Johnson capped a six-play drive with a crucial 38-yard field goal into the wind, making it a two-score game (24-14) with 5:57 remaining. The field goal was Johnson's 15th of his young career, which ties him with Russell Gliadon (2006-09) for fifth in school history.

The Tommies acted quickly, moving 48 yards on six plays, but sophomore cornerback Jeremy Piper (La Place, La./East St. John) stripped UST's Nick Waldvogel of the football at the end of a 12-yard gain down to SJU's 23-yard line, where sophomore safety Garrett Ackerman (Temecula, Calif./Great Oak) recovered it. Piper entered the game at corner two plays earlier to replace an injured Andrew Norri (Virginia, Minn.).

Senior defensive end Matt Workman (Minneapolis, Minn./Holy Angels) sacked Gould and forced a fumble, one of his three sacks on the day, on UST's next possession. The three sacks are the most by a Johnnie, in a game, since Nick Gunderson recorded three in the 27-7 win at St. Thomas on Oct. 28, 2006.

Ackerman sealed the win for SJU with an interception, his second of the season, on a desperation pass in the end zone with 13 seconds left.

UST ran 15 more offensive plays and out-gained the Johnnies 440-379, but committed nine penalties for 80 yards, including three personal-foul infractions.

The Johnnies return home to host Hamline for Homecoming next Saturday, Oct. 4. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Clemens Stadium in Collegeville.

Notes: The Johnnies' best rushing performance against the Tommies, in terms of yardage, entering Saturday's game was John Balestri's 174 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries in the 35-12 win on Oct. 19, 1968…Sura now has 752 yards and six touchdowns on 113 carries (6.7 avg.) through the first four games in 2014, which easily eclipses the team-best 575 yards and four touchdowns he rushed for in nine games (six starts) last fall…the 752 yards are already the highest single-season total for a Johnnie since Mike Patnode ran for 807 yards in 2007…the last Johnnie to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season was Kent Crowley (1,411 in 14 games) in 2002.