Box ScoreST. PAUL, Minn. – No. 16/19 Saint John's broke a 14-13, second-quarter deficit with 28 straight points to defeat Hamline 41-21 on Saturday, Oct. 3, in St. Paul.
Senior All-American running back
Sam Sura (South St. Paul, Minn.) rushed for a season-high 175 yards and a career-high four touchdowns on 31 carries. The four rushing touchdowns were the most by a Johnnie in a game since Corey Weber ran for five in the 41-6 win at Hamline on Oct. 2, 2004.
The 175 rushing yards enabled Sura to break his tie with Matt Malmberg (1991-94), pass Chris Moore (1997-00) and move into second place on SJU's all-time rushing list with 3,098 yards. He is now 835 yards behind the school record of 3,933 held by Tim Schmitz (1974-77).
SJU (4-1, 2-1 MIAC) built a 13-0 lead, but Hamline (2-2, 0-2 MIAC) responded with a pair of touchdowns less than four minutes apart.
Aided by an unsportsmanlike penalty following a play that would have set up a fourth-and-seven, senior quarterback
Nick Martin (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) hooked up with senior tight end
Nick Simon (New Ulm, Minn./Cathedral) for a 25-yard touchdown pass on the ensuing play from scrimmage to give SJU a 20-14 lead with 47 seconds left in the first half.
SJU scored touchdowns on its first three possessions of the second half to gain a 41-14 lead. The Johnnies out-gained Hamline 150-10 in the third quarter alone.
Martin ended the afternoon 11 of 17 passing for 128 yards. He also added 18 yards on the ground.
Senior wide receiver
Josh Bungum (Paynesville, Minn.) complemented Sura with 157 all-purpose yards on the day: 42 on five catches, 21 on five carries, 83 on three kick returns and 11 on one punt return.
Senior linebacker
Reid Bjorklund (South St. Paul, Minn.) led the SJU defense, which held HU to 56 rushing yards on 33 carries, with nine tackles (five solo), including one for a loss. Senior linebacker
Drake Matuska (Kasson, Minn./Kasson-Mantorville) followed with eight tackles (three solo) and recorded the second interception of his career. Junior defensive lineman
Peyton Thiry (Lester Prairie, Minn./Lester Prairie-Holy Trinity) chipped in seven tackles (three solo), including 2.5 tackles for a loss and two sacks.
The Johnnies enjoy their bye week before hosting Gustavus Adolphus for their Homecoming game at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, at Clemens Stadium in Collegeville.
Notes: Sura now has 569 career rushing attempts, 30 behind Tim Schmitz (1974-77) for second in school history…Sura's 34 career rushing touchdowns are tied with Jay Conzemius (1988-91) for second, 14 from the SJU record of 48 held by Malmberg…the 100-yard rushing performance was the 14th of Sura's career, which is four behind Schmitz's school record of 18…SJU is now 58-23-3 all-time against the Pipers and has won 25 of the last 27 meetings, including each of the last 21.
