Box ScoreCOLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – No. 10/11 Saint John's forced four turnovers and out-gained No. 18/25 Dubuque (Iowa) 471-219 en route to a 51-7 win in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs on Saturday, Nov. 21, in Collegeville.
The win sets up a rematch with No. 3/4 St. Thomas, which defeated La Verne (Calif.) 57-14 Saturday, in the second round of the NCAA playoffs next Saturday, Nov. 28. Kickoff is set for noon at O'Shaughnessy Stadium in St. Paul.
Saturday's meeting will be the 114th anniversary of the first meeting between the two schools, which was Thanksgiving Day on Nov. 28, 1901. SJU won that game, 16-6 at Lexington Park in St. Paul.
The only other instance in which SJU played a conference opponent in the playoffs occurred in 1987 against Gustavus Adolphus. The Johnnies surrendered a 24-0 lead and lost the regular-season matchup 32-31 at home, only to defeat the Gusties by a 7-3 score in the first round of the NCAA playoffs in St. Peter.
Senior All-American running back
Sam Sura (South St. Paul, Minn.) became the Johnnies' all-time leading rusher, breaking the 38-year old mark held by Tim Schmitz (1974-77), with 84 yards on 15 carries. He also caught three passes for 60 yards, including a 44-yard shovel pass for a touchdown that gave SJU (10-1, 7-1 MIAC) a 23-0 lead with 5:32 left in the first half. Sura played the first two drives of the second half before taking a seat.
Senior quarterback
Nick Martin (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) ended the day 17 of 26 passing for 257 yards and a career-high four touchdowns. He has a .688 completion percentage (75-for-109) with 1,234 yards and 17 touchdowns, to no interceptions, in his last seven games since the 35-14 loss to St. Thomas Sept. 26.
Senior tight end
Nick Simon (New Ulm, Minn./Cathedral) caught three touchdowns passes and senior safety
Randy Perez (Murrieta, Calif./Vista Murrieta) returned an interception 39 yards for a touchdown to end the scoring with nine minutes left in the game.
Senior wide receiver
Josh Bungum (Paynesville, Minn.) moved into second place on SJU's all-time receptions list with four catches for 59 yards. He also carried the ball three times for 40 yards, including a 25-yard sprint for a touchdown on the opening possession of the second half. Bungum now has 209 career receptions for 2,615 yards.
Junior linebacker
Carter Hanson (Blue Earth, Minn./Blue Earth Area) led the Johnnies' defense with eight tackles (three solo), including 2.5 for a loss, half a quarterback sack and a forced fumble. Senior cornerback
Jeremy Piper (La Place, La./East St. John) tackled Dylan Schultz in the end zone for a safety with 1:13 left in the first quarter.
Senior linebacker
Reid Bjorklund (South St. Paul, Minn.) and junior safety
Lucas Glomb (Woodbury, Minn./Hill-Murray) recorded SJU's other interceptions on the day.
Dubuque (8-3, 7-0 IIAC) erased the shutout on a 14-yard touchdown catch by Schultz with 27 second left in the second quarter to cut SJU's lead to 23-7.
Notes: SJU is now 18-5 all-time against current members of the IIAC, including a 12-1 record in Collegeville…the Johnnies are 41-20 (36-19 in NCAA) all-time in postseason games, including a 22-5 record in Collegeville…Sura needs one rushing touchdown to tie the school record of 48 held by Matt Malmberg (1991-94)…Sura also needs one 100-yard rushing performance to break his tie with Malmberg at 18 for a career…Perez's interception return for a touchdown was the Johnnies' first since
Andrew Rose (35 yards) at Hamline on Nov. 3, 2012…the defensive safety was SJU's first since Oct. 13, 2012 (vs. Carleton) and the first in the postseason since 1963 (Nov. 30 vs. Emporia State, Kan.).
