Box ScoreST. PAUL, Minn. – No. 10/11 Saint John's football ended its 2015 season with a 38-19 loss at No. 3/4 St. Thomas in the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs on Saturday, Nov. 28, in St. Paul.
The Tommies (12-0, 8-0 MIAC) out-gained SJU (10-2, 7-1 MIAC) 243-49 on the ground and had the ball for 37:38 of the game. Defensively, UST earned a safety and forced three turnovers.
UST had the ball for 20:29 of the game's first 24:35 and built a 22-0 lead.
Senior quarterback
Nick Martin (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) connected with senior tight end
Nick Simon (New Ulm, Minn./Cathedral) for a 38-yard touchdown pass to erase the goose egg with 2:11 left in the first half. The touchdown was Simon's fourth in his last two games.
The momentum shift was short-lived, however, as Jack Gilliland returned the ensuing kickoff 76 yards down to the SJU 7-yard line. The Tommies' Jordan Roberts took it over from one yard out three plays later to give the home team a 29-7 lead. Roberts ended the day with 126 yards and three touchdowns on 33 carries.
Martin left the game due to a concussion on the Johnnies' final possession of the first half. Senior quarterback
Johnny Benson (Becker, Minn.) stepped in and finished with 114 yards passing, including a 10-yard touchdown to senior wide receiver
Josh Bungum (Paynesville, Minn.) to end the scoring with 58 seconds to play. He was intercepted twice and sacked three times.
Senior All-American running back
Sam Sura (South St. Paul, Minn.) was held to 54 yards on 18 carries. His two-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter tied him with Matt Malmberg (1991-94) for SJU's all-time record of 48 career rushing touchdowns.
Bungum caught four passes for 61 yards, while Simon ended the day with three receptions for 80 yards.
SJU forced five punts and held UST to 105 yards of offense in the second half, including 19 in the third quarter alone.
Senior linebacker
Drake Matuska (Kasson, Minn./Kasson-Mantorville) and junior defensive tackle
Peyton Thiry (Lester Prairie, Minn./Lester Prairie-Holy Trinity) led SJU with 13 tackles apiece. Thiry added 1.5 tackles for a loss and half a quarterback sack.
Notes: Sura ended his career as SJU's all-time leader in rush attempts (730); rushing yards (4,031); 100-yard rushing games, with Tim Schmitz '77 (18); rushing yards per game (108.9); and rushing touchdowns, with Matt Malmberg '95 (48)…Bungum finished second in school history in receptions (213) and fourth in receiving yards (2,676)…Martin's .695 completion percentage (137-for-197) was the second-best in school history, .001 behind John Welsh's .696 in 1977…Martin also finished second in pass-efficiency rating, both season (191.4) and career (160.7).
