Box ScoreMOORHEAD, Minn. – No. 8 Saint John's snapped a three-game losing streak to Concordia-Moorhead with a 24-16 win over the Cobbers to open conference play on Saturday, Sept. 19, in Moorhead.
SJU (3-0, 1-0 MIAC) built a 21-7 lead but came up with a big play, and a big break, to hold on to the victory.
Junior safety
Lucas Glomb (Woodbury, Minn./Hill-Murray) intercepted Concordia wide receiver Brandon Zylstra's reverse pass in the end zone with 1:25 remaining. Following an SJU three-and-out, backup quarterback Michael Herzog connected with Zylstra on an apparent 42-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass, but the Cobbers were flagged for offensive pass interference. Herzog and Zylstra, however, hooked up for a 36-yard gain down to the Johnnies' 21-yard line on the next play. With no timeouts, the offense sprinted to the line and attempted to spike the ball and stop the clock, but a Cobber lined up offside inducing a 10-second runoff on the clock to end the game.
Senior All-American running back
Sam Sura (South St. Paul, Minn.) ran for 148 yards and two touchdowns on 33 carries. The 100-yard rushing performance was the 13th of his career and 13th in his last 15 games going back to last season.
Senior quarterback
Nick Martin (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) recorded another efficient afternoon, completing 11 of his 15 passes for 140 yards and a touchdown. Senior tight end
Nick Simon (New Ulm, Minn./Cathedral) caught five of his throws for 72 yards, including a one-handed, 16-yard touchdown that gave SJU an early 7-0 lead 3:54 into the game.
Quarterback Alex Grove capped a 16-play, 78-yard scoring drive for the Cobbers, which burned 8:15 off the clock, and cut the Johnnies' lead to 21-16 with his second rushing touchdown of the game early in the fourth quarter. The Johnnies responded, however, with an 11-play, 50-yard drive that ended on a 42-yard field goal from junior kicker
Alexi Johnson (Shakopee, Minn.). Johnson (23) now needs one field goal to tie Jimmie Mattson (2010-12) for second-most in school history.
Senior cornerback
Michael Callanan (Savage, Minn./Burnsville), who made his first collegiate start in place of the injured
Trevor Warner (Murrieta, Calif./Vista Murrieta), led the SJU defense with 15 tackles (seven solo).
The Johnnies play host to No. 12 St. Thomas (2-0, 0-0 MIAC) for a 1 p.m. game next Saturday, Sept. 26, in Collegeville. ESPN's "SportsCenter on the Road" will visit Clemens Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 26, for a live show airing from 6-8 a.m. CDT, in advance of the game.
The event is free and open to the public Saturday morning, rain or shine. One-way bus service will begin operating at 5 a.m. from CSB Gorecki taking fans to SJU. The inter-campus Link will start at 8 am. The Clemens Stadium gates will open at 5 a.m.
Following completion of the broadcast, the stadium will be emptied. The stadium's ticket booths will open at 8 a.m. and the gates will reopen at their normal starting time of 10 a.m. for the football game.
Notes: SJU is now 63-24-7 (.707) all-time in its first MIAC game of the season, including a 5-4 record against the Cobbers…Martin now boasts an .810 completion percentage (34 of 42) and a 204.2 pass-efficiency rating through three games this season…Sura jumped past Mike Zumwinkle (1982-85) for fifth in school history with 513 career rush attempts…Sura (2,849) needs 75 rushing yards to pass Matt Malmberg (1991-94) for third all-time.
