Box Score
ST. PAUL, Minn. – No. 6/7 Saint John's scored 65 unanswered points in a 72-6 win over Hamline on Saturday, Nov. 4, in St. Paul.
The Johnnies (8-1, 6-1 MIAC) out-gained the Pipers 539-44 and recorded two scoring drives that lasted less than 10 seconds each. SJU broke open a 7-6 lead with 30 unanswered points in the second quarter.
Defensively, SJU forced 10 three-and-outs and held Hamline (2-7, 1-6 MIAC) without a first down in the second half (six for the game). The Johnnies posted five sacks on the day, including two from junior defensive lineman
Nathan Brinker (Avon, Minn./Holdingford) in the Pipers' first six offensive plays. The pair of sacks nudged Brinker into 10th place on the school's all-time list with 17.5.
Senior running back
Dusty Krueger (Lake Elmo, Minn./Hill-Murray) rushed for 77 yards and three touchdowns, the third three-score game of his career, on 15 carries.
In addition to Clark and Krueger, three other Johnnies rushed for touchdowns on the afternoon for a total of eight, which tied a program record set Nov. 30, 1963 (vs. Emporia State of Kansas in the NAIA Playoffs at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington). Junior running back
Adam Essler (New London, Minn./New London-Spicer) found the end zone twice, while junior running back
Robbie Skiba (Pierz, Minn.) and freshman
Kenneth Udoibok (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) collected a touchdown each in the second half.
Sophomore quarterback
Jackson Erdmann (Rosemount, Minn.) ended the day 13 of 20 passing for 206 yards and two touchdowns. He played the first series of the second half before taking a seat. The two passing touchdowns enabled him to move into seventh in SJU history with 43, four behind Nick Martin '16 in sixth.
SJU took advantage of two miscues on Piper punt attempts late in the first half. The snap from center sailed over the HU punter out the back of the end zone for a safety, SJU's first since Nov. 21, 2015 (against Dubuque (Iowa) in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs) with 4:23 left in the second quarter. Another high snap turned the HU punter into a running back and sophomore safety
Ryan LaCasse (Mountlake Terrace, Wash.) dropped him for an 8-yard loss with 10 seconds remaining before intermission. Erdmann connected with senior wide receiver
Dan Harrington (Frisco, Texas/Wakeland) for a 22-yard touchdown on the ensuing play to give SJU a 37-6 halftime lead.
Senior wide receiver
Evan Clark (Phoenix, Ariz./Apollo) scored touchdowns on the Johnnies' first two possessions of the second half to give him 29 total for his career, the 15th-most in SJU history. He caught a 19-yard strike from Erdmann on the fifth play from scrimmage and found the end zone again on a 54-yard sprint with 10:30 remaining in the third quarter. Clark ended the day with 191 yards on eight touches (52 yards on three receptions, 67 yards on two carries and 72 yards on three kick returns).
The Johnnies wrap up the regular-season schedule with a 1 p.m. game against No. 18/19 Concordia-Moorhead (8-1, 6-1 MIAC) next Saturday, Nov. 11, at Clemens Stadium in Collegeville.
