Box Score

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – No. 9 Saint John's football won a battle of unbeaten teams with a 34-16 victory at Bethel on Saturday, Oct. 6, in Arden Hills.

The Johnnies (5-0, 4-0 MIAC) entered the fourth quarter with a 20-3 lead, but the Royals (4-1, 2-1 MIAC) stormed back with a pair of touchdowns less than four minutes apart. 

BU took over on its own 21-yard line, following a missed field goal, down 20-16 with 5:30 remaining and the hopes of a game-winning drive. Senior cornerback Sam Westby (Lake Elmo, Minn./Hill-Murray) had another idea, however. He jumped the bubble-screen attempt on the drive's second play and returned the interception 34 yards for a touchdown to give the visitors a 27-16 cushion. 

SJU's defense forced four turnovers and posted five sacks, holding BU (236.5 rushing yards per game) to 89 yards rushing on 34 carries (2.6 avg.).

What a Start
Junior quarterback Jackson Erdmann (Rosemount, Minn.) connected with senior wide receiver Will Gillach (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) for a 71-yard, catch-and-run touchdown reception on the game's second play from scrimmage to give SJU a quick 7-0 lead. Gillach fell eight yards short of his first 100-yard receiving game with 92 on four catches.

There's a Barber Shop in the End Zone
Junior running back Kai Barber (Minneapolis, Minn./Totino-Grace) scored a pair of touchdowns Saturday for the second consecutive game. He led the Johnnies' 122-yard ground game with 67 yards and two second-half touchdowns on 17 bruising carries. Senior wide receiver Joey Eckhoff (Northfield, Minn.) made an incredible 34-yard catch from Erdmann, at the pylon, late in the third quarter and Barber scored from a yard out on the ensuing play to give SJU a 20-3 lead. Barber ended the scoring on a 17-yard scamper with 1:41 to play.

Productive Day for Erdmann
Erdmann threw a pair of interceptions, doubling his season total, but ended the afternoon with a season-high 287 passing yards (16 of 31 passing) and added 27 yards on the ground. The 16 completions enabled Erdmann to pass Ross Denne (1999-02) for 10th in school history with 291. He is within striking distance of Connor Bruns (2010-13) in ninth (295) and Pat Mayew (1988-91) in eighth (299). Erdmann (4,351) is also 96 passing yards behind Mayew (4,447) for eighth in school history.



Sack Attack
Four Johnnies totaled the five quarterback sacks on the afternoon. Senior defensive ends Nathan Brinker (Avon, Minn./Holdingford) and Ted Kalina (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) recorded 1.5 each. Sophomore linebacker Danny Pietruszewski (South St. Paul, Minn.) tallied a strip-sack on Bethel's first possession of the second half, which led to senior kicker Zach Barwick's (Littleton, Colo./Dakota Ridge) second field goal of the game, and senior safety Sam Marshall (Marshall, Minn.) registered the team's fifth sack late in the game. Four of the team's five sacks, and both interceptions, came in the Royals' final three drives in the fourth quarter.

Brink in the Books
The 1.5 tackles for loss/sacks Saturday enabled Brinker to pass Nick Gunderson (2005-09) and move into a tie with Cam McCambridge (1999-03) for fifth in school history with 42 career tackles for loss, and move into a tie with Brian Deters (1993-96) for sixth with 23 career sacks. He passed Gunderson and his position coach, Damien Dumonceaux (2002-05), on the sack list Saturday.

Backup Boost
Jaran Roste, Bethel's starting quarterback and a freshman transfer from Division I Minnesota, was injured on Borgeson's strip-sack early in the third quarter. Although he returned two possessions later, BU went with Jake Marsh, last year's starting quarterback and the Royals' closing pitcher in baseball, for the remainder of the game. Marsh countered Roste's performance (8 of 16 passing for 41 yards) with 164 yards and two touchdowns on 13 of 23 passing. He hit Drew Larsen for a 15-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter and found him again for a 51-yard gain on the next possession, which ended on a 3-yard touchdown pass to Grant Friedlein on fourth-and-goal. Sophomore defensive lineman Collin Franz (Otsego, Minn./Rogers) blocked the extra point to keep SJU's lead at four, 20-16.

Kicking Into the Top 10
Barwick gave SJU a 10-3 lead with a 35-yard field goal on the final play of the second half. The two field goals moved him into a tie with Mike Jensen (1988-90) and Steve Thein (1988-91) for ninth in school history with nine and his four PAT's pushed him into 10th with 86.

Series History
SJU is now 31-9 all-time against Bethel, including a 13-6 record in Arden Hills.

What's Next
The Johnnies return home to host No. 3 St. Thomas (5-0, 3-0 MIAC) at 1 p.m. next Saturday, Oct. 13, in Clemens Stadium.