Box Score
COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – No. 3/5 Saint John's University enjoyed an offensive smorgasbord in defeating Martin Luther 84-6 in the first round of the NCAA Division III Playoffs on Saturday, Nov. 17, in Collegeville.
The Johnnies (11-0 overall) put up an NCAA Division III playoff record 84 points, thanks to a school-record (for all games) 42 points in the first quarter.
Junior quarterback
Jackson Erdmann (Rosemount, Minn.) threw six touchdowns, to six different receivers, in the first half and finished 19 of 25 passing for 289 yards. Senior wide receiver
Will Gillach (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) caught five passes for 88 yards and one touchdown.
Overall, the Johnnies generated 32 first downs and 717 yards of total offense (375 rushing and 342 passing), an average of 9.8 yards per play.
Individually, 12 players rushed the football for the Johnnies, with freshman running back
Henry Trost (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) leading the way with 88 yards (on five carries) and one touchdown, a 69-yard scamper on the final play of the third quarter. Senior running back
Zach Ernst (Elk River, Minn.) added two touchdowns – both in the fourth quarter – and rushed for 67 yards on seven carries.
The Johnnies' defense held the Knights to 166 yards of total offense and 11 first downs. Martin Luther (9-2 overall), which was making its first NCAA Division III playoff appearance, generated 119 of its yards on two drives, including a 17-play, 76-yard scoring drive in the second quarter.
Junior linebacker
Richard Carriveau (Rice, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice) and sophomore linebacker
James Inman (Bismarck, N.D./Shiloh Christian) each had seven tackles to pace the SJU defense. Senior safety
Max Jackson (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) intercepted his second pass of the season, and fifth of his career, late in the first quarter. Erdmann connected with senior tight end
Jared Streit (Watkins, Minn./Eden Valley-Watkins) for a 15-yard touchdown pass on the ensuing play to give SJU a 35-0 lead.
Martin Luther linebacker Ian Paulsen led the Knights with a game-high 11 tackles. He also punted 11 times for an average of 34.5 yards a kick.
The Johnnies needed just two plays to cover 68 yards and score their first touchdown of the game 25 seconds into the contest on junior wide receiver
Andrew VanErp's (Battle Lake, Minn./Ottertail Central) 48-yard reception from Erdmann.
After holding the Knights to three offensive plays, the Johnnies struck again just 3:53 into the game as senior running back
Adam Essler (New London, Minn./New London-Spicer) hauled in a 28-yard pass from Erdmann. That capped a five-play, 42-yard drive. Essler also sprinted for a 34-yard touchdown with 1:49 remaining in the first half.
The Johnnies' defense again held the Knights to three plays, and SJU needed nine plays to cover 66 yards capped by Erdmann's 8-yard pass to senior tight end
Tommy Auger (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) with 7:03 to play in the first quarter for a 21-0 lead.
The Johnnies scored touchdowns on their first eight possessions of the first half, with their ninth drive ending in Martin Luther territory (26-yard line) at the end of the first half.
Saint John's punted only once in the game, on its first drive of the second half. However, that stalled drive was followed by four consecutive scoring drives.
The Johnnies host No. 10/11 Whitworth of Washington (10-0 overall) in the second round of the NCAA playoffs at noon next Saturday, Nov. 24, at Collegeville.
Holy Touchdowns, Batman
Erdmann has now thrown for 13 touchdowns in his last four quarters of play. His 40 touchdowns on the year are the third-most in an SJU season, behind Willie Seiler's 42 in 1993 and Tom Linnemann's school record of 46 in 2000. Erdmann broke his tie with Linnemann for third in school history with 85 career passing touchdowns in the win. Kurt Ramler '97 is second with 87, while Alex Kofoed '07 owns the program record with an even 100.
1,000 for Will
Gillach became the first Johnnie to reach 1,000 receiving yards in a season since Brian Weber '07 (1,031 yards) in 2007. He now has 59 receptions for 1,063 yards (18.0 avg.) and 14 touchdowns, the fifth-most in an SJU season, this fall.
First-Round Success
The Johnnies are now 18-4 in the first round of the NCAA playoffs (43-23 in 64 postseason games overall), including a 14-1 record in Collegeville.
Points Galore
SJU also owned the previous NCAA playoff record for points scored in a game, a 75-2 victory over Coe (Iowa) on Nov. 23, 1991, in Collegeville.
700 Yards
The 717 yards of offense are the second-most in SJU history, the sixth game of 700 yards or more on record and the first since Nov. 2, 2002 (709 yards in the 48-28 home win over St. Thomas). The school record is 755 yards in the 77-12 win on Oct. 16, 1993, at Bethel (
John Gagliardi's 300th victory).
11 for Fasching
Saturday's victory moved SJU head coach
Gary Fasching (57-11 record) into a tie with Joe Benda (57-32-8) for the second-most wins in school history at 57. The 11 wins are also a season high for Fasching, who led SJU to three consecutive 10-2 seasons from 2014-16.
