Box Score

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – A timely offense and stout defensive play powered No. 4 Saint John's football to a 19-0 shutout of No. 6 Bethel on Saturday, Oct. 12, in Collegeville.

The snow failed to slow down the Johnnies' offense as SJU (5-0, 4-0 MIAC) out-gained Bethel by a 459-191 margin. Bethel (4-1, 2-1 MIAC) mustered only 58 yards of offense in the second half and had the ball for only 2:46 in the fourth quarter. 

Another 300-Yard Game
Senior quarterback Jackson Erdmann (Rosemount, Minn.) recorded his third 300-yard passing performance of the season, and fifth in his last seven games going back to last fall, with 326 yards on 16 of 25 passing. He gave SJU a 6-0 lead with a 9-yard touchdown run at the 9:56 mark of the first quarter, which capped a 6-play, 75-yard drive (in 2:24).



Adding More to the Home Total
Erdmann now has a .665 completion percentage (183 of 275 passing), 2,993 passing yards and 44 passing touchdowns, to three interceptions, in his last 11 home games. The statistics compute to a 208.59 pass-efficiency rating.

Career Highs for Ravi
The cold and snow certainly did not affect sophomore wide receiver Ravi Alston, a native Californian (Lake Elsinore, Calif./Vista Murrieta) who recorded career highs with nine catches for 188 yards, his first 100-yard receiving game, in the win. He ended the scoring with a 29-yard touchdown grab, his team-leading fifth of the season, from Erdmann with 5:55 left in the third quarter. The acrobatic catch ended a 10-play, 93-yard scoring drive that ate up 5:38 on the clock. He had five catches for 87 yards on that drive alone.

Flipped Stats
The Royals entered the game averaging 494 yards of offense per game, including nearly 250 yards on the ground (248.5), though SJU held them to 98 rushing yards on the day. BU reached the red zone (SJU's 20-yard line) once, for one play, was 1-for-12 on third down and its longest offensive play covered 14 yards. The Johnnies held running back Sid Boros, the reigning MIAC Offensive Player of the Week after totaling 181 yards and three touchdowns on only eight touches Oct. 5 vs. Carleton, to 18 yards from scrimmage.



Big Sprint
Erdmann connected with sophomore running back Henry Trost (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) for a 56-yard gain to set up a 1-yard touchdown run by senior running back Kai Barber (Minneapolis, Minn./Totino-Grace) with 2:08 left in the first half. Barber galloped to a season-high 81 yards on 18 carries. 

Big Stops
Bethel was gifted a prime scoring opportunity right away when freshman wideout Maguire Petersen (Hutchinson, Minn.) fumbled the opening kickoff and the Royals took over on SJU's 33-yard line. The Johnnies held BU to eight yards on five plays to force a field-goal attempt, which hit the left upright from 42 yards out. The Royals started on the Johnnies' 41-yard line two possessions later but turned the ball over on downs five plays later. SJU forced punts on BU's final eight offensive possessions.

Shutout
The shutout was the 182nd in school history, the 13th in 75 games under the direction of head coach Gary Fasching and the 65th with defensive coordinator Jerry Haugen on staff (65 shutouts in 482 games, 13.5 percent).

Win No. 32
The Johnnies are now 32-9 all-time against the Royals, including an 18-3 record in Collegeville. SJU won the first 20 meetings in the series before BU won nine of the next 15 (from 1999-2013). The Johnnies, however, have responded with six consecutive victories by a 168-64 margin. Saturday's meeting was the first since 2003 in which both teams were ranked in the top 10 nationally. SJU won that game 29-26 for John Gagliardi's record 409th career victory.

Next Week
The Johnnies meet No. 11/16 St. Thomas (4-1, 3-0 MIAC) for a 1:10 p.m. game next Saturday, Oct. 19, at Allianz Field in St. Paul.