Box Score 

-Allianz Field Provides Exciting Atmosphere for SJU Fans

-Johnnies Keep the Faith, Pull Away from Tommies

By Frank Rajkowski, SJU Writer/Video Producer

ST. PAUL, Minn. - There are always a number of factors that go into determining a final score, especially in a clash of familiar rivals.

But the biggest factor in determining the outcome between Saint John's and St. Thomas Saturday afternoon was simply this:

One team had Jackson Erdmann (Rosemount, Minn.) and one team didn't.

The Johnnie senior quarterback threw for 451 yards and three touchdowns, leading his team back from a two-touchdown deficit in the first quarter to beat the Tommies 38-20 before a sold-out crowd of 19,508 at St. Paul's Allianz Field.



Saint John's (6-0, 5-0 MIAC) entered play ranked No. 4 in the most recent D3football.com Division III poll. St. Thomas (4-2, 3-1 MIAC) was ranked No. 11.

"I told our guys that big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games," Erdmann said. "And we are big-time players.

"I love a game like this. You feed off the atmosphere that's out there and it just gets your juices flowing."

Tommy Tormentor
Erdmann threw for a single-game school record 470 yards in a 40-20 win over the Tommies last season in Collegeville, giving him a total of 921 yards and six touchdowns against St. Thomas the past two years.

His performance Saturday marked just the eighth 400-yard passing game in school history, and the four-year starter from Rosemount has three of them.



Tough Start
It came after a tough start, including a deflected pass on his team's opening possession that was picked by Tommie sophomore linebacker Tommy Fuller – setting up a 6-yard touchdown pass from junior Tommy Dolan to senior Grant Slavik.

On its next possession, St. Thomas scored again on a 32-yard touchdown run by senior Josh Parks, and St. John's trailed 14-0.

But Erdmann wasn't worried. 

"He kept his composure," sophomore wide receiver T.J. Hodge (Miami, Fla./Doral Academy) said. "He kept us positive. We had a couple of dropped passes and a couple of fourth-down plays that didn't work out. But he never let us get down on ourselves."

Sophomore Standouts
And things did turn around in a big way, allowing Saint John's to score 38 of the game's final 45 points. The play of a trio of sophomore wide receivers also had a hand in that.

Hodge finished with nine catches for 119 yards and a touchdown. Ravi Alston (Lake Elsinore, Calif./Vista Murrieta) finished with nine catches for 116 yards. And Matt Mohr (Chisago City, Minn./Chisago Lakes) added four catches for 70 yards. 

That was big because the Johnnies lost senior wide receiver Andrew VanErp (Battle Lake, Minn./Ottertail Central) to a season-ending injury in a win over Bethel last week.

"We are very deep and talented at wide receiver," Erdmann said. "You saw that today. It's like a quarterback's dream to throw to those guys. They're so fast and shifty."

Line Play
It also helped that Erdmann usually had plenty of time to get rid of the ball. The Tommies managed just two sacks Saturday.

"Our offensive line works harder than anybody on our football team," said SJU head coach Gary Fasching, who is now an even 4-4 against St. Thomas since taking over as head coach in Collegeville in 2013.

"We affectionately call them the road graders because when we get into games like this they pave the way."

"All week in practice we worked on getting rid of the ball in 2.5 seconds," Erdmann added. "But it felt like I had six or seven today. And that's a credit to our offensive line."

Defense Comes Up Big
The Johnnie defense also answered the bell, holding St. Thomas to just only touchdown over the final three-plus quarters of play – that coming on a 67-yard run by Parks that put the Tommies on top 20-19 with 12:11 to go in the third quarter.

Parks finished with 13 carries for 147 yards.

But trailing 25-20 early in the fourth quarter, St. Thomas turned the ball over on downs at the Saint John's 7-yard-line when senior Stephen Wagner was stopped for no gain. 

Then, after the Johnnies' extended their lead to 31-20 on a 1-yard touchdown run by senior Kai Barber (Minneapolis, Minn./Totino-Grace) - his second of the day - SJU again stopped the Tommies on 4th-and-6 at the St. Thomas 41 as Dolan's pass fell incomplete.

"We were kind of unknown as a defense last year," said senior safety Ryan LaCasse (Mountlake Terrace, Wash.), who finished with seven tackles Saturday. "We felt like we had to prove ourselves. And we built up a lot of confidence.

"Now we know that when it's time to buckle down, we'll get the job done."

Crowd Control
The Johnnies did that Saturday, picking up the victory before a crowd that ranked second in the history of the series only to the crowd of 37,355 that saw the Tommies top Saint John's 20-17 in 2017 at Target Field.

That stands as a Division III attendance record, although more than 39,000 tickets have already been sold for a game between Cortland State and Ithaca scheduled for Nov. 16 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

Still, every game between the Johnnies and Tommies since 2009 has drawn crowds of 10,000 or more (except for a playoff matchup between the two teams played on Thanksgiving weekend in 2015).

"It was loud out there today," said Barber, who finished with 18 carries for 80 yards. "It was different than when we played at Target Field. We had a little more space there. This was nosier.

"But we knew that coming in. We practiced taking a silent snap this week."

Big Win
And after the final gun sounded, the Johnnies headed for the far end zone to celebrate with their fans.

"This was fun football you saw today," Erdmann said smiling. "It was a fun football game."

Next Week
The Johnnies travel to face St. Olaf (5-1, 3-1 MIAC) for a 1 p.m. kickoff next Saturday, Oct. 26, in Northfield.