By Frank Rajkowski, SJU Writer/Video Producer

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - Henry Trost and Matt Mohr have been teammates for about as long as either of the Saint John's University sophomores can remember.

"I think we were third-graders, but some strings got pulled and we ended up playing on the fourth-grade team," recalls Trost, like Mohr a 2018 graduate of Chisago Lakes High School.

"We've always been pretty close."

Yet, when the time came to decide on Saint John's, both said the decision was made largely separate of the other.

"My sister went (to the College of Saint Benedict) and I always loved the school," said Mohr, who also looked at Bethel. "So it was always a place I was looking at. But I was a little surprised when Henry said he was coming too."

"I knew Matt always liked Saint John's," Trost added with a smile. "He used to have little basketballs with SJU on them.

"I looked at a lot of the MIAC schools, but Saint John's wasn't really on my radar at first," Trost added. "But then (assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Damien Dumonceaux) started recruiting me. Dumo really opened my eyes to this place. And once I looked into it, it was where I wanted to be."

Now both players are playing big roles on the Johnnies' offense this fall. 

Trost, a 5-foot-10, 190-pound running back who turned heads as a freshman a year ago, ranks second on the team with 56 carries for 327 yards and nine touchdowns heading into a first-round Division III playoff matchup against Aurora (Illinois), scheduled for noon Saturday at Clemens Stadium.

He also has 21 catches for 329 yards and three touchdowns.

Mohr, a 6-foot, 190-pound wide receiver, has 16 catches for 343 yards and two touchdowns. That includes two games of over 100 yards, the second of which came in last Saturday's 47-14 regular-season closing victory over Rose-Hulman (Indiana) – a game in which all seven Johnnies' touchdowns were scored by sophomores.

Mohr had one and Trost added two more.

"We saw last year when they both came in as freshmen that they were going to be players we could count on in the future," SJU head coach Gary Fasching said. "They're both very athletic. They both play the game hard.

"Both those guys go all-out on every play."

But neither player is currently playing the positions they played in high school. Back at Chisago Lakes, Trost was a quarterback running the triple option and Mohr was one of his running backs.

"I knew I wasn't made to play quarterback in college," said Trost, whom the Johnnies originally considered as a wide receiver before placing him in the backfield. 

"In the offense we were running, the quarterback was really an extra running back. So this position has been a natural fit for me."

"I was recruited as a running back, wide receiver or defensive back," Mohr continued. "I actually moved around quite a bit at first. When fall camp started last season, they put me at defensive back. But a few weeks in, they switched me back over to wide receiver."

And now both players seem to have found their niche. In the process, they join a number of other Chisago Lakes players who have gone on to achieve success in the MIAC in recent seasons.

Josh Parks, a 2014 graduate, just wrapped up a stellar career at St. Thomas, where he led the MIAC in rushing this season with 176 carries for 1,249 yards and 18 touchdowns.

And, of course, 2015 graduate Will Gillach made a huge impact at SJU – earning All-American and All-MIAC honors last season when he became the first Johnnie wide receiver since 2007 to cross the 1,000-yard mark in receiving.

He was also an Academic All-American and a member of the 2017 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team who became just the fourth SJU student-athlete to earn an NCAA postgraduate scholarship. He is now in graduate school at Notre Dame.

"We're both pretty close with the Gillach family," Trost said. "Will's Dad was our baseball coach growing up. And just seeing all the incredible things he went on to accomplish here made a big impact."

Both Trost and Mohr are business majors, though each say they are keeping their options open when it comes to a choice of a future career.

Mohr also plays intramurals at SJU, while Trost was a member of both the choir and stage choir at Chisago Lakes. He hasn't pursued singing in college yet … at least not officially.

"I hum a lot when I'm out on the field," he said with a smile. "A different song every day. I'm not even sure why. It's not to psych myself up or anything. I almost do it subconsciously – like a force of habit."

Both players are hoping that sweet music continues now that Saint John's has reached the postseason for a sixth-straight year.

"We have big goals, but we know we have to take it one game at a time," Mohr said. "All of our focus now is on the next game in front of us."