Box Score
Box Score

By Frank Rajkowski and Ryan Klinkner '04

ST. PETER, Minn. - Part of being the No. 2 quarterback means always being ready in case your number is called.

And when that call came for Chris Backes Saturday (Oct. 23) afternoon, the Saint John's senior couldn't have been more prepared.

The St. Cloud Tech High School graduate, who served as the top backup to Jackson Erdmann '19 in 2019 and has filled the same role behind sophomore transfer Aaron Syverson (Minnetonka, Minn.) this season, was called into service when Syverson was injured in the third quarter of his team's matchup at Gustavus Adolphus. Syverson was 14 of 19 passing for 161 yards.

At the time, the Johnnies held a slim three-point lead (10-7). But Backes completed a 23-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Ravi Alston (Lake Elsinore, Calif./Vista Murrieta) on his first drive under center. And SJU, ranked No. 5 in both Division III national polls, didn't look back from there – rolling to 27 unanswered points in the game's final 20 minutes for a 37-7 victory.

"My job is come and be ready to play," said Backes, who led his team on three scoring drives in all before giving way to sophomore Cooper Downs (Ames, Iowa) with the game well in-hand in the fourth quarter.

"I think I was able to do that. I just tried to come out and get the guys calmed down a little. We were a bit frantic at points during the game early. But we calmed down, got to what we needed to get to and made plays with our playmakers."



Backes threw for 72 yards in all. The Johnnies, meanwhile, improved to 7-0 (5-0 MIAC, 2-0 Northwoods) – picking up a key win over an MIAC Northwoods Division foe.

The SJU defense allowed 183 yards of total offense and played well much of the afternoon, though the Gusties (5-2, 3-2 MIAC, 1-1 Northwoods) did manage to snap a streak of three-straight shutouts when Dalton Thelen hauled in a 58-yard touchdown pass from Jake Breitbach in the second quarter that cut the Johnnies' lead to 10-7. The touchdown ended SJU's shutout streak at 211:48.

"The shutout streak ended and it was a little bit of a bummer to see that go," said senior linebacker Kyle Kornovich (Rogers, Minn.), who returned a one-handed interception 50 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to end the game's scoring with 9:14 remaining.

"At the end of the day, as long as we got the win, it's all great."

Senior running back Henry Trost (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) had another big day, carrying the ball 19 times for 124 yards and three touchdowns – including one of 48 yards to make the score 24-7 late in the third quarter.

"This was a great team win," said Backes, whom Syverson has credited with helping him pick up the SJU offense. "The defense stepped up. They really only gave up one big play all day. 

The offense just had to get rolling and get clicking. It feels good to come out of Gustavus with a win. They're a great team and we're just happy to move on.

"I'm just happy for our team," he continued. "We came out and got a win. This was a big one for us. It helps us get closer to the division title. Obviously, we're throwing up prayers for Aaron. We hope he comes back soon. Injuries are part of a game and it's tough but we all just have to keep moving forward as a team."

Just Another Day in the End Zone for Trost
Trost now has 13 rushing touchdowns this season, including 10 over his last three games. His career total now sits at 28, two behind the tie between Rick Bell (1979-82) and Jim Lehman (1953-55) for seventh in program history. Trost's 33 total touchdowns are two behind Mike Lofboom (2003-06) for 10th. The 100-yard rushing performance was the fifth of Trost's career and first away from Clemens Stadium.

Johnnie D
The Johnnies' defense posted 10 tackles for loss, six sacks and held Gustavus to 1-for-12 on third down. The Gusties entered the game ninth in NCAA Division III in rushing (260.8 ypg.) and 10th in total offense (511.7 ypg.), but were held to 97 yards on the ground and 183 yards overall. GAC committed two turnovers and gained 39 yards against SJU's starting defense in the second half.

The Front Four
Three of SJU's four starting defensive linemen led the Johnnies in tackles Saturday. Senior Metoriah Faoliu (Wildomar, Calif./Vista Murrieta) led the way with eight tackles (seven solo), including two for a loss and a quarterback sack. Seniors Seth Morem (Red Wing, Minn.) and Michael Wozniak (New Hope, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) posted three tackles for loss each and combined for five sacks. The three-sack game from Morem was SJU's first in five years (Nathan Brinker against Augsburg on Oct. 8, 2016). Senior Collin Franz (Otsego, Minn./Rogers) collected two tackles, one for a loss, and a quarterback hurry.

13 Penalties
SJU was whistled for 15 penalties, 13 of which were accepted for 113 yards. The 13 penalties were the most for SJU since the 49-28 Homecoming win over Hamline on Oct. 4, 2014 (13 penalties for 129 yards). The Gusties, meanwhile, were called for six penalties Saturday. Of the five accepted, four were personal fouls (two roughing the passer, one facemask and one roughing the kicker).

Nice Afternoon for Ell
Sophomore punter Spencer Ell (Morristown, Minn./Bethlehem Academy) entered the game averaging two punts per contest (a 42.0 average per boot) this season and tripled his output, averaging 40.8 yards on six punts. Three of the six punts landed inside the Gusties' 20-yard line.

Back Home Next Saturday
The Johnnies return home to host St. Scholastica (0-5, 0-5 MIAC, 0-3 Northwoods), the first conference contest between the two programs, at 1 p.m. next Saturday, Oct. 30, in Clemens Stadium.