Box Score
By Frank Rajkowski and Ryan Klinkner '04
ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – It wasn't hard to see why junior tight end
Alex Larson (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge) was struggling to find the right words in the aftermath of the Saint John's University football team's wild, 29-28 last-second victory over Bethel in the MIAC Championship Game Saturday afternoon (Nov. 13).
After all, how does one explain why the Johnnies managed to end up on top in a game that seemed to have passed beyond their grasp on numerous occasions – including twice just minutes before Larson hauled in a 3-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback
Chris Backes (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech) on fourth-and-goal with one second left on the clock.
That touchdown – and the extra-point by freshman
Conor Pavelko (Sioux Falls, S.D./O'Gorman) that followed – gave Saint John's the lead for the first time in a matchup in which they had trailed by 14 early and 21-8 at the half.
Not only that, but the Johnnies turned the ball over on downs twice in the fourth quarter with Bethel leading by six points – once at the Royals' 6 with just under six minutes to go, then again at their own 34 with 2:59 remaining.
Yet, when the defense stopped Bethel on downs at the Johnnies' 29 with 1:59 left on the clock, the offense got one last chance. And this time, Larson and company made it count, marching 72 yards in eight plays to score on 4th-and-goal at the Royals' 3.
"I'm kind of at a loss for words right now," said Larson, whose team (10-0 and ranked No. 5 in both Division III polls) earned the MIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs and will find out who its first-round opponent will be when the pairings are announced at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 14, on www.ncaa.com.
The win provided SJU with its 35th MIAC title and 24th 10-win season. The NCAA berth is SJU's 31st postseason appearance in program history and the 27th at the Division III level. The bid is also the seventh consecutive under the direction of head coach
Gary Fasching '81, which breaks his tie for the MIAC record held by former head coach
John Gagliardi.
"This is the best game I've ever been a part of," Larson continued. "We never gave up. We were down the whole game and we ended up getting the win. So that's … I'm just at a loss for words.
"This was just awesome."
But it didn't seem like the Johnnies' day in the first half as Bethel (8-2 and ranked No. 12 in the D3football.com poll) roared out to a 14-0 lead on a pair of touchdown passes from Jaran Roste – the first a 48-yarder to freshman Joey Kidder and the second a 23-yard connection to freshman Micah Niewald.
SJU cut the gap to 14-8 on a 1-yard touchdown run by Backes with 12:05 to play in the second quarter, but a 22-yard touchdown pass from Roste to yet another freshman, Gabe Ante, sent the Royals into the locker room leading 21-8.
"They practiced all week too," said SJU senior linebacker
Kyle Kornovich (Rogers, Minn.), who finished with six tackles. "They took some shots (in the first half) and they converted on a couple of them. We just had to calm down and trust each other."
That stay-the-course attitude paid off in a second half in which the Johnnies did not allow an offensive touchdown. Bethel's only score came with 3:46 left in the third quarter when – after a 3-yard touchdown run by SJU senior running back
Henry Trost (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) cut the gap to six – BU junior linebacker David Brandt returned a blocked punt 10 yards for a touchdown.
That made the score 28-15. The Johnnies again pulled within six on a 1-yard touchdown run by Trost (who finished the day with 23 carries for 93 yards) with 11:46 remaining.
But SJU couldn't follow up on its next possession which ended when Backes was stopped for no gain on 4th-and-one at the Bethel 6.
The defense stepped up and forced the Royals to punt the ball away, but the Johnnies gained only two yards before three-straight incompletions meant Bethel got the ball back on downs at the SJU 34 with less-than-three minutes to go.
"I made probably a bad call when we got stopped on fourth down there, but we had all the confidence in the world that the defense was going to give us the ball back," said Backes, who threw for 151 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 103 yards and another score – the first time a Johnnie quarterback crossed the 100-yard rushing mark in a game since Ken Pletcher ran for 104 yards on four carries at Macalester on Oct. 30, 1993.
"They actually gave us the ball back twice, which was amazing."
Indeed, the Royals - with backup quarterback George Bolt in for an injured Roste - managed to gain just five yards before being stopped on fourth down at the SJU 29.
"You have to win a game like this on defense," Fasching said. "We were really disappointed going into halftime having given up 21 points. But our defense ended up being the reason we won this game. They were very stout in the second half. That made a big difference and gave our offense the chance to get back into it."
And the Johnnies were certainly into it on their final drive. A 36-yard pass from Backes to sophomore wide receiver
Jimmy Buck (Orono, Minn.) put SJU at the Bethel 35. Then Backes carried for a gain of 25 to make it first-and-goal at the 10.
"Shout-out to
Chris Backes man," senior wide receiver
Ravi Alston (Lake Elsinore, Calif./Vista Murrieta) said. "He's been a phenomenal leader for us and we rallied around him."
But three plays later, the Johnnies were still only at the Bethel 3 and the clock had run down to the final seconds. That's when Backes fired off a final pass to Larson at the pylon on the SJU side of the end zone.
"It was all pretty rushed," Larson said. "We were in turbo making quick play calls. I just made a move on my guy, went to the side of the end zone and caught the ball. After that, I kind of blacked out. That was such a cool experience."
And one that sends the Johnnies into the playoffs undefeated.
"This is huge," Larson said. "It gives us so much momentum. Now we're rolling into the playoffs sky-high.
"A win like this … you just can't make it up."
What a Comeback
The victory marked the largest halftime deficit an SJU team has overcome and won since trailing 28-13 at the half in a 35-34 win at St. Thomas on Oct. 8, 1994.
Sole Possession of Fifth
Trost's two rushing touchdowns enabled him to break his tie with Rick Bell (1979-82) and Jim Lehman (1953-55) for seventh in program history and jump past Chris Moore (1997-00) and Jeff Norman (1974-77) into sole possession of fifth with 32. His 37 total touchdowns are 10th, one behind Jay Conzemius (1988-91) and Tim Schmitz (1974-77).
Eight Straight
The Johnnies are now 34-9 all-time against Bethel, including a 14-6 record in Arden Hills. Saturday's victory was SJU's eighth consecutive in the series.
Why in Arden Hills?
Although the Johnnies (the Northwoods Division champion) defeated Bethel (the Skyline Division champion) 31-25 when the two teams met for the first time this season on Sept. 25 in Collegeville, Saturday's game was played in Arden Hills because the new MIAC divisional format granted hosting duties to the Skyline Division this season. In 2022, the championship game (and all other crossover matchups during MIAC Championship Week) will be played at the home site of the Northwoods Division teams.
