Box Score

NORTHFIELD, Minn. – No. 5 Saint John's football completed Northwoods Division play with a 38-10 win at Carleton on Saturday, Nov. 6, in Northfield.

The Johnnies (9-0, 7-0 MIAC, 4-0 Northwoods) travel to face Bethel (8-1, 6-1 MIAC, 4-0 Skyline) for the MIAC championship, and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Playoffs, at 1 p.m. next Saturday, Nov. 13, in Arden Hills.

SJU built a 28-0 lead and out-gained Carleton (6-3, 4-3 MIAC, 1-3 Northwoods) by a 406-224 margin. The Johnnies committed three turnovers, but went 5-for-5 in the red zone and held the Knights to 2-for-11 on third down (1-for-4 on fourth down).

Senior quarterback Chris Backes (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech) finished 20 of 28 passing for 243 yards and two touchdowns, and added 21 yards on five carries. He threw his first collegiate interception on the first play of the second quarter.

Senior wide receiver Ravi Alston (Lake Elsinore, Calif./Vista Murrieta) led the Johnnies' air attack with nine catches for 124 yards and two touchdowns. He had seven catches for 117 yards in the first quarter alone, including a 63-yard touchdown on the first play of SJU's second drive. Alston's second touchdown reception of the game, a 2-yard shovel pass, gave SJU a 35-3 lead with 7:02 left in the third quarter.

Senior running back Henry Trost (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) finished with 61 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 16 carries, and caught two passes for 15 yards.



Junior linebacker Erik Bjork (Mahtomedi, Minn.) led the SJU defense, which totaled six tackles for loss in the victory, with nine tackles (three solo). Junior safety Ethan Stark (Sartell, Minn./Sartell-St. Stephen) thwarted the Knights' final chance for points with his first collegiate interception on SJU's two-yard line, which he returned 68 yards to the Carleton 30.

Carleton running back Aiden Chang rushed for 108 yards on 14 carries, including 12 carries for 103 yards in the first half. Augsburg running back Isaiah Thompson's 57 yards on Oct. 9 served as the previous high this season against the Johnnies. The 100-yard rushing performance was the first against SJU since the 2019 regular-season finale (Rose-Hulman's Garrett Wight, 117 yards on 41 carries).

100 Yards for Ravi
The 100-yard receiving game was Alston's second of the season and ninth of his career, which tied him with Todd Fultz (1988-90) for fourth-most in SJU history. The nine catches lifted Alston past Jeremy Loretz (1991-94) and into a tie with Kyle Gearman (2004-06) and Lee Clintsman (2001-04) for sixth (140).

Two More Touchdowns for Trost
The two rushing touchdowns moved Trost into a tie with Rick Bell (1979-82) and Jim Lehman (1953-55) for seventh (30) in program history. His 15 rushing touchdowns this season are the seventh-most by a Johnnie, tied with Chris Moore (2000) and Tim Schmitz (1976).

38-0
SJU is now 38-0 all-time against Carleton, including a 18-0 record at Laird Stadium.