By Frank Rajkowski, SJU Writer/Video Producer

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - The 1976 football season at Saint John's University may have ended in triumph. But it began with a draw.

Forty-five years ago this week, on Sept. 11, 1976, the Johnnies opened the year against Minnesota-Morris in a matchup of two highly-regarded teams.

Saint John's finished 8-1-1 in 1975 and won its second-straight MIAC title in quarterback Jeff Norman's first season directing legendary head coach John Gagliardi's new quadruple-option offense.

That lone loss, however, came against Morris. UMM head coach Al Molde would go on to coach at Central Missouri, Eastern Illinois and Western Michigan before spending 15 years as the athletic director at Gustavus Adolphus – a position from which he retired in 2012.

His team finished 8-1 in 1975, and had already opened the 1976 season with a 24-0 victory over Northern State (S.D.) the week before facing the Johnnies.

"Morris had some really great teams in those days," recalls Norman '78, who will be inducted into the SJU J-Club Hall of Honor as part of the 2021 induction class next month.

"In fact, I think they might have been the best team we faced in that two-year stretch (1975 and '76). They had some really talented players."

But so did the Johnnies, as was clear in a first half that saw Saint John's open a 15-0 halftime lead thanks to a 37-yard touchdown run by Norman, a 27-yard touchdown pass from Norman to Scott Edstrom '77 and a 46-yard Norman field goal – which, at the time, was the longest in school history.

"That really was one of the biggest thrills in my time at Saint John's," Norman said. "We didn't get many opportunities to try long field goals like that. John didn't like to kick 30-yard field goals, much less 46-yarders. 

"So it meant a lot that he trusted me to try one from that far.

"I just remember it was a beautiful September afternoon – warm and sunny," he continued. "Before the game, I remember telling my friend and mentor, Bob Verkuilen '56, who by the way is one of the greatest Johnnie football fans of all time, that we were going to win. And when we got out to a 15-0 lead, I was feeling pretty confident about that prediction. We had a really great defense and I thought there was no way they were going to score 15 points against us.

"I figured we'd score another touchdown or two in the second half and that would be it."

As it turned out, though, the Johnnies did not score again the rest of the way. And Morris rallied for 15 points to tie the score, which is how the game ended.

"It was kind of a blow because we felt like we had a really good team and we let a win slip away," Norman said. "But it was our first game and Saint John's teams have sometimes started out a little slow.

"In the end, I think it actually helped us. We were already pretty experienced. So playing a tough game like that didn't rattle us. It just made us a little more focused."

Indeed, the Johnnies did not lose again the rest of the way – rolling all the way into that season's NCAA Division III national title game against Towson State (Md.) in Phenix City, Ala.

That game, though, proved almost a mirror of the season opener as Towson State scored 28 points in the fourth quarter to erase a four-touchdown Johnnies' lead. This time, though, Saint John's was able to rally, engineering a late scoring drive capped by a 19-yard field goal by Norman as time expired.

That gave the Johnnies a 31-28 victory and the program's third national championship.

"I think (the Morris game) might have hurt a less-experienced group," Norman said. "But we didn't let it shake our confidence in ourselves. We were able to regroup and go on to accomplish every goal we'd set out for ourselves."

25 years ago (1996)
Junior Brian Hilliard '98 was named MIAC special teams player of the week after blocking a pair of punts in the third quarter of the Johnnies' 20-2 season-opening victory over Bemidji State in Collegeville.

80 years ago (1941)
Head coach Joe Benda had returned to Saint John's after a stint as an assistant coach under Elmer Layden at Notre Dame. But before his first season back even got underway, he had to deal with the loss of standout halfback Tom Paul '47, who broke his leg in a preseason scrimmage.

Saint John's went on to finish 3-4 overall that season.