By Frank Rajkowski and Ryan Klinkner '04
 
COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Jimmy Buck and the rest of his teammates on the Saint John's University football team didn't get off to a very good start Saturday afternoon.

The ending wasn't all that great either. 

But what happened in between was enough to lift the Johnnies past Concordia 35-28 in MIAC action before a Homecoming crowd of 8,277 in Clemens Stadium.

SJU (3-1, 1-1 MIAC) – ranked No. 6 in the most recent D3football.com Division III top 25 - put up 195 yards of total offense during a second quarter in which the Johnnies outscored the Cobbers (2-2, 0-2 MIAC) 28-0, overcoming an early 7-0 deficit and taking a lead they would not relinquish despite giving up three unanswered touchdowns down the stretch in the fourth quarter.



"We definitely didn't play our best game today," said Buck (Orono, Minn.), a junior wide receiver who finished with five catches for 111 yards and a touchdown. "But it shows the potential of our team. We didn't play anywhere near our best football and we were still able to come out on top. 

"We just have to clean up some of our mistakes because we weren't very consistent today."

Indeed, SJU managed just 43 yards of offense in the first quarter and fell behind when Cobber quarterback Cooper Mattern - a sophomore transfer from SJU - connected with senior Jake Evans on a 1-yard touchdown pass.

The Johnnies had a chance to score late in the quarter, but a 26-yard field goal attempt hit the left upright.

"That's just not getting out to a good start," said SJU sophomore linebacker Cooper Yaggie (Breckenridge, Minn.), who tied for the team lead with 10 tackles. "We didn't get our feet under us right away and it showed."

But fortunes certainly shifted after the quarter break. First, junior quarterback Aaron Syverson (Minnetonka, Minn.) connected with freshman Dylan Wheeler (St. Paul, Minn./Mounds View) on a 28-yard touchdown pass to tie the score. Then he found senior tight end Zach Jungels (Rochester, Minn./Lourdes) for a 3-yard scoring strike that put his team on top 14-7.

That scoring drive was set up when senior safety Ethan Stark (Sartell, Minn./Sartell-St. Stephen) picked off a Concordia pass and returned it to the Johnnies' 48.

"We just clicked," Buck said. "Everyone was locked in and the crowd was loud. The sideline was loud and we were playing well together on both sides of the ball."

And the Johnnies weren't done yet. Syverson – who threw for 360 yards and five touchdowns in all - connected with senior wideout Darian Washington (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech) on a 47-yard touchdown pass with 3:19 remaining in the first half, then found Buck for a 60-yard touchdown that put SJU up 28-7 at halftime.

Another touchdown catch by Jungels – this one a 20-yarder – followed in the third quarter. But that was where the SJU highlights ended.

"It's nice that we came out with the win, but it's still a little disappointing," said Washington, who finished with three catches for 91 yards and a touchdown. "We started rolling so nicely putting up points in abundance, then we didn't keep it going."

Instead, the Cobbers seized back the momentum, scoring three unanswered touchdowns – two on runs of 5 and 1 yards by senior Peyton Mortenson, then another on a 5-yard pass from Mattern to junior Dawson Schaffer with 53 seconds left to cut the gap to just seven.

That final touchdown was set up when junior Mitchell Sullivan picked off a pass at the Johnnies' 35. But the ensuing onside kick attempt went out of bounds and SJU held on for the win.

"We made some big plays in the second quarter," Johnnie head coach Gary Fasching '81 said. "That's all I can say I thought was really good about this game. We struggled offensively in the second half. I felt like our offensive line play wasn't good the whole day. We struggled getting any kind of movement up front.

"Give credit to Concordia because they played awfully hard. They always do against us. The second quarter was good for us and maybe half of the third quarter. But from that point on, we didn't play very well at all either offensively or defensively."

But SJU was able to get back on the winning track after a 28-24 loss at Bethel last week. 

"We just have to learn to keep our foot on the gas," Buck said. "Mentally and physically. We have to play all four quarters. 

"We have to treat every single drive like it's the last drive of the game. We don't have any free plays. We can't afford to let up or teams will get back in the game like they did today."

Three Straight 100-Yard Games for Buck
With today's performance, Buck became the first SJU receiver to record three consecutive 100-yard receiving games since Evan Clark '17 in 2016. Buck has 21 receptions for 373 yards (17.8 avg.) and two touchdowns over the three-game stretch and leads the team with 420 receiving yards this season.

Three Consecutive 300-Yard Passing Games for Syverson
Syverson set career highs in passing yards (360) and touchdowns (5) in Saturday's Homecoming win. In addition, Syverson joined Jackson Erdmann '19 and Kurt Ramler '97 as the only SJU quarterbacks to throw for 300 passing yards in three consecutive games. Erdmann accomplished the feat twice, including a four-game stretch, during the 2019 season.

Whoa Woz
Senior Michael Wozniak (New Hope, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) tied with Yaggie for the team lead in tackles with 10, though the All-American defensive lineman added 2.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks and two quarterback hurries in the victory. Wozniak now has 14.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks over his last six games going back to last season.

Career Firsts
The touchdown receptions were the first for Washington (second catch of the season, sixth of his SJU career) and Wheeler (second collegiate catch), while Jungels now has three touchdowns on five catches this season.

Homecoming Wins
With the win, SJU improves to 71-20-2 (.774) in 93 known Homecoming games dating back to 1925, including a 7-3-1 record against Concordia

Next Week
The Johnnies close out MIAC interdivisional play when they travel to Minneapolis to take on Augsburg (3-1, 1-1 MIAC) at 1 p.m. next Saturday, Oct. 8. Parking will be available at Lot L (located on 25th & Riverside) and the Fairview West Bank Ramp (2450 Riverside Ave., Minneapolis). SJU's first Northwoods Division game is the following week - Oct. 15 - at St. Olaf. 

Another Three-Week Gap Between Home Games
SJU's previous home game was a 37-34 win over nationally ranked Wisconsin-River Falls on Sept. 10. The Johnnies' next home game is during Family Weekend, Oct. 22 vs. Gustavus Adolphus.