Box Score

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Things weren't quite connecting for Aaron Syverson and the Saint John's University offense on their first possession Saturday afternoon.

After that, though, almost everything did.

Syverson threw for 448 yards and six touchdowns before making an early exit as the eighth-ranked Johnnies (5-1, 4-0 MIAC) rolled past previously unbeaten Carleton 63-7 before a Homecoming crowd of 10,477 at an overcast Clemens Stadium.

"The thing for us, especially this year, has just been getting that first (score)," Syverson said. "Once we do that, we're really tough to stop. 

"Once we get the chains moving, things start to roll."

The game marked the first MIAC Northwoods Division matchup for SJU, which finished with 587 yards of total offense. Syverson threw for a single-game school record 498 yards and five touchdowns in a 42-23 win over Concordia-Moorhead a week ago, giving him 946 passing yards and 11 touchdowns in his past two games.

"Aaron has always been a great quarterback, but the last couple of weeks, he's really been on," SJU coach Gary Fasching '81 said. "With the things we've been facing defensively, the passing game has been wide-open. And he's taken full advantage of that."

Syverson did start Saturday's game 0-for-3 passing, just missing connections with open receivers. After that, though, SJU scored on six of its next eight possessions, taking a 42-7 halftime lead.



Sophomore wide receiver Dylan Wheeler (St. Paul, Minn./Mounds View) had touchdown catches of 22 and 23 yards. Senior tight end Alex Larson (13 yards; Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge), senior wide receiver Nick VanErp (37 yards; Battle Lake, Minn./Ottertail Central) and junior wide receiver Marselio Mendez (12 yards; St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) had touchdown receptions as well. 

Senior running back Troy Feddema (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech) also scored on a 6-yard touchdown run. The Johnnies finished with 374 yards of offense in the first two quarters.

"It all starts with Aaron," Wheeler said. "He's been amazing. He gives us so many opportunities to make plays. We're very lucky to have a guy like that here. Our offensive line played really well today too and that helped a lot. Then (the receivers) just had to go out and make plays."

Syverson and the starters were back for a bit to start the third quarter, scoring again on a 29-yard touchdown pass to Wheeler, who finished with 14 catches for 205 yards and three touchdowns. All three stats were career highs. The passing game was also bolstered by the return of senior wideout Jimmy Buck (Orono, Minn.), who has been out since suffering a knee injury in a season-opening 34-31 overtime win over Trinity on Sept. 2.

He saw very limited action Saturday, finishing with one catch for nine yards.



"We have four or five guys - maybe even more - who we know can catch the football for us," Fasching said. "We lost Jimmy Buck early in the year, but Dylan Wheeler jumped into his spot and is having a big year. Now Jimmy's back and that's going to provide us with even more options.

"In all the years I've been here (as both an assistant and head coach), I don't think we've had this kind of depth at wide receiver."

The Knights (5-1, 3-1 MIAC) scored on a 20-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jack Curtis to wide receiver Ntense Bono that cut the gap to 21-7 early in the second quarter. After that, though, the SJU defense held Carleton in check. The Johnnies finished the day with three turnovers - interceptions by senior safety Ethan Stark (Sartell, Minn./Sartell-St. Stephen) and sophomore safety Noah Arneson (Independence, Minn./Orono), as well as a fumble recovery by senior linebacker Joe Rossebo (Woodbury, Minn.).

Senior linebacker Erik Bjork (Mahtomedi, Minn.) led the Johnnies in tackles with 11.

"When we can get our offense back on the field and give them the chance to make plays, that does a lot for us as a defense," Bjork said. "It gives us a chance to rest and gets us ready to go back out there fresh."

Fasching said he was pleased with his team's effort overall, though he remained frustrated by penalties. For the third game in a row, the Johnnies were in double digits - this week being penalized 10 times for 75 yards.

"I think there were 20 yards of penalties on (Carleton's) lone scoring drive alone," he said. "We have to get rid of these kinds of things. That can't happen."

But that was about the only area to find fault on a day when the Johnnies scored the most points they've had in a single game in almost two years (since an 81-0 home win over St. Scholastica on Oct. 30, 2021). 

SJU returns to action next Saturday (Oct. 21) with a divisional matchup against Gustavus Adolphus (3-3, 2-2 MIAC) at 1 p.m. in St. Peter. The Gusties defeated Macalester 55-18 at home Saturday.

"We've kept getting better and better every week, and it's gone from there," Syverson said. "We're getting the ball to our playmakers and letting them make plays. That's been working for us."

40-0
The Johnnies are now 40-0 all-time against Carleton, including a 20-0 record in Collegeville. SJU has out-scored the Knights 1,750-362 (43.8-9.1 avg.) in the series, including a 466-46 advantage and four shutouts in the last nine meetings.

Another Homecoming Win
Saturday's win also improved the Johnnies' record to 72-20-2 (.777) in 94 known Homecoming games dating back to 1925. SJU has now won 32 of its last 37 Homecoming games.

6 Touchdown Passes
Syverson became the sixth Johnnie (ninth occurrence overall) to pass for five touchdowns in a half and the fourth (sixth occurrence) to pass for six or more in a game. Jackson Erdmann '19 passed for five touchdowns or more in a half four times and for six touchdowns or more in a game twice.

Most Passing Touchdowns in a Half
6 - Jackson Erdmann vs. Thomas More, Ky. (11/10/18)
6 - Jackson Erdmann vs. Martin Luther (11/17/18)
6 - Willie Seiler vs. St. Thomas (10/23/93)
5 - Aaron Syverson vs. Carleton (10/14/23)
5 - Jackson Erdmann vs. Augsburg (10/5/19)
5 - Jackson Erdmann vs. Gustavus (10/21/17)
5 - Tom Linnemann vs. Macalester (10/7/00)
5 - Kurt Ramler vs. Macalester at Metrodome (11/10/94)
5 - Pat Mayew vs. St. Olaf (10/26/91)

Most Passing Touchdowns in a Game
7 - Jackson Erdmann vs. Thomas More, Ky. (11/10/18)
6 - Aaron Syverson vs. Carleton (10/14/23)
6 - Jackson Erdmann vs. Martin Luther (11/17/18)
6 - Willie Seiler at UW-La Crosse (11/27/93)
6 - Willie Seiler vs. St. Thomas (10/23/93)
6 - Pat Mayew vs. St. Olaf (10/26/91)

200+ Receiving Yards
Wheeler's 200-yard receiving performance was the 12th in SJU history and the fifth with three touchdowns or more (see below).

205-3TD - Dylan Wheeler vs. Carleton (10/14/23)
205-3TD - Blake Elliott vs. Carleton (11/10/01)
206-3TD - Chris Palmer vs. La Verne, Calif. (11/19/94)
209-4TD - John Hanowski at Augsburg (10/14/78)
211-3TD - Todd Watson at Gustavus (10/5/74)

First Downs Aplenty
The SJU offense topped last week's output with 35 first downs Saturday, which were good for third-most in program history and one more than in last week's 42-23 win over Concordia. Twenty-seven of the 35 first downs came through the air, which tied last week's program record.

Defending the Knights
Carleton quarterback Jack Curtis entered the game leading NCAA Division III in completions per game (31.6) and was fifth in total offense (360.2 ypg.) and sixth in passing touchdowns (19). SJU's defense held Curtis to 16 of 27 passing for 104 yards and intercepted him twice. The Knights finished 2-for-16 on third down.