Box Score

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Six weeks ago, Caden Wheeler (Andover, Minn.) was in a boot after undergoing surgery to repair a broken foot (Jones fracture) suffered early on in preseason practice.

But Saturday afternoon, the SJU junior running back was running wild, carrying the ball 15 times for 136 yards and a touchdown as the Johnnies - ranked as high as No. 4 in the latest American Football Coaches' Association (AFCA) poll - defeated Augsburg 45-20 before a Homecoming crowd of 11,719 in Clemens Stadium.

"I'm pretty happy to be where I'm at now," a smiling Wheeler said afterward. "Especially considering where I was at a few weeks ago. I had just had surgery, I was in a boot and I wasn't sure when I was going to play again.

"If you had told me I was going to be back doing this so soon, I'd have probably thought you were crazy. But I'd have hoped it was possible, and now that it's happened, I'm really thankful."

Wheeler returned to action a week ago (Sept. 28), carrying the ball 20 times for 86 yards in a 45-20 win at then-No. 24 Bethel. He said he felt even better this week, although he still isn't completely back to where he was before the injury.

"I'd say I'm about 85 percent right now," said Wheeler, whose 2-yard touchdown run in the first quarter tied the game 7-7 after Augsburg took an early lead on a 57-yard touchdown pass from Marcus Freeman to Tyrone Wilson on the game's opening possession.

"I'm getting five or 10 percent better every week. Hopefully, next week I can get even closer to 100 percent. I'm getting there. It's just a matter of time."



Wheeler's performance Saturday marked the first time an SJU rusher has crossed the 100-yard mark in a game since Henry Trost '22 rushed for 105 yards at Bethel on Sept. 24, 2022, and the most yards for a Johnnie runner since Devin Vouk's '23 143 in a 41-14, NCAA first-round victory over Lake Forest (Ill.) on Nov. 20, 2021.

"I was really impressed with the way he ran the ball today," said SJU head coach Gary Fasching '81, whose team improved to 2-0 in MIAC play and 4-0 overall.

"I thought he had a little bit more zoom than he had last week. He looked faster, and he's a tough guy too. He breaks a lot of tackles."

Wheeler was quick to credit the Johnnies' veteran offensive line for opening holes, a job three-year starting right tackle Grant Peroutka (Rosemount, Minn.) said is a lot easier when you have a back with Wheeler's speed.

"We're all super proud of the way he's battled back from his injury," Peroutka said. "It's good to have him out here again. He's so fast. If you can give him even just a small hole, he'll get through there."

As a team, SJU rushed for a season-best 249 yards - its best performance on the ground since recording 259 yards in a 45-0 win at Augsburg on Oct. 8, 2022. Sophomore Will Blakey (St. Paul, Minn./Central) carried the ball eight times for 65 yards - including a 3-yard touchdown run just before halftime that put the Johnnies in front 28-14.

"I give a lot of credit to our offensive line," Fasching said. "They came off the ball hard. I thought they did a great job. Whenever you can run the ball and play complementary football - offense, defense and special teams - you're going to win a lot of games."

Saturday also marked another big game for senior quarterback Aaron Syverson (Minnetonka, Minn.), who threw for 256 yards and four touchdowns. That gives him a career total of 110 touchdown passes, which ranks second in program and MIAC history to Jackson Erdmann's 139 from 2016-19. 

He has now thrown a total of 80 in conference play, which broke the previous record of 79 held by Augsburg's Ayrton Scott (2012-15). 



Junior wideout Dylan Wheeler (St. Paul, Minn./Mounds View) again led the way in the receiving game with seven catches for 96 yards and three touchdowns. Junior tight end Joey Gendreau (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) finished with six catches for 59 yards. Junior Owen Amrhein (Waconia, Minn.) had two catches for 42 yards, including a 21-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter.

"The coaching staff called a great game today," Caden Wheeler said. "Offensively, we were clicking on all cylinders. We had a nice balance between the running and passing game. We just have to keep that up. I credit our offensive line so much. Without them, we wouldn't be able to do any of this."

The Johnnie defense, meanwhile, limited Augsburg to a total of two yards rushing, though Freeman threw for 249 yards and three touchdowns. Two of those scoring drives came on possessions helped along considerably by penalties, including a costly roughing-the-passer call on an incompletion on 4th-and-9 at the SJU 41 in the second quarter.

In all, SJU was penalized 13 times for 123 yards. The Auggies had six penalties for 71 yards.

"We just need to play smarter," said senior linebacker Cooper Yaggie (Breckenridge, Minn.), who led his team with 10 tackles, including 2.5 for a loss and one sack. "We know we can beat teams straight-up. So we can't let ourselves get in situations where we make mistakes like we did today."

Overall, though, it was another solid effort for an SJU team that remains unbeaten heading into a road matchup at Concordia (3-1, 2-0 MIAC) next week in Moorhead.

"Today was a great day," Caden Wheeler said. "The atmosphere was fantastic. The fans were great. The students were great. Overall, it was a great atmosphere and a great Homecoming win for the Johnnies."

Another Homecoming Win
SJU is now 73-20-2 (.779) in 95 known Homecoming games dating back to 1925, including a 16-2 record against Augsburg, the Johnnies' most-frequent opponent. The Johnnies have won 33 of their last 38 Homecoming games.

Moving Up
In addition to the MIAC record for passing touchdowns in conference play, Syverson also climbed past Erdmann (754) for second in school history with 758 career pass completions. Alex Kofoed '07 owns the record with 830.

And Kicking Up
The 28-yard field goal in the fourth quarter was the 20th of Murphy's career, which moved him into a tie with Mike Schmidt '83 for fifth-most in program history. The six PATs, meanwhile, increased his career total to 199 – 14 from the SJU record of 213 owned by Brandon Keller '05.