Box Score

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Aaron Syverson has always spread the credit around when it comes to his own accomplishments.

That didn't change Saturday afternoon.

After throwing for 438 yards and six touchdowns in his team's 55-6 MIAC victory over St. Olaf at Clemens Stadium, the Saint John's senior quarterback now has 11,646 career passing yards.

That moves him past former Johnnie standout Jackson Erdmann '19 (11,639 yards) for first place in both program and MIAC history. 

But, as Syverson was quick to point out, he didn't get there alone.

"I've been lucky enough to have a bunch of really good coaches and a lot of great players around me," said Syverson, who has been starting for four seasons. "They make it pretty easy. Even today, it wasn't hard to look good out there when you've got guys making plays for you left and right."

Indeed, the Johnnies had a very big day throwing the ball. Senior Marselio Mendez (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) and junior Dylan Wheeler (St. Paul, Minn./Mounds View) each finished with three touchdown catches as SJU (9-0, 7-0 MIAC, 4-0 Northwoods) – ranked as high as No. 3 nationally in the D3football.com poll - jumped out to a 34-0 halftime lead.

Mendez finished with nine catches for 180 yards – including scoring grabs of 5, 51 and 4 yards. Wheeler added seven catches for 158 yard – including touchdown receptions of 21, 10 and 65 yards.

They, though, had high praise for Syverson.

"No matter what happens, Aaron is always Aaron," said Mendez, who may have devised the Johnnie version of the Lambeau Leap by climbing halfway up the hill alongside the Clemens Stadium grandstand after his first touchdown reception of the day in the second quarter.

"You don't see him get super-emotional or super-excited. He stays steady and he's kind of the glue that keeps us all together."



That glue had plenty of time to throw Saturday thanks to an offensive line that – despite having lost two starters to injury this season – managed to keep the Oles from putting any pressure on Syverson almost all afternoon.

"Our offensive line was really good," SJU head coach Gary Fasching '81 said. "They gave Aaron a lot of time. If he can stand back there and wait for a receiver to break open, with his arm strength and the way he throws the football, he's going to find open guys."

But Fasching – whose team put up 607 yards of total offense - said that kind of skill level doesn't come about by accident.

"This just doesn't happen," said Fasching of Syverson, whose 134-career touchdown passes now leave him just five shy of Erdmann's school and conference record. 

"You have to put in the time. You have to put in a lot of work in the offseason, which he does. Then you have to put in a lot of work off the field, and he's a student of the game. He's got a great grasp of our offense. He's going to go down as one of the top quarterbacks ever in the MIAC, and certainly one of the top quarterbacks we've had here at Saint John's."



Syverson's big day came on an afternoon when the Johnnie defense held St. Olaf (6-3, 4-3 MIAC, 2-2 Northwoods) to just 180 yards of total offense – including only 52 in the first half. Senior linebacker Cooper Yaggie (Breckenridge, Minn.) led the way with eight tackles and returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown on the opening possession of the second half.

"We were flying around, and we had a lot of energy," Yaggie said. "We came up with some big plays and that's all you can do."

Saturday's victory clinched the top spot in the MIAC Northwoods Division, meaning SJU will play host to No. 25 Bethel (8-1, 6-1 MIAC, 4-0 Skyline) at noon next Saturday (Nov. 16) in the conference championship game with the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs on the line.

The Royals wrapped up the top spot in the Skyline Division with a 49-16 win over Concordia Saturday in Moorhead. The Johnnies defeated Bethel 45-20 when the two teams met for the MIAC opener Sept. 28 in Arden Hills.

Since that time, though, the Royals have outscored their opposition 350-31 while rolling to six-straight victories.

"It should be a good environment and a really great game," Syverson said. "They're playing well. But this is the type of game you play football for. You want to play great teams in big games with everything on the line.

"That's what next week is going to be."