Box Score

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Things got off to a bit of a rocky start for senior defensive lineman Zach Frank (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) and the rest of the Saint John's defense Saturday afternoon.

After that, though, the Johnnies couldn't have played much better.

Saint John's recorded 10 sacks, which helped limit Wartburg to only nine net yards rushing, as the Johnnies rolled to a 35-13 non-conference victory before a crowd of 9,529 at a warm and mostly sunny Clemens Stadium.

The Knights marched 71 yards in 10 plays to score on the game's opening possession, but didn't score again until midway through the fourth quarter - by which time SJU had already scored four touchdowns of its own.

"We just had to come out and do what we knew we could do," said Frank, who finished with seven tackles and tied senior linebacker Hayden Sanders (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Champlin Park) for the team lead with two-and-a-half sacks. Sanders led the defense with 10 tackles, including four for a loss.

"We got back to the bench after their first drive, reset, then went out and played our game. We played our brand of football, and when we started doing that, we had them."



The Johnnies - ranked No. 12 in both the most recent American Football Coaches' Association (AFCA) and D3football.com national polls - improved to 2-0. Wartburg - ranked as high as No. 5 - fell to 1-1. The Knights went 26-2 the past two seasons, advancing to the NCAA Division III national semifinals each time. That included a 23-20 second-round win in Collegeville that ended SJU's season in 2022.

So Saturday was game many of the Johnnie players were eagerly anticipating.

"For a lot of the guys who are still here from that 2022 team, this was really sweet," said senior quarterback Aaron Syverson (Minnetonka, Minn.), a four-year starter who finished 34 of 38 passing for 324 yards and three touchdowns Saturday. "That was a really disappointing way to go out, so to be able to get a great team like this back on our turf again and post a statement win or whatever you want to call it is a big boost for us going forward."

One of the harder moments for SJU to swallow in that 2022 game came when the Johnnies had the ball 2nd-and-goal at the Wartburg 1 early in the second quarter and were stopped for no gain three times before turning the ball over on downs. 

Things were different Saturday, though. 

SJU finished with 77 yards rushing (including 20 yards lost on two sacks), but was effective running the ball in the red zone - including 8 and 1-yard touchdown runs by sophomore running back Will Blakey (St. Paul, Minn./Central), who finished with 10 carries for 55 yards.

Senior running back Quinn Christoffersen (South St. Paul, Minn.) also scored on a short 3-yard touchdown pass on SJU's opening possession as the Johnnies tied the score 7-7.

"That was definitely satisfying," said Gary Fasching '81, who recorded his 101st career victory as SJU's head coach. "We know we have to be tough around the goal line. It's an attitude. When we get down there, we have to be low, hard and we have to score. That's what our guys did today."



Junior wide receiver Dylan Wheeler (St. Paul, Minn./Mounds View) finished with 12 catches for 105 yards. Sophomore Riley Schwellenbach (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge) added four catches for 75 yards - including a 47-yard reception on SJU's first offensive play that set up his team's first touchdown.

"When you have Aaron back there, Dylan Wheeler, Marselio (Mendez) - guys like that, it's huge," Blakey said. "Just that threat of the pass really opens up the running game. On top of that, our offensive line is so experienced and does such a great job. It makes the rest of our jobs a lot easier."

But the big story Saturday was the defense, which held Wartburg to 316 yards of offense total - but only 170 excluding the Knights' two scoring drives. The Johnnies also allowed Wartburg only five offensive plays the entire third quarter while extending a 14-7 halftime lead to 28-7.

"We've been waiting for another crack at these guys since they knocked us out of the playoffs two years ago," said Frank, whose team is off next weekend before going on the road for the first time for a key early-season showdown at Bethel on Sept. 28. 

"We couldn't wait to get them back on our schedule again. They've accomplished a lot - getting to the national semifinals two years in a row. So this was an important win to keep building that momentum."

The 13 points scored for Wartburg were its least since a 45-13 loss at Dubuque (Iowa) on Oct. 17, 2015. The nine rushing yards, meanwhile, were the fewest for the Knights since 2018. 

Efficient Afternoon
Syverson's completion percentage of .895 was the third-best in SJU history, while his 34 pass completions tied him for third-most. The 324 yards served as his 11th game with 300 or more, which broke his tie with Alex Kofoed '07 for second in program history (Jackson Erdmann '19 owns the record at 15). He also moved into a tie with Kurt Ramler '97 and Tom Linnemann '00 for third with his 27th career win (a 27-4 record).

Free Wheeling
The 100-yard receiving game was the second-consecutive and fifth overall for Wheeler, who now has 75 receptions for 992 yards and 11 touchdowns over his last 11 games.

Defensive Totals
The 10 sacks were the most for SJU since it recorded the program record of 13 in the 62-3 win over Monmouth (Ill.) on Nov. 19, 2005, in the first round of the NCAA Playoffs. The 14 tackles for loss were the most since the Johnnies posted 14 in a 57-7 victory over St. Olaf on Oct. 20, 2018. Both games were held in Collegeville.

10 in a Row
Saturday's win was the Johnnies' 10th-consecutive at home over a nationally ranked opponent – 12 when including those receiving votes – during the regular season.