Box Score
ST. PETER, Minn. – It was one day after Halloween, but there was a stretch Saturday afternoon when Hollingsworth Field again felt haunted for the Saint John's football team.
After jumping out to an early 17-0 lead over Gustavus on the Gusties' home turf, a pair of costly second-quarter turnovers brought the host team back into the game.
But unlike two years ago, when mistakes and missed opportunities in the same location resulted in a disappointing three-point loss, the Johnnies were able to shake off their demons this time around - pulling away in the second half to down Gustavus 31-13 in MIAC action.
"I wouldn't say we were thinking about two years ago," said All-American senior wide receiver Dylan Wheeler (St. Paul, Minn./Mounds View), whose 11-yard touchdown catch early in the third quarter helped swing the momentum back in his team's favor. "We had a couple things that didn't go our way today. But this team is really resilient. We have a lot of guys who want to prove themselves, and I think we showed some of the mental toughness we built up over the offseason.
"When things don't go your way, you have to rally together. You can't think about anything but the next play. Just keep moving forward and make corrections. Don't think about anything negative. That's the approach we took today and it worked out."
The Johnnies (7-1, 6-1 MIAC) - ranked No. 10 in the most recent American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division III national poll - started strong, scoring on their opening possession when junior quarterback Trey Feeney (Moorhead, Minn.) dished off a short push pass to sophomore wide receiver Carson Hegerle (West Fargo, N.D.) for a 1-yard touchdown that put SJU on top 7-0.
Then it was the defense's turn to get on the scoreboard later in the first quarter. Senior defensive back Blake Simonson (Waconia, Minn.) picked off a pass from Gustie sophomore Dylan Blount and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown to expand the Johnnies' lead to 14.
It was Simonson's third collegiate interception and his first touchdown. In fact, it marked the first time he'd reached the end zone since he was a sophomore wide receiver on the junior varsity at Waconia High School.
"I just got an out route and I jumped it," Simonson said. "There was an open lane to the end zone and I took it."
A 38-yard field goal by junior kicker Matt Hansen (Longmont, Colo./Niwot) in the second quarter made the score 17-0.
And then the wheels began to come off.
The Johnnies fumbled on two-straight offensive possessions, setting up a pair of Gustavus scores. The first fumble, which the Gusties (3-5, 3-4 MIAC) recovered at the SJU 31-yard line, resulted in a 22-yard field goal by senior kicker Owen Forsythe. The next, which was recovered at the Johnnies' 43, led to a 2-yard touchdown pass from Blount to junior Jordan Wold on a drive also aided by a third-down pass interference call against SJU.
And just like that, Gustavus only trailed 17-10 at halftime.
"We have to protect the football," Johnnies head coach Gary Fasching '81 said. "That's the No. 1 thing we talk about all the time. We cannot turn the football over. We didn't do a good job of taking care of the football in the first half and it cost us."
But Simonson said his team didn't let the setbacks get them spooked.
"Being only up seven going into half wasn't something we expected to happen," he said. "But the message was 'It's a close game, but we're winning and we didn't even play that great.' We knew if we came back out and started playing our game again, we were going to be able to close this one out."
Which is what happened.
SJU was forced to punt the first time it had the ball in the third quarter. But the second time around, the Johnnies marched 70 yards in six plays to score on Feeney's 11-yard scoring strike to Wheeler, expanding their lead to 24-10.
"I thought we put together a really good drive," said Wheeler, who finished with 11 catches for a season-best 128 yards, marking his fourth 100-yard receiving performance in the past five games. "A bunch of guys made plays and the line protected really well. That's the way our offense is meant to play.
"It was great to be able to execute," he added. "Because we hadn't executed super well up until that point."
The Gusties cut the gap to 24-13 on a 21-yard field goal by Forsythe late in the second quarter. But the Johnnies put the game away with a 17-play, 53-yard drive that mixed short passes with an effective running game to run 9:26 off the clock in the fourth quarter.
Hegerle capped it off with a 4-yard touchdown catch on fourth down with 3:34 remaining, marking his second touchdown of the day and third in the past two games.
Feeney, meanwhile, finished with 291 yards passing and three touchdowns.
"I'm so proud of the way our guys came back in the second half," Fasching said. "The defense was really stout and we made just enough plays offensively. It wasn't our best game, but we found a way to come out on top."
The Johnnies finished with just 63 yards rushing, but much of that total came at crucial times in the second half - led by sophomore running back Maverick Harper (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial). He finished with 41 yards to lead the way on an afternoon when senior running back Caden Wheeler (Andover, Minn.) left the game with an ankle injury in the first half and sophomore Wyatt McCabe (Mayer, Minn./Watertown-Mayer) was also in and out banged up.
"I was especially pleased with the way we ran the football," Fasching said. "When we needed to run the ball, we did. I thought Maverick Harper did a really great job. He's been moving up the ladder the past couple of weeks and he made plays when we needed them."
No. 699
Saturday's win was the 699th for the Saint John's football program, which already leads Division III in winning percentage (.724, 699-259-24). The Johnnies are just one win shy of 700 and 49 wins shy of Division I Minnesota, despite playing 28 fewer seasons.
Wheeling 100
The 128-yard performance marked the 14th time Wheeler has eclipsed 100 receiving yards. He is one game behind Chris Palmer '95 for second. Blake Elliott '03 owns the record with 22 100-yard receiving games. He also passed now-coach Josh Bungum '15 (2,676) for fourth in program history with 2,775 career receiving yards and Adam Herbst '99 (207) for third with 210 receptions.
31-13
Saturday's score of 39-13 was the fourth of its kind for the Johnnies and third on the road. SJU is 4-0 in all four scores of its kind, three of which have been on the road. The last score of 31-13 was at Carleton – this time the day before Halloween – on Oct. 30, 2010.
Reset the Streak
The Johnnies are now 55-33-3 against Gustavus Adolphus on the football field and 23-21-2 on the road. The win reset the record in St. Peter after GAC claimed a 38-35 victory at home in 2023. SJU has now won 35 of the last 38 meetings overall.
A Noon Start on Nov. 8
Starting next week (Nov. 8), game times for contests played after Daylight Savings Time ends will kick off at noon (previously 1 p.m.). This change was adopted by MIAC membership to match the NCAA Playoffs' start time and provide teams with an extra hour of sunlight for late-season games. Teams may elect to kick off later if playing at a venue with game-appropriate lights. Next Saturday's game vs. St. Scholastica in Collegeville will kickoff at noon, as well as the regular-season finale vs. St. Olaf on Nov. 15.
