Box Score

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – 70 for 700.
 
Those were the numbers that counted most for Saint John's junior Trey Feeney and his teammates Saturday afternoon.
 
Feeney threw for 294 yards and five touchdowns before exiting the game at halftime as the Johnnies - ranked as high as No. 9 in the latest American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) national poll - rolled past St. Scholastica 70-21 in MIAC action at a chilly and overcast Clemens Stadium.
 
The victory was the 700th in program history, making SJU (8-1, 7-1 MIAC) just the 56th program at any level of college football to reach that milestone. 
 
Feeney - who transferred to Saint John's from FCS North Dakota prior to this season - said that is impressive company to be in.
 
"It speaks to the tradition of this program and the history of greatness here," said Feeney, who ranks second in the MIAC in passing yardage despite splitting time with senior Zander Dittbenner (Mankato, Minn./West) for the first half of the season.
 
"I've heard all the stories about the great tradition (former head coach) John Gagliardi helped get started here. Now (current head coach) Gary (Fasching) is keeping this thing going. 
 
"Being part of that is one of the reasons I wanted to come here."
 
The Johnnies now boast an all-time record of 700-259-24. Only the Division I University of Minnesota - which has played 28 additional seasons - has more victories among all programs in the state. 
 
SJU's all-time winning percentage of .724 is the best at the Division III level.
 
"It's just an honor to be part of the legacy we have here," said All-American senior tight end Joey Gendreau (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka), who had eight catches for 97 yards and a touchdown Saturday. "This is a legendary program and we're all trying to do our best in the four years we have here to keep it rolling."


 
SJU was certainly on a roll Saturday. The Johnnies scored touchdowns on all six of their first-half possessions, and got another when sophomore Nolan Dumonceaux (Forest Lake, Minn.) scooped up a muffed punt late in the first quarter and returned it 10 yards for a touchdown.
 
The scoring started on an 8-yard run by sophomore Maverick Harper - one of two rushing touchdowns for the Centennial High School graduate on the afternoon. Then Feeney connected with senior All-American Dylan Wheeler (St. Paul, Minn./Mounds View) on a 14-yard touchdown pass and - after Dumonceaux's touchdown - linked up with Gendreau for a touchdown of 10 yards.
 
From there, it was junior Riley Schwellenbach (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge) who was Feeney's favorite target - scoring on touchdown catches of 3, 13 and 12 yards in the second quarter to put SJU on top 49-0 at halftime. He finished with six catches for 81 yards in all.
 
"Riley was the man today," Feeney said. "He had some opportunities in coverage and he took advantage of them. Not too many people out there are as fast as he is. When he gets the chance, he's going to make plays."
 
"This offense is just a quarterback's dream," he continued. "Especially with the receivers we have. A defense can't double cover everyone. So they have to decide who they're going to leave 1-on-1 and we can exploit that matchup."
 
The Johnnies finished the first half with 363 yards of total offense. The Saints (3-6, 2-6 MIAC) managed just 43.
 
"Offensively in the first half, we were really good," Fasching said. "We moved the ball at will and executed well. I thought our defense did a good job in that first half too. 
 
"Overall, it was a nice win."
 
The St. Scholastica offense did find some rhythm in the second half, scoring three touchdowns to finish with 21 points - the most SJU has surrendered all season.  But the Johnnies - who added second-half scores on touchdown runs by Harper and fellow sophomores Mason Delzer (Spicer, Minn./New London-Spicer) and Logan Eisele (Becker, Minn.) - already had things sewn up well before then.
 
The 21 points, though, was just six fewer than the Saints had scored in seven previous meetings with SJU.
 
"They are a better team than they've been in the past," Fasching said. "I told (Saints head coach Matt) Bremer that afterward. That was an improved football team. They've moved the ball offensively on a lot of teams this season."
 
"We knew coming in they'd be better offensively than they've been in previous seasons," added sophomore linebacker Landon Danner (Rosemount, Minn.), who finished with four tackles - second on his team only to junior linebacker Aiden McMahon's (Maple Grove, Minn.) eight.
 
"But that didn't change our mentality. We knew we had to keep battling for as long as we were in the game. We can't take any game for granted. Ultimately, we came away with the win and that's what matters most."
 
The Johnnies now close out the regular season with a home matchup against St. Olaf at noon next Saturday (Nov. 15).
 
"We're just focusing on ourselves," Feeney said. "We're not worried about anyone else. Our goal is to keep improving every week. It's a playoff mentality every time out. That's the approach we have to take."