Box Score

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – It took the Saint John's offense a bit to get rolling Saturday afternoon.

But once it did, senior tight end Joey Gendreau (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) and senior running back Caden Wheeler (Andover, Minn.) helped make sure the Johnnies kept their feet on the accelerator.

Gendreau, a preseason All-American, had eight catches for 124 yards and two touchdowns, while Wheeler carried the ball eight times for 81 yards and two more scores, as Saint John's - ranked as high as No. 4 nationally - rolled past Minnesota-Morris 49-0 in its season opener before a crowd of 8,759 at a sunny and warm Clemens Stadium.

"It felt good to be out there again," Gendreau said. "It's the first game and you're always going to have some bumps and hiccups. But once we got going, we were firing on all cylinders."

The Johnnies lost four-year starting quarterback Aaron Syverson '24, the MIAC's all-time leader in both passing yardage and touchdown passes, to graduation. The top two candidates to replace him each saw extensive action Saturday. 

Junior Trey Feeney (Moorhead, Minn.), a transfer from FCS North Dakota, finished 12 of 13 passing for 141 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Zander Dittbenner (Mankato, Minn./West) was 7 of 10 for 138 yards and one touchdown.

"We feel really confident in both those guys," Wheeler said. "No matter who was in there, we knew they'd be able to succeed and get our offense moving."



Afterward, head coach Gary Fasching '81 said it was too soon to say if one guy separated himself from the other.

"Without looking at it on film, it's hard," said Fasching, who is now a perfect 12-0 in season openers since taking over as head coach in 2013. "I thought they both played pretty well. They each threw the ball well. They made good decisions. I think they both had good games."

The Johnnies came out of the gate a touch slow, picking up a pair of first downs before having to punt the ball away at their own 49 on their first offensive possession.

But they broke through on series No. 2, taking a 7-0 lead on a 3-yard Wheeler touchdown run on the final play of the first quarter. That was followed by a 20-yard touchdown run by junior Corey Bohmert (Mahtomedi, Minn.), who finished the day with five carries for 73 yards.

"Corey's a great running back," Wheeler said. "We make a great 1-2 punch. I'd call it more of a 1-1 punch actually. Both of us are very talented players and it's just fun to be out there sharing the field with him."

Feeney and Gendreau connected on an 8-yard touchdown pass midway through the second quarter that put SJU on top 21-0 at halftime. Then Gendreau and Dittbenner linked up on a 35-yard scoring strike on the opening drive of the second half.

From there, it was the defense's time to shine. Junior linebacker Aiden McMahon (Maple Grove, Minn.) forced and recovered a fumble at the Cougars' 43-yard line to set up a 1-yard touchdown pass from Feeney to senior preseason All-American Dylan Wheeler (St. Paul, Minn./Mounds View). 

Just two plays later, senior defensive back Jack St. Fleur (San Diego, Calif./Christian Unified) picked off a pass and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown.

"That's something we've been emphasizing all fall camp," said St. Fleur, who had the first SJU interception return for a touchdown since a 50-yarder from now-graduated linebacker Cooper Yaggie '25 in a 55-6 win over St. Olaf last season.

"Making sure we fly around, get to the ball and make plays. I thought we did a really good job of doing that today."

In all, the Johnnies - who finished with 488 yards of total offense - held Minnesota-Morris (0-2 overall) to just 124. The Cougars managed just nine first downs and SJU recorded three quarterback sacks.

"Our goal going into the game was exactly what happened," said senior preseason All-American defensive lineman Zach Frank (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial), who had 1.5 of those sacks. "To get a shutout and we delivered. It felt great do that."

Caden Wheeler then closed out the scoring for the Johnnies with a 9-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter. The Cougars had a pair of scoring chances late but turned the ball over on downs at the SJU 11 and 6-yard lines.

"Our guys played really well offensively and defensively," said Gendreau, whose team opens MIAC play at Hamline at 1 p.m. next Saturday (Sept. 20) in St. Paul. "We had a few troubles early on, but we smoothed those out. 

"I think you saw the tip of the iceberg of a really good team that's about to emerge over the next few weeks."

Joey for 100
The 100-yard receiving game was the first for Gendreau, who moved into fourth place on SJU's tight ends list with 100 career receptions and is fifth in receiving yards (1,300) and receiving touchdowns (13).

A Season-Opening Shutout
Saturday's shutout is the 193rd in program history, the 24th in 131 games under Fasching and the 34th for SJU in its season opener.

49-0
The 49-0 victory is the 10th in SJU's history and the first since…the 2024 season-opening win over Carthage (Wis.). Last year's opener featured one punt by SJU that covered 39 yards. Today, the Johnnies punted once for 39 yards.

Back in the Red
Today's meeting was the first for SJU and Minnesota-Morris on the football field since 1977 (a 16-3 home win for Morris). SJU now leads the series, 3-2-1.



Elliott Honored at Halftime
SJU and the National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame honor 2025 College Football Hall of Fame electee Blake Elliott '03 with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments®, at halftime of today's game. A 2019 inductee into the SJU J-Club's Hall of Honor, Elliott joins his head coach, SJU's legendary John Gagliardi in the College Football Hall of Fame. Gagliardi, who was inducted in 2006, is college football's all-time wins leader and the namesake of the Gagliardi Trophy, presented annually to the top player in NCAA Division III. Elliott is the first College Football Hall of Fame inductee from the Division III level since John Carroll linebacker London Fletcher – a 16-year veteran of the NFL – earned the honor in 2019. 

The 2025 NFF College Football Hall of Fame Class will be officially inducted during the National Football Foundation's 67th Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Tuesday, Dec. 9 at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. 

The Melrose, Minn. native ended his career with three NCAA playoff records, two MIAC records and 29 SJU receiving records. Elliott, who was also a finalist for the Gagliardi Trophy in 2002, was invited to play in both the AFCA Aztec Bowl and Hula Bowl following the 2003 season. His NCAA all-divisions record for consecutive games played with a reception (47) was not broken until 2008. He finished his career second all-time in all NCAA divisions in catches (327) and second in NCAA Division III in touchdown receptions (56).

Elliott posted 369 receptions for 4,826 yards and 63 touchdowns in his career, as well as rushing for 744 yards and eight touchdowns on 109 carries (prior to the 2002 season, the NCAA did not recognize playoff-game stats in season or career totals). Elliott was just as dangerous on special teams, totaling 3,065 yards and seven touchdowns on 195 returns, kickoff and punt combined.