Box Score
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – There was something for everyone as the Saint John's football team rolled past Augsburg 72-0 Saturday at a rainy and gray Edor Nelson Field.
The Johnnies (3-0, 2-0 MIAC) - ranked No. 5 in both the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and D3football.com national polls - got a pair of touchdowns on special teams and had two more set up by interceptions, all while piling up 569 yards of total offense and allowing the Auggies (1-2, 1-1 MIAC) just 108.
It marked SJU's second-straight shutout and the second-straight week the Johnnies have scored over 70 points.
"This is exactly the kind of game we wanted to see," said senior wide receiver
Sam Nolan (Lakeville, Minn./North), who had touchdown catches of 2 and 7 yards in the first quarter. "The special teams and defense both played great today. They got us a ton of short fields to work with on offense and we did what we were supposed to do.
"It was great to see that going into a big game next week."
Indeed, SJU now turns its attention to a key MIAC showdown with Bethel, ranked as high as No. 8 by the AFCA, scheduled for 1 p.m. next Saturday (Oct. 3) at Clemens Stadium.
"Everybody is super excited," said junior defensive end
Charlie King (Faribault, Minn./Bethlehem Academy), who fell on the ball in the end zone for a first-quarter touchdown after freshman safety
Isaiah Kelly (Eden Prairie, Minn.) blocked a low-angled Augsburg punt. "We're going to have a big crowd and it's the biggest game on our schedule so far in MIAC play.
"We're already chomping at the bit to get out there and play."
King's touchdown was the second SJU special-teams score of the first quarter. The Johnnies started the game with a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by sophomore wideout
Griffin Murray (Jordan, Minn./Holy Family Catholic), marking the first time an SJU player has accomplished that feat since 2016.
"I wasn't expecting to do that on the first play of the game, but the boys got the blocks and it was wide-open," said Murray, who returned a kickoff for a touchdown as a senior at Holy Family High School, but had yet to do it at the collegiate level. "I didn't get touched, and from there, I just took it all the way down the (Augsburg) sideline."
The special teams also kept the Auggies off the board in the closing moments of the first half, blocking a 38-yard field goal attempt to assure the Johnnies remained on top 49-0 at halftime.
"We expect guys to make plays like that on special teams and they did today," SJU head coach
Gary Fasching said. "We work really hard on that stuff in practice and it was nice to see it come to fruition. To get a touchdown on the first play of the game really set the tone and got us going right away."
Meanwhile, Kelly and junior safety
Will Peroutka (Rosemount, Minn.) each picked off passes in the first half - setting up the 7-yard scoring strike to Nolan and a short-middle pass that sophomore tight end
Tanner Davis (Minnetrista, Minn./Holy Family Catholic) took 10 yards for a touchdown early in the second quarter. Davis led the Johnnies with five receptions for 121 yards.
The Johnnies held Augsburg to just five first downs and only 13 yards rushing, while recording four sacks. Senior linebacker
Andrew Molenaar (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) led the way with eight tackles. Peroutka finished with six.
"There's always some things in every game you can find to work on," said King, who had a pair of tackles. "But I think we were clicking pretty well today in all facets of the game."
Including on offense where senior quarterback
Trey Feeney (Moorhead, Minn.) finished 24 of 34 passing for 268 yards and four touchdowns before exiting the game early in the third quarter. SJU averaged 7.9 yards-per-play and is averaging an MIAC-best 57.7 points-per-game through the season's first three matchups.
Just where a team wants to be heading into a big conference matchup like the one with the Royals next week.
"We have some momentum, but we need to keep building on that," Nolan said. "We're going to be smart about our recovery on Sunday and Monday and stay extra-focused all week in practice. We know Bethel is a great team and we'll have our hands full.
"It's a big game with big playoff implications and we'll come out ready to go."
93 Yards to the House
Murray's kick return for a touchdown was the Johnnies' first since Evan Clark's 82-yard sprint on Nov. 19, 2016, in the Johnnies' 32-31 win over Wisconsin-Platteville in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.
Saturday's 93-yard sprint, which is tied for the fifth-longest kick return in program history, was also the first for a touchdown on the opening kickoff since assistant coach
Josh Bungum started SJU's eventual 56-0 win at Carleton on Oct. 24, 2015, with a 96-yard score. Bungum followed that with an 80-yard touchdown reception 3:33 later and closed the first quarter with a 49-yard touchdown catch.
Blocked Punt for a Score
SJU's last touchdown on a blocked punt was an eight-yard return from defensive back Jake Engelken on Oct. 15, 2016 vs. Carleton. The last time the Johnnies recovered a blocked punt in the end zone was a week prior on Oct. 8, 2016, at Augsburg (running back Dusty Krueger).
Safety
The third-quarter safety was the first for the Johnnies since they recorded two in the season-opening, 24-10 win over Wisconsin-Whitewater on Sept. 3, 2022, in Collegeville.
1989
The last time SJU recorded a kick return for a touchdown and a safety in the same game occurred eight seconds apart Sept. 30, 1989…against Augsburg. After the Auggies erased the shutout on a touchdown pass with 14:53 remaining in the game, Craig Hawley returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards for the score. Augsburg was flagged for a personal foul on the play and SJU kicked off from the 50-yard line. Augsburg's returner muffed the catch, picked up the ball on the 3-yard line and was caught in the end zone by several Johnnies for the safety in an eventual 54-6 win.
Another Shutout
Saturday's shutout was the 198th in program history and the 29th in 145 games (20 percent) during Fasching's tenure as head coach. The 72-0 victory was also the Johnnies' second-consecutive shutout of Augsburg, the fifth in the last eight meetings with the Auggies and their 24th in the series (76-9-2 record in favor of SJU).
No Scorigami
Saturday's 72-0 win was the second of its kind in SJU football history. The other? A 72-0 win over Park Region almost 100 years ago to the date. Park Region Luther College was a small junior college located in Fergus Falls (Minn.) that closed in 1932 after merging academic programs with Concordia-Moorhead. In that 72-0 victory, the Johnnies scored 11 total touchdowns from five different players and connected on five extra points. SJU has played in 22 games in which a team has scored 70 points or more. Only one of those is a loss – an 82-0 defeat at the hands of St. Olaf on Oct. 25, 1930. SJU has won 21 games while scoring 70 points or more, including two games last season.
