St. John’s football to play in MIAC Championship

The St. John’s football team trounced St. Olaf this past Saturday 55-6 in what was the Johnnies’ last regular season game. Quarterback Aaron Syverson threw for 438 yards and six touchdowns, three to Marselio Mendez (nine receptions, 180 yards) and three to Dylan Wheeler (seven receptions, 158 yards).

Senior linebacker Cooper Yaggie, who led the Johnnie defense in tackles this past Saturday with eight, had good things to say about the past matchup against St. Olaf.

“I feel like as a defense we played a good game, but in the end, we weren’t very happy with giving up six points,” Yaggie said. “That says a lot about how far we have come as a unit. The guys flew around with a purpose and overall, we had high energy the whole game.”

Junior tight end Joey Gendreau, who recorded three receptions for 47 yards against St. Olaf, had similar compliments for his team.

“It would be really easy to not prepare as well for teams we know we can handle,” Gendreau said. “I was impressed with us being able to lock it in and still play to a high level. A sign of a good team is a team that can come out and consistently do the right things.”

The Johnnies now move on to the MIAC Championship game this weekend versus Bethel, a team they beat back in late September 45-20. Head coach Gary Fasching had some thoughts about the rematch with Bethel.

“They are a much better football team than the one we played in September,” Fasching said via email. “Our offense will need to move the ball against one of the best defenses in the country. On defense, we will need to continue to play great football.”

Gendreau added that the preparation throughout the week will be crucial to handling Bethel once again.

“Our week of practice this week is going to be crucial,” Gendreau said. “We must stay locked in during practice. We have a good record of taking care of business against Bethel, so we just have to keep doing it.”

Yaggie went further by adding a few keys to stopping the Bethel offense, which is led by quarterback Cooper Drews. Drews has thrown for 2,541 yards and 33 touchdowns so far this season. However, the Johnnie defense got to him back in week three, which led to four interceptions thrown by Drews.

“We thought we didn’t play well that game, so we can fix those mistakes and play a little better this time around,” Yaggie said. “Cooper Drews has been chucking it around well and we need to stop their two main receivers. We stop those two and that is ninety percent of their offense.”

Whether the Johnnies win or lose on Saturday, they are likely to make the national playoffs due to their high ranking. A win in the championship would help solidify the Johnnies as one of the top teams in Division III. However, Coach Fasching preached to not look ahead of what is directly in front of you, especially this time of year.

“We take each week one at a time,” Fasching said. “Our focus is on this week and this game against Bethel.”

The Johnnies bring an undefeated record into the game this weekend, and Yaggie believes there is a reason why they have done so well.

“I feel like, being a senior this year, this group has come in with a different mentality than in years prior,” Yaggie said. “We are all trying to do the best we can, and we want there to be a lot of season left after Saturday.”

Gendreau cited some on-the-field keys for the offense as they move into the MIAC Championship and the playoffs beyond that.

“We just got to keep making plays,” Gendreau said. “They are going to start honing in on Dylan [Wheeler] and that is great for guys like Marselio [Mendez] and myself. The next guy must be ready to step up and make plays.”

Big games in any sport can come down to a variety of factors, such as making plays on offense, but Yaggie also added that the fans are key to helping the Johnnies win the MIAC championship and the playoff games beyond that.

“I hope everyone really shows up,” Yaggie said. “I feel like showing up to this game is huge not only for us but for them to fully enjoy this year.”