Strong defense leads the Johnnies to a win

The SJU football team continued their winning ways this season, beating Gustavus 41-27 on Oct. 22 in Collegeville during family weekend.

On Oct. 15, SJU’s offense erupted, scoring seven touchdowns and defeating St. Olaf 49-10. Junior quarterback Aaron Syverson connected on 26 of his 40 throws, throwing for 356 yards and five touchdowns. Syverson’s favorite receiver that day, senior wide receiver Nick VanErp, caught eight passes for 141 yards and a touchdown.

On Oct. 22, the fifth-ranked Johnnies got on the board early when sophomore linebacker Cooper Yaggie recorded his first collegiate sack and knocked the ball away from Gustavus quarterback George Sandven. That’s when senior defensive lineman Metoriah Faoliu scooped the ball up and returned it 35 yards for the Johnnies’ first touchdown of the game. The fumble return was the first SJU touchdown by a defensive lineman since 2007, when David Burns returned an interception for 89 yards.

“I felt super excited about the score on the fumble recovery because it was family weekend and my whole family came down for the game,” Faoliu said. “I thought I was going to get tackled. But I didn’t, so I just kept running and eventually I was in the endzone. I celebrated with the fans and with my teammates after I scored. I’m definitely going to remember this moment forever.”

Gustavus would respond however, going 58 yards on eight plays capped off by a 19-yard touchdown pass. The rest of the first half went back and forth, and a 34-yard field goal from sophomore Conor Murphy proved to be the difference at halftime when the Johnnies led the Gusties 24-21.

“I thought the offense played pretty well,” Syverson said. “I’d say it was the most balanced game we’ve played in terms of running and passing.”

The second half belonged to SJU, the defense especially. The Johnnie offense was able to put 17 points on the board in the second half thanks in part to senior tight end Alex Larson, who reeled in four and six-yard touchdown passes from Syverson. Murphy connected on a 24-yard field goal kick to add a three-point cushion to the Johnnies’ lead.

The defensive side of the ball is where the Johnnies really stood out in the second half. Gustavus scored their only points of the half after they gained excellent field position thanks to a Johnnie muffed punt and subsequently scored a touchdown. The Gusties’ second half consisted of six offensive possessions, which resulted in just 16 plays for 12 yards. The Johnnie defense collected four three-and-outs and an interception to shut down the Gustavus offense, who leads the MIAC in passing yards with 322 per game.

“We knew that Gustavus was a very good football team,” head coach Gary Fasching said. “They have a lot of talented players, especially on the offensive side of the football. We struggled defensively in the first half but made some adjustments at halftime, and our defense was very good in the second half…I thought our offense played well throughout the game. We ran the ball well and passed it very well also. Our kicking game was excellent. All in all, it was a very good win against a quality opponent.”

The Johnnies look to stay undefeated in the Northwoods league when they head to Duluth this Saturday, Oct. 29, to take on St. Scholastica. Junior running back Tony Underwood, who had a career-high in catches (7) and receiving yards (69) last Saturday, said they will prepare for St. Scholastica just like they would for any other game.

“We’ll practice hard this week and make some adjustments to improve. For the rest of the season, we’ll take it week by week and do everything we can to win games,” Underwood said.