October 23, 1999
Saint John's 20, at Hamline 3
Listen to the archived radio broadcast 
10/28/99 - The SJU Record article
St. Paul, Minn. -- Saint John’s University remained in a first-place tie in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title race with a 20-3 win over Hamline on Saturday, Oct. 23, at Norton Stadium in St. Paul, Minn. The Johnnies received a career-best performance from senior quarterback Corey Stanger, Becker, who threw for 290 yards and rushed for two touchdowns. The SJU defense continued to play well, allowing only a late first-half field goal in the game.
SJU opened the scoring on a one-yard run by Stanger with 12:16 left in the first quarter. SJU junior Andy Hover, St. Paul, recovered a fumble as Hamline fumbled the opening kickoff. Seven plays later Stanger scored for the Johnnies to give them a 7-0 lead.
Hamline put its only points of the game on the scoreboard with one second left in the first half on a 40-yard field goal by senior Steve Koehn, Paynesville.
SJU increased its lead in the third quarter when Stanger hooked up with senior Ben Sieben, Melrose, on a 38-yard touchdown pass and a 14-3 lead for the Johnnies.
As the SJU defense continued to play well throughout the game, SJU put the final points of the game on the scoreboard with 2:46 left in the game on a 15-yard touchdown run by Stanger. The extra point was blocked and the final score ended up 20-3 in favor of SJU.
SJU out gained the Pipers in total offense, 433 yards to 226 yards. Stanger, besides the two touchdowns rushing, threw for 290 yards on 22-for-35 passing. Stanger had one interception. Sophomore Jeff Radel, Redwood Falls, rushed for 68 yards on 19 carries. Sieben caught seven passes for 117 yards and one touchdown. Junior Nate Kirschner, Mora, caught eight passes for 81 yards. The SJU defense has not allowed a touchdown in 10 consecutive quarters, dating back to the first half of the Oct. 9 game at Bethel.
Hamline junior quarterback Tim Couchman, St. Paul, was 11-for-23 passing for 143 yards and two interceptions. Sophomore running back Joey Kvamme, Warren, rushed the ball 19 times for only 32 yards. Sophomore wide receiver Luke Wright, Faribault, caught six passes for 77 yards.
SJU improves to 6-1 overall and 5-1 in the MIAC. SJU, ranked 19th in the latest AFCA Div. III poll, is currently tied for the top spot in the MIAC standings with Concordia-Moorhead and St. Thomas. Hamlien drops to 1-6 overall and 0-6 in the MIAC.
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Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
----------------- -- -- -- -- -----
Saint John's........ 7 0 7 6 - 20 Record: (6-1,5-1)
Hamline............. 0 3 0 0 - 3 Record: (1-6,0-6)
S 1 12:16 Corey Stanger 1 run, Joe Rotondi kick 7 plays-26 yards
H 2 00:01 Steve Koehn 40 field goal 3 plays-19 yards
S 3 12:24 Ben Sieben 38 pass from Corey Stanger, Joe Rotondi kick 7 plays-82 yards
S 4 02:46 Corey Stanger 15 run, Joe Rotondi kick blocked 8 plays-77 yards
SJU HU
FIRST DOWNS................... 22 15
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 50-143 38-83
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 290 143
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 35-22-1 23-11-2
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 85-433 61-226
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 1-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............ 2-5 1-5
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 2-23 4-69
Interception Returns-Yards.... 2-0 1-0
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 5-43.4 4-37.3
Fumbles-Lost.................. 1-0 1-1
Penalties-Yards............... 9-95 0-0
Possession Time............... 35:35 24:25
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 2-11 3-9
RUSHING: Saint John's-Jeff Radel 19-68, Andy Landkammer 10-31, Aaron
Krych 5-22, Corey Stanger 16-22. Hamline-Brandon Swenson 6-33, Joey Kvamme
19-32, Tim Couchman 9-10, Brian Swanson 4-8.
PASSING: Saint John's-Corey Stanger 22-35-1-290. Hamline-Tim Couchman
11-23-2-143.
RECEIVING: Saint John's-Nate Kirschner 8-81, Ben Sieben 7-117, Aaron
Krych 3-70, Jeremy Forsell 2-16, Steve Lynch 1-7, Andy Landkammer 1-0.
Hamline-Luke Wright 6-77, Brian Swanson 2-26, Aaron Danielson 2-16, Mike
Yankee 1-25.
INTERCEPTIONS: Saint John's-Brandon Novak 1-0, Marc Jerzak 1-0.
Hamline-Justin Werner 1-0.
Stadium: Norton Stadium Attendance: 1000
Kickoff time: 1 pm End of Game: 3:35 pm Total elapsed time: 2:35
Officials:
Temperature: 40's Wind: Light Weather: Sunny and Cold
SACKS (UA-A): Saint John's-Brian Zirbes 1-0, Tim Pahula 1-0. Hamline-None. TACKLES (UA-A): Saint John's-Brian Zirbes 4-6, Beau LaBore 2-7, Tim Pahula 3-4, Alex Wesley 3-4, Will Gibson 3-3, Brandon Novak 2-3, Marc Jerzak 2-3, Phil Barry 3-1, Eric Serbus 2-2, Grady McGovern 3-0, Phil Trier 1-2, Andy Hover 0-2, Jason Bailey 1-0, Zach McBroom 0-1. Hamline-None.