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ST. PAUL, Minn. – Saint John's forced seven turnovers and amassed 504 yards of offense to earn a 61-0 shutout of Hamline in the 2011 season finale on Saturday, Nov. 12, in St. Paul.
Sophomore quarterback Connor Bruns (Baltimore, Md./Loyola Blakefield) threw for 183 yards and three touchdowns, and added 24 yards and two more scores on the ground.
Junior cornerback Bobby Fischer (Plymouth, Minn./Osseo) intercepted three passes, the most by a Johnnie in a game since 2003 (four by Paul Gans vs. Augsburg), to finish with seven total for the season.
SJU (6-4, 5-3 MIAC) cruised to an early 7-0 lead with a four-play, 61-yard scoring drive that ended on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Bruns to junior tight end Taylor Freetly (Kerkhoven, Minn./Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg) 4:43 into the game.
The Johnnies exploded for 34 points in the second quarter to take a 41-0 lead at the half. The 34 points in a single quarter are the most since SJU recorded 35 second-quarter points in the 62-9 win over St. Olaf on Oct. 29, 2005, in Collegeville.
Senior Brent Graboski (Woodbury, Minn.) caught a four-yard touchdown pass from junior running back Harry Awe (St. Paul, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) on fourth-and-goal to give SJU a 14-0 lead 1:42 into the second quarter. The touchdown pass was the third for Awe on the season and fourth of his career (six of seven passing for 151 yards in his career).
Bruns connected with junior tight end Wade Powers (Hawick, Minn./New London-Spicer) for a 25-yard touchdown pass on the Johnnies' next drive to take a 21-0 lead.
Senior defensive back Andrew Rotschafer (Eden Prairie, Minn.) forced and recovered a fumble on Hamline's first offensive play on the ensuing drive to give SJU the ball back on the Hamline 36. Bruns took it over from two yards out nine plays later to give the Johnnies a 27-0 lead. A fumble on the hold wasted the PAT attempt.
Like Rotschafer, senior defensive back Lukas Inveiss (Sartell, Minn./Sartell-St. Stephen) forced and recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff to give the ball back to SJU on the Pipers' 20. Bruns hit Freetly for a 20-yard touchdown pass two plays later.
SJU forced a three-and-out and Bruns scampered for a 12-yard touchdown to end the Johnnies' first-half scoring.
Both teams exchanged a pair of punts before junior quarterback John Ries (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) led SJU on an 11-play, 61-yard scoring drive that ended on an 11-yard touchdown run from Awe.
Fischer intercepted his third pass of the game and returned it 40 yards to the Hamline 15 to end the third quarter. Sophomore Jake Essler (New London, Minn./New London-Spicer) scored his first collegiate touchdown from one yard out five plays later. Fischer returned his three picks for a total of 99 yards on the afternoon.
Sophomore Nolan Lortz (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech) tallied his first collegiate interception in the Pipers' next drive. SJU put together a 17-play, 84-yard scoring drive that ate up nearly eight minutes of the fourth quarter. Sophomore Colin Moynihan (Edina, Minn.) scored from four yards out with just over four minutes remaining.
Junior Stephen Johnson (Mahtomedi, Minn.) led the Johnnies' ground game with 51 yards on 15 carries, while sophomore quarterback Ben Krebsbach (Plymouth, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) added 49 yards on five attempts. SJU's three quarterbacks combined for an 18 of 32 day passing for 252 yards and four touchdowns. Freetly ended with 87 yards and two scores on four catches.
The Johnnies collected nine tackles for loss and six sacks in the game. Freshman linebacker Maze Thompson (Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) led the squad with six tackles (four solo), including two tackles for loss and two sacks.
Hamline (0-10, 0-8 MIAC) gained 22 yards on 28 carries in the game. Quarterback Adam Meyer ended the day nine of 18 passing for 78 yards. Both he and Connor Sathre threw two interceptions apiece.
SJU posted 31 first downs to the Pipers' eight, and totaled a balanced 248 yards rushing and 256 yards through the air. The Johnnies converted 10 of their 16 third-down opportunities and each of their three on fourth down.
With the win, SJU head coach John Gagliardi ends his 63rd season as a collegiate coach with a 484-133-11 (.779) career record, including a 460-127-10 (.779) record in 59 seasons at SJU.
Notes: The 61 points scored are the most for the Johnnies since the 62-7 win against Augsburg on Sept. 15, 2007, in Collegeville…the last time SJU posted 60 or more points on the road was Sept. 16, 2006, at Augsburg (60-0)…Fischer's seven interceptions on the year are the most since Jeremy Goltz and Jason Pflipsen posted 10 interceptions each in 2002's 14 games…the shutout is the 103rd of Gagliardi's 59-year tenure at SJU.
