- The Record Archives
- Volume CXVIII, No. XXI - November 17, 2005 -
SJU prepares to play loaded West Region
After a MIAC title, Johnnies move on to challenging region
Staff writer
This past Saturday the St. John's football team wrapped up its 28th MIAC championship in style.
The Johnnies (8-0 MIAC, 10-0 overall) beat conference rival St. Thomas 48-14 in St. Paul, capping a three-game span in which the Johnnies outscored its opponents 157 to 39.
"We wanted to continue our momentum (against St. Thomas) and not have a loss going into the playoffs," said sophomore tight end Brett Saladin, who caught three passes for 34 yards against the Tommies.
St. John's scored twice in the first quarter and took a 13-0 lead.
The Johnnies opened scoring on a 28-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Alex Kofoed to junior receiver Kyle Gearman.
Sophomore running back Craig Luberts added a 33-yard touchdown and senior running back Corey Weber scored on runs of 2 and 14 yards.
Weber finished the regular season with 15 rushing scores, tied for first in the MIAC.
Kofoed wrapped up the first-half scoring with a touchdown run from 7 yards out.
In the second half, the Johnnies finished off the rout with two more scores in the second half. Junior receiver Brandon Royce-Diop had a 20-yard reception for a touchdown, and Chase Beaudry topped it off with an 11-yard TD run.
"Our offensive line was able to step up and take care of everything, take control from the beginning," said Saladin, who also credited a defense that intercepted St. Thomas quarterback David Sauer three times. "The defense helped out a lot and took some of the pressure off of the offense by giving us [the offense] great field position."
St. John's now prepares for its first-round playoff game against Monmouth, Ill. The Johnnies, ranked No. 2 nationally, earned a third seed in the eight-team West Region playoffs, which will be played at noon this Saturday at Clemens Stadium.
It's a region loaded with talented teams, highlighted by the defending national champions and No. 1 team in the nation, Linfield, Ore.
"There's nothing we can do about the rankings, sooner or later you have to beat everyone," assistant coach Jim Gagliardi said. "We just know that we don't have to play St. John's."
Monmouth touts a 10-0 record as well as a top-ranked quarterback in 6-foot-3 Mitch Tanney. The senior has passed for 2,469 yards and 33 touchdowns this season, including 13 to junior receiver Evan Haffner.
Haffner had 65 receptions for the season.
"Tanney is a good quarterback," St. John's defensive coordinator Jerry Haugen said. "He has good size, a strong arm, a quick release and can move around and run if needed. He makes good decisions and doesn't seem to force too many passes."
St. John's hopes to force Tanney to make some bad decisions, however, by putting pressure on him.
Defensively, Monmouth is led by senior linebacker Justin Zigler and junior linebacker Jason Goldsworthy. Zigler led the team with 113 total tackles and four fumble recoveries.
"We aren't looking to change too much for the game offensively," Gagliardi said. "Our offense has seen a lot this year and hopefully anything they can throw at us we can handle."