Fourth-ranked and reigning MIAC champion, the St. Thomas football team, is scheduled to face off against rival St. John’s this Saturday at Clemens Stadium in Collegeville. With both teams undefeated and ranked in the top 10, there are more than bragging rights on the line. The spirited rivalry, unmatched by any MIAC competitor, began on Thanksgiving Day 1901 at St. Paul’s Lexington Park. St. John’s (3-0 overall, 1-0 MIAC) leads the all-time series, 51-33-1, but fell twice to the Tommies (3-0, 1-0) last year — once in the regular season and once in the second round of playoffs.
Here’s a five-year review of Division-III football’s most storied rivalry.
2011
Third-ranked St. Thomas shook up its rivalry in 2011 with St. John’s, handing the Johnnies its worst loss since 1930. The Tommies emerged victorious for the second year in a row, 63-7 on that Oct. 1 afternoon at O’Shaughnessy Stadium. St. Thomas had an explosive start, leading to a 49-point halftime lead. The game was marked by quarterback Dakota Tracy’s five touchdown passes, three to wide receiver Fritz Waldvogel, brother of current wide receiver, senior Nick Waldvogel. The 2011 squad went on to post-season and made it all the way to the semifinals, where it was crushed by University of Wisconsin-Whitewater 20-0.
2012
Three touchdowns from running back Ryan Toney and two TD passes from quarterback Matt O’Connell propelled sixth-ranked St. Thomas to a 43-21 victory in 2012 over archrival St. John’s in Collegeville. This game marked the third consecutive win for the Tommies, a streak that followed 12 consecutive Johnnie victories, starting in 1998 and concluding in 2009. Marginally, the Tommies lead was much smaller in the 2012 face-off than the prior year. After a St. Thomas touchdown, the Johnnies scored two unanswered TDs to grab a 14-7 lead. St. Thomas regained the lead for good by finishing an 11-play, 80-yard scoring drive on Toney’s 1-yard run and Ferrazzo’s successful 2-point conversion, giving the Tommies a 15-14 lead. The 2012 St. Thomas football team went on to produce the best season in program history, later tied in 2015. The team was 14-0 heading into the Stagg Bowl, where it fell to Mt. Union 28-10.
2013
Paul Graupner’s 32-yard field goal — the infamous kick — sailed just left of the goal post as time expired to seal the victory in 2013 for St. John’s over No. 2-ranked St. Thomas 20-18 at a jam-packed O’Shaughnessy Stadium, ending the Tommies’ 27-game conference winning streak. St. Thomas was aiming for a four-game winning streak against St. John’s for the first time since 1954-1957. The Tommies scored twice in the first half to take a 14-11 lead. Quarterback Connor Bruns rushed for a 1-yard touchdown late in the second quarter, and running back Sam Sura capitalized on a St. Thomas fumble with a 2-yard touchdown rush shortly before halftime. The Tommies came back when fullback Dominic Truoccolo found open space in the flat and caught a 22-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Matt O’Connell to put them ahead 18-17 with 5:58 remaining in the third quarter. But then they fell behind again early in the fourth and did not execute for the remainder of the game. The 2013 team’s season ended earlier than expected when the NCAA announced the team did not receive one of the five at-large playoff berths.
2014
Despite running back Jack Kaiser’s third quarter touchdown run that cut the score to 21-14, the No. 9-ranked St. Thomas football team lost to rival St. John’s 24-14 Saturday in front of an O’Shaughnessy Stadium-record 12,483 fans. St. Thomas outgained St. John’s 440-379 in total yardage, but the Tommies couldn’t overcome four critical turnovers in the fourth quarter that ended key drives. Early in the second quarter, St. John’s scored on a one-play drive when running back Sam Sura dashed 43 yards for a touchdown. The Johnnies sealed their 51st win in the Tommie-Johnnie series when St. John’s defensive back Garrett Ackerman intercepted a pass in the end zone with 13 seconds remaining in the game.
2015: Game 1
With ESPN casting a national spotlight on the game, a Division-III record 17,327 fans clad in purple and red flooded Clemens Stadium in Collegeville Saturday for the 84th Tommie-Johnnie game, but in the end it was a sea of purple that rushed the field after the 12th-ranked St. Thomas football team powered a 35-14 victory over No. 8 St. John’s Saturday, Sept. 27 at Clemens Stadium. Running back Jordan Roberts tallied four rushing touchdowns and lead the team with 230 yards on the day. The Tommie offense was good, and the Tommie defense matched that. The Johnnie offense had averaged more than 375 yards per game this season but was held to just 297. Along with the forced fumble, the Tommies’ defense intercepted Johnnie quarterback Nick Martin twice and sacked him four times. Defensive back Isaac Seering picked off Martin in the third quarter, while Mozus Ikuenobe ended a Johnnie series in the fourth with a leaping interception. The Tommies would end the regular season with a perfect record and face the Johnnies for the second time in the second round of playoffs.
2015: Game 2
The No. 4-ranked Tommies’ disheartened their archrival for the second time in the 2015 season with a 38-19 triumph over St. John’s in the second round of the NCAA playoffs Nov. 28 at O’Shaughnessy Stadium behind the dominating performance of running back Jordan Robert, Robert lead the first-half with three touchdowns. Quarterback John Gould tallied 85 yards on seven carries, including a 62-yard score early in the fourth quarter that pushed the Tommies’ lead to 38-13. Gould completed eight of 14 attempts for 107 yards, a lone touchdown and no interceptions on the day. The Johnnies’ pass game took a crucial blow with 44 seconds left in the second quarter when their Second Team All-MIAC quarterback Nick Martin left the game with a mild concussion. The Tommies continued their post-season dominance until Mount Union overpowered in the National Championship game winning 49-35. This marked St. Thomas’s first loss of the 2015 season and the second time Mount Union defeated the Tommies in the Stagg Bowl.