Three points off the leg of kicker Bryan Steinsapir were just enough for St. Thomas to ward off a comeback against St. John’s in a 20-17 victory on Saturday at Target Field.
Steinsapir’s 43-yard field goal in the third quarter were the only points the Tommies were able to muster in a second half in which their offense held possession for more than 24 minutes and gained 147 total yards. The score gave the Tommies a 20-10 lead with just under five minutes left in the quarter.
Despite the offense’s drop in point production in the final two quarters of the game, the defense made certain the Tommies (2-0 MIAC, 3-1 overall) would improve to 7-2 in nine games against the Johnnies (1-1 MIAC, 3-1 overall) since 2010.
“The defensive staff did a good job of utilizing the equity that we have in our rush game and playing coverage in key times,” coach Glenn Caruso said. “Our defense was the stalwart force today.”
That stalwart force was met head-on by a high-flying Johnnie offense that came into the game outscoring its opponents by an average of 60 points and that had accumulated more than 1,000 rushing yards in just three games.
Against the Tommies, they scored 17 points and amassed a grand total of one yard rushing for the game.
“One yard rushing allowed is pretty tough to beat. It is, I mean, that’s one yard,” Caruso said of the effort. “That’s not a lot.”
The Johnnie offense found a little more success through the air. After the Tommies built to a 14-3 lead midway through the second quarter, quarterback Jackson Erdmann connected on a 31-yard touchdown pass with tight end Jared Streit to bring the Johnnies within four. The Johnnies would not score again until the fourth quarter.
“This was the first game where we really felt like a controlled unit, and we didn’t let the pressure affect us,” defensive lineman Austin Jochum said. “I think we’ve been built, as a team, well for these moments.”
Jochum led the defensive attack with two sacks and five total tackles as the front four clogged every hole in the Johnnie running game. The defense held the Johnnies to 150 yards in the air and were consistently in the offensive backfield, creating problems for Erdmann.
“We focused all week on being a family,” Jochum said. “We knew what they were going to do, and we worked all week on that.”
While the defense played their best game of the season against one of the best offenses in the nation, the Tommie offense put in a solid day of work that was led by an unexpected position.
In his first game back from injury, fullback Jeremy Molina led the team with 61 rushing yards on nine attempts.
“It’s just … something that I’ve been working over the years,” Molina said, “building up trust to be able to run the ball and do what I do with it.”
“They’re doing a less fun job than the tailback does,” Caruso said. “I take it a little personally when teams don’t … respect a player, and when teams ignore that person, we know we have to get the ball to that person.”
With Molina forcing open running lanes, the Tommies were able to amass 156 yards on the ground with four different running backs.
“Someone told me … ‘You got Roberts back, you got Trettel, you got Parks, you got Molina, what are you going to do? That’s a problem,’” Caruso said. “I said ‘No, no, no. Not having a good running back is a problem. Having a lot of good running backs, we work very, very hard for that.”
Those four backs were able to shift the focus of the Johnnie defense to the running game, which allowed quarterback Jacques Perra to capitalize on several one-on-one matchups against his receivers.
Perra threw a 31-yard touchdown to tight end Matt Christenson in the first quarter and a 61-yard strike to wide receiver Gabe Green in the second.
“(The play to Christenson) was just a broken play,” Perra said. “I had to get outside the pocket, and Matt … kept coming with me, and he made a good play that ended up in the endzone.”
Though Perra had two of his best passing touchdowns of the season against St. John’s, both came when he was forced out of the pocket. The offensive line played its best game of the season, but still allowed a lot of pressure to get through to Perra.
“(Offensive line is) a position that deals with rhythm and timing and flow,” Caruso said. “Until they get out there and they start to perfect their craft, it’s never going to come together and gel, and that’s what you saw today.”
The O-line has seen consistent improvement since Week 1 but still allowed three sacks and contributed to 12 penalties against the Tommies. St. Thomas lost 82 yards to penalties, several of which brought the offense to a grinding halt and put pressure on the kicking team to keep the Tommies ahead. Fortunately for St. Thomas, starting kicker Bryan Steinsapir was fully recovered from an injury he sustained in the offseason in time for the game.
“(Steinsapir) is a phenomenal kicker,” Caruso said. “He was spot-on today. Pretty awesome.”
Steinsapir’s 2-for-2 performance put the lead out of reach for the Johnnies and sealed the Tommies’ seventh win against the Johnnies in the past nine games in front of a record crowd of 37,355. The attendance at Target Field more than doubled the previous record for most people at a single Division-III football game, which was set at 17,535 on Oct. 8, 2016 by Wisconsin-Oshkosh and Wisconsin-Whitewater.
“The response of 37,000 people wanting to come to the game … speaks to the magnitude of the rivalry,” Caruso said. “For us to be the team … to be able to set the attendance record and do so in fine fashion is an absolute honor.”
The Tommies are now 7-4 against the Johnnies in Caruso’s tenure as head coach. St. Thomas has beaten St. John’s four times in a row, dating back to 2015. This is the first time the Tommies have won four in a row against the Johnnies since the 1950’s.
Following today’s win, the Tommies are tied with Gustavus (2-0 MIAC, 3-1 overall) atop the MIAC standings and will go on the road Sept. 30 to play Augsburg (1-1 MIAC, 3-1 overall).
Noah Brown can be reached at brow7736@stthomas.edu