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| d3photography.com photo |
By Adam Turer
D3sports.com
In the spirit of the holiday season, the Johnnies have come up with quite the recipe.
It’s sure to keep all your guests talking until at least mid-December, and possibly beyond. This recipe has the potential to be the most memorable experience of your final months of the decade.
Somehow, during the busiest week of the season in Collegeville, Minnesota — final exams coincide with preparation for a short week and road trip to a national semifinal contest for these student-athletes — I was able to sneak a peek at this concoction of ingredients that has the D-III football world buzzing.
One (1) once-in-a-lifetime quarterback
The Rosemount High School star did not plan on a historic Division III career. He originally enrolled at Penn State as a preferred walk-on.
A coaching shake-up led Erdmann to reconsider his future, leading him back to St. John’s. The Johnnies coaching staff impressed Erdmann during his initial visit, but it still took nearly three years before the promising quarterback realized his potential.
“Jackson is a leader by example and he’s vocal, but he’s also our brother and our friend and he has mutual respect for everyone else on the team. It’s pretty special. You always want your quarterback to be someone who is gutsy and authentic,” said senior offensive lineman Ben Bartch. “Seeing that progress over the last three seasons, he certainly has the swagger and confidence in the huddle. Trust is important. You can’t just bark at guys if they don’t trust you. We demand that out of each other, because we demand that out of ourselves. We all trust each other.”
Erdmann earned the starting nod in his first year at St. John’s, but only attempted 30 or more passes twice through his first 27 games. Then, the Johnnies unleashed him in battles against MIAC foes Bethel and St. Thomas. In those 2018 games against the top MIAC contenders, the Johnnies won by an average of 19 points and Erdmann passed 42 times per game. That was the turning point, and Erdmann and the Johnnies haven’t looked back.
“He’s been through it. We put a lot on his plate. We ask a lot of him, maybe more than anybody else in the country asks of their quarterback,” said St. John’s coach Gary Fasching. “He’s never flinched. He’s just taken it on and accepts the challenge and goes with it and that’s a big part of his greatness.”
The 2018 Gagliardi Trophy winner knew he wasn’t going to be able to surprise any opponents with his arm this season. It’s no secret that the Johnnies offense goes as far as Erdmann takes it.
“I remember growing up on the farm, our cows were in the pasture. One cow wore a bell and the others followed. That was the bell cow,” said Fasching. “Jackson Erdmann is our bell cow. He knows it, accepts that responsibility and our guys follow him. We have plenty of other absolute great leaders on our team, too.”
Add two (2) parts adversity. OK, maybe three (3). Wait, make it four (4).
In the season opener at UW-Stout, Erdmann was intercepted twice and the Johnnies scored just 14 points. Against Concordia-Moorhead, Erdmann was picked off four times and St. John’s scored just 18 points in a loss.
“It was a wake-up call. That game in many ways exposed our weaknesses. That gave our whole team a chip on our shoulder,” said Bartch. “When you play in that, you understand that when you don’t execute, things can happen to any team. That’s been evident in the playoff bracket this year. I think in some ways, it was a blessing in disguise. We understood that it can end at any moment.”
The Johnnies went into playoff mode after that Nov. 2 loss to the Cobbers. They drew on the wisdom of the program’s legendary head coach, and refocused on taking care of every little detail.
“There’s no doubt we learned a lot from that game. Pretty much everything that could go wrong did go wrong that day. John Gagliardi always said three things have to happen for us to lose: our opponent has to play a great game, we’re not going to be at our very best, then there will be one or two monumental plays that go against us,” said Fasching. “We had three blocked extra points. The message we learned from that game was that you just never know. That’s why every play is an absolute must. You have to prepare to make sure you make the correct play every play of the football game.”
“It almost seemed like we were supposed to lose that game, with how many things went wrong,” said Erdmann. “I had a terrible game, but just about everything that could go wrong went wrong.”
That sense of finality first took hold during the 2018 tournament. After surviving the MIAC gantlet unscathed for the first time since 2009, the Johnnies had their sights set on getting back to the Stagg Bowl for the first time since 2003.
Erdmann led the Johnnies to the national semifinals, on the road, against the nation’s top defense. That didn’t go so well in 2018, when he was intercepted three times by Mary Hardin-Baylor, including in the closing minute as he was driving the Johnnies toward a go-ahead score.
“I made so many mistakes in that game. If I put the ball in a better spot, it’s a touchdown,” said Erdmann of the 21-18 loss at the Cruthedral.
He made the necessary corrections in 2019, reversing his fortunes in the same situation. On the road, against the nation’s top defense, Erdmann led the Johnnies to 34 points against a Wheaton team that hadn’t allowed more than 21 in a game all season.
“Ball security is huge,” he said. “If I was not absolutely confident in my decision-making and taking the checkdown, I knew Wheaton would pounce on every mistake. In games and situations like that, I know if I get stressed out, my teammates will start stressing out. If I make a stupid play, I know my teammates will see how I react. ”
The lessons learned from last year’s loss to the Crusaders permeated the entire offseason, and this playoff run leading up to the redemptive victory over Wheaton. Photos from the season-ending loss to Mary Hardin-Baylor have served as screensavers on the phone of many Johnnies since last December. That Dec. 1, 2018 loss has been evoked in many pregame speeches in 2019. That fuel has motivated the Johnnies all season.
“There are athletes who love to win and athletes who absolutely hate losing,” said Bartch. “We have a lot of guys who hate to lose.”
Add two (2) parts nasty on the offensive line
The Johnnies had to surround Erdmann with mostly unproven skill players this season. It took the offense some time to get warmed up and on the same page.
It’s still not a fully functional unit, as evidenced by the lack of a rushing game against Wheaton. Yet, somehow, some way, the offense gets the job done. That’s not all attributable to the four-year starter at quarterback.
“Dan Greenheck and Ben Bartch are great leaders in their own right and they carry a lot of the weight too,” said Fasching of his all-region offensive linemen. “Richard Carivveau and Ryan LaCasse on defense, we have guys who have been through battles with us for three years. We play for each other, we depend on each other, we’ve got to trust each other.”
Erdmann knows that his success would not have happened without the big nasties who protect him.
“Dan Greenheck wears eye black, and gets so intense and fired up on the field,” said Erdmann. “I usually stay composed and calm. A lot of it is my natural demeanor. I don’t get frazzled too often, on or off the field. No matter the situation, I’m usually pretty cool and collected. We all play different roles and we click very well together.”
Add Johnnie Magic to taste.
Are you ready for the secret ingredient?
A lot of teams have talented quarterbacks capable of carrying a team deep into the postseason. Every year, a handful of teams even have a generational quarterback like Erdmann. It’s not unusual for that quarterback to have a couple of experienced linemen protecting him, and some key leaders on the other side of the ball who he can trust to get the ball back in his hands.
Only one team possesses that elusive elixir known as Johnnie Magic.
“Johnnie Magic is a real thing,” said Bartch. “I’ve heard of former instances, games, plays, over the last decade where there have been crazy things that happened. I think hard work favors the lucky. This kind of stuff doesn’t just happen without hard work. Every person on the team contributes.”
Weathering a slow start and regular season upset were not enough for these Johnnies. They were nearly victims of the biggest shock of the 2019 tournament.
In the opening round, Aurora had St. John’s on the verge of defeat, leading by nine points with just over eight minutes to play. When the Johnnies had their backs to the wall in round one against the Spartans, Johnnie Magic delivered.
Somehow, some way, Erdmann led his team to victory. Then, the Johnnies took to the road, pulling away from Chapman to hand the Panthers their first defeat of the season, and surviving a most memorable game against previously unbeaten Wheaton.
“It’s more staying calm and confident. We talk about in every football game there are peaks and valleys and sometimes you’ve got to weather the storm. There are times where teams are going to make plays. John Gagliardi always talked about great heavyweight fighters getting knocked down and the key is you’ve got to get back up,” said Fasching.
“That’s what happened to us on Saturday. We told the guys at halftime that the game is far from over, they’re going to mount a comeback, and we need to be ready. I think they’ve been really focused since losing to Mary Hardin-Baylor last year by three points. We’re one play away from winning that game, and who knows. These guys carried it over into this year.”
This past Saturday at Wheaton was even more nerve-wracking, as all Erdmann could do was watch and cheer from the sidelines as the game hung in the balance. His defense couldn’t stop the Thunder, and only a wild sequence of penalties and miscues--a dash of Johnnie Magic?--delivered the regulation victory to the Johnnies.
“People call it Johnnie Magic around here. I love it. I think Johnnie Magic is a real thing. We’re on a special run. Everybody is feeding into it,” said Erdmann. “Coming into that Aurora game, if we don’t get that 4th and 5, the game’s over. They’ve been some dogfights and things turn our way. As we get closer and closer each week, it just gets that much more exciting. It’s crazy how fast this season has gone. It’s bittersweet, but I’m going to do everything I can to make the most of it. I’m ecstatic.”
Part of the Johnnie Magic in 2019 means going on the road and breaking hearts. That’s an opportunity that these recent road warriors have embraced. They’ll have another chance on Saturday, in the not so friendly confines of Perkins Stadium in Whitewater.
“Coming into this season, we weren’t exactly underdogs and now we’re underdogs going into these games,” said Erdmann. “I like going on the road, I cherish those moments going on the road with the guys. It fuels you and it’s so fun seeing these new stadiums, then knocking them off.”
“That’s part of our mentality. We all think we’ve been doubted. We embrace playing on the road as a team,” said Bartch. “Few things are more enjoyable than looking an opponent in the eye and knowing that you’re going to end their season. So many guys on our team spend so much time watching film and preparing. We’re kind of road warriors this postseason. It’s been a lot of fun. These road trips have been special.”
None of these playoff games have been easy. Two of the three have hung in the balance into the fourth quarter. Games don’t get much closer than the quarterfinal escape from Wheaton.
The recipe for a 2019 Stagg Bowl experience is challenging. Most teams could not prepare it in their own kitchen.
This St. John’s squad has a determined and experienced and hungry offensive line doing whatever it takes to support their transcendental yet calm quarterback; they have experienced disappointment and adversity together; and they have Johnnie Magic on their side.
“You have to have a little luck on your side, too,” said Fasching. “I think our guys had an expectation coming into this season and they’ve pretty much stayed on pace with that all the way through.”
The seniors appreciate the opportunities that Johnnie Magic has afforded them. They don’t rely on good fortune, but they acknowledge it and don’t take it for granted. This Saturday might bring another memorable thriller for the archives, but the Johnnies don’t mind how they win, as long as they find a way to survive and advance.
“It’s been a wild ride, but it’s been fun, no doubt,” said Erdmann. “It’s special. I love these coaches, I love these players, I love my time at St. John’s and I don’t want it to end.”