COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. — Senior running back Kellen Blaser (Austin, Minn./Pacelli) scored from eight yards out on SJU's fourth offensive play in overtime to give the No. 6 Johnnies a 20-17 win over No. 15 St. Thomas in front of an announced crowd of 12,903 on Saturday, Oct. 17, in Collegeville.

It was the first overtime game at home in SJU history.

Following a scoreless first quarter, the Johnnies (7-0, 5-0 MIAC) took a 7-0 lead on a five-yard pass from junior quarterback Joe Boyle (Richfield, Minn./Holy Angels) to Blaser 2:23 into the second quarter.

UST's Brady Beeson missed a 31-yard field goal attempt as the first half expired to keep the 7-0 SJU lead intact.

The Tommies (5-1, 4-1 MIAC) failed on a fake-punt attempt on their second possession of the second half, giving SJU prime field position on the UST 39. Junior running back Jakob Reding (Eden Prairie, Minn.) converted a fourth-and-one with a six-yard gain to the Tommies' 24. On third-and-10, Boyle hit senior wide receiver Ben Vanderheyden (Plymouth, Minn.) on a 20-yard gain down to the four. Reding punched it in three plays later to give SJU a 14-0 lead. Reding recorded his first career 100-yard rushing performance with 122 yards on 32 carries, including a long of eight yards, on the day. The 100-yard performance was the first for a Johnnie since Mike Patnode's 113 yards against Redlands (Calif.) on Nov. 17, 2007 (a span of 18 games).

UST got on the scoreboard thanks to a 32-yard pass from Greg Morse to Tony Margarit with 9:27 left in the fourth quarter. Morse faked the wide receiver reverse, faked the draw and then found Margarit wide open at the goal-line.

On fourth-and-one at midfield, SJU's punting unit botched a fake-punt attempt, which resulted in a fumble that rolled in UST's favor down to the Johnnies' 17.

On third-and-goal with the clock running, Morse found Jake Friederichs on a four-yard pass to tie the game with three seconds remaining in regulation.

After SJU won the coin toss in overtime and elected for defense first, UST was forced to settle on a 28-yard field goal from Beeson to take its first lead of the game, 17-14.

The Johnnies answered quickly, however. Runs of eight, seven and two yards by Reding set up a second-and-goal on the UST eight. Boyle then flipped the ball to Blaser on option left, who then leapt over the pylon for the game-winning score.

Boyle ended the day nine of 21 passing for 78 yards. Blaser added 74 yards on 15 carries, while Reding added a team-high three receptions for 15 yards. Seniors Ryan Wimmer (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) and Dominic Haik (Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle) led the Johnnie defense with seven tackles apiece, as Wimmer tallied three tackles for loss. Freshman cornerback Alex Powell (Hopkins, Minn.) and junior linebacker John Stanton (San Rafael, Calif./Marin Catholic) added an interception each.

Morse finished 15 of 29 passing for 130 yards. Ben Wartman, who entered the contest averaging 132 yards rushing and 18.6 points per game, to 80 yards on 24 carries (3.3 avg.) and no touchdowns. The 80 yards snapped his streak of nine consecutive games of 100 yards or more. SJU also held Fritz Waldvogel, who entered the game leading the MIAC with 7.6 receptions and 103.6 yards per game, to just four catches for 24 yards. Tommy Becker, Wyatt Delgado and Zach Sturm posted 12 tackles each for the Tommies.

SJU held the edge in first downs (16-13), rushing yards (167-109) and total offense (245-239). The Johnnies rushed for 167 yards on 55 carries, including the loss of 33 yards on the botched punt in the fourth quarter.

UST, which entered the game sixth in all of Division III in third-down conversions (54 percent), was just five of 14 (35.7 percent) this afternoon.

With the win, Gagliardi improved his career record to 468-125-11 (.784) in 61 seasons overall and 444-119-10 (.784) in 57 seasons at SJU. 

The Johnnies are now 49-28-1 all-time against the Tommies, including a 43-14 record under the direction of Gagliardi.

The Johnnies play host to St. Olaf (3-3, 1-3 MIAC), who was idle today, as part of Family Weekend next Saturday, Oct. 24. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Clemens Stadium in Collegeville.
Press release submitted by on Oct 17, 2009 at 11:49 PM Eastern