By Don Stoner
Augsburg Sports Information Director
MINNEAPOLIS - Bethel College began playing football in 1947. It joined the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 1978. St. John's began its football tradition in 1900; it was a charter member of the MIAC in 1924.
The Royals spent their first decade in the MIAC mired at or near the cellar; their first winning record in the conference wasn't until 1990, the year after Steve Johnson was hired as head coach at the small college in Arden Hills, Minn.
Up Interstate 94 in Collegeville, Minn., the history books are a little more positive. In the 89 seasons of St. John's football -- the last 48 under legendary coach John Gagliardi -- the Johnnies have been the dominant team in the MIAC. St. John's has won 24 MIAC championships, including seven titles in the 1990s. The Johnnies have not had a losing season in conference play since 1967.
Over the past decade, Bethel has experienced a football rebirth, experiencing winning seasons in nine of the last 10 years. And there have been several big games in that time span, including last year's 24-20 home victory over St. John's -- Bethel's first-ever win against the Johnnies in 21 tries.
Needless to say, there is a little disparity in the football histories between the two schools. But history may be forced to take a back seat when a game the magnitude of Saturday's Bethel-St. John's game comes along.
No game in the 53-year history of Bethel College football has been bigger than this Saturday's home game against St. John's, since the Royals have never been in a position to win the MIAC championship and claim a national playoff berth this late in the season.
Both Bethel and St. John's are 7-0. The Johnnies are rated fifth in the latest AFCA national poll; Bethel has achieved its highest national ranking ever, No. 18.
The winner of Saturday's game will have the inside track to claiming the MIAC championship - and the automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs. And though the loser will likely finish 9-1 and should make the playoffs, the odds of the MIAC's second-place team actually making the playoffs for the first time since 1997 seem slim.
With just three Pool C bids available -- the bids that go to second-place finishers from automatic qualifying (Pool A) conferences -- the MIAC may be shortchanged. The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, whose title should be decided in next week's battle between unbeatens Central and Wartburg, will likely get both teams into the playoffs for the second year in a row. And that could be the only "lock" of the three Pool C bids.
Other Pool A conferences, like the Freedom (6-1 Western Connecticut and 7-0 Springfield), American Southwest (7-0 Hardin-Simmons and 7-0 Mary Hardin-Baylor), College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (7-0 Millikin and 6-1 Illinois Wesleyan) and Middle Atlantic (7-0 Widener and 5-1 Lycoming), also have shots at the precious three Pool C playoff bids. And some of those leagues may have better national reputations in football than the MIAC. And even more conferences still have teams in the mix.
Of course, the MIAC does have one advantage. Both St. John's and Bethel have strong nonconference wins, which may be key in the eyes of the national committee when the selections roll around. Bethel dominated likely Illini-Badger (a Pool A conference) champion Aurora 34-7 in its nonconference game, while St. John's scored a big 49-14 win at Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
But in order to be secure, and to avoid being on pins-and-needles during the Nov. 12 video conference announcing the 28 playoff bids -- winning Saturday's game is an even bigger priority than before. It should make for plenty of fireworks before what will likely be a sellout crowd busting the seams of Bethel's Armstrong Stadium.
The two teams are strikingly similar. Both have dynamic, quick-strike offenses that can put points on the board in a hurry. Behind the play of the best quarterback in the conference, Tom Linnemann, St. John's is averaging 413.7 yards of total offense and 42.1 points per game. Meanwhile, sophomore quarterback Scott Kirchoff has established himself as an heir apparent to Linnemann's status, leading an offense that is averaging 432.4 yards and 36.3 points per game.
Jeremy Forsell, Blake Elliot and Nate Kirschner are top-flight wide receivers for the Johnnies; Dan Richards, Eric Carlson and Deon Jordan do the same for the Royals. Bethel's Josh Savageau and Mike Johnson and St. John's Chris Moore are solid running backs.
The Johnnies' defense may be one of the best overall groups in the nation, while the Royals' may be the most opportunistic. Strengthened by senior leadership with defensive ends Phil Trier and Brian Zerbes, linebackers Beau LaBore and Tim Pahula, and cornerbacks Will Gibson and Andy Hover, the Johnnie defense is ranked fourth in the nation in scoring defense (7.1 points per game) and 20th in total defense (229.9 yards per game).
Meanwhile, Ben Matthews has been the story of the Royal defense. His six interceptions against Gustavus on Sept. 23 propelled him to national prominence, and his 12 pickoffs this year leads the nation -- all divisions. His interceptions have helped the Royals to lead the nation in turnover ratio, averaging three more takeaways per game than their foes.
So what is the key to victory? One word -- opportunities. Because the two teams have such strong offenses, taking advantage of every scoring situation will be crucial. To put it simply, defenses have not been able to make mistakes and still survive against either offense this year. All but two games for the Royals have been blowout victories, and, well, St. John's has been very "St. John's-like" in their seven big wins this year.
Am I picking a winner? Are you kidding? I'm just going to sit back and enjoy the show.
This week's top games
UW-Oshkosh (2-5) at UW-Stout (7-0), 1 p.m., Menomonie, Wis.
One of the first national playoff berths could be clinched Saturday if the Blue Devils remain unbeaten with a home win against the Titans. With the win, Stout would clinch at least a share of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship, and the automatic berth to the playoffs (thanks to the Blue Devils' earlier wins against La Crosse, Eau Claire and River Falls; they play Whitewater next Saturday). Freshman running back Luke Bundgaard has a shot at breaking the Stout single-season school-record for rushing. He has 873 yards on 160 carries; the record is 1,105 yards. In the Blue Devils' 43-35, come-from-behind win over Platteville last week, Bundgaard set single-game school marks with 45 carries, 335 yards and four touchdowns, including a 71-yard scoring run that clinched the win.
Simpson (5-3) at Wartburg (7-0), 1:30 p.m., Waverly, Iowa
One of two key IIAC matchups this week before next Saturday's Wartburg-at-Central showdown. Wartburg, ranked No. 6 in the latest AFCA national poll, had to hold on for a 16-7 win over Coe, despite giving up 480 yards of total offense. The two teams are the top rushing forces in the IIAC, with Wartburg averaging almost 250 rushing yards per game and Simpson averaging 227.5 yards per game. The game marks the last home game of the season at Wartburg's Schield Stadium, which will undergo a major renovation starting on Monday. The stadium was built in 1956.
Coe (6-2) at Central (7-0), 1:30 p.m., Pella, Iowa
No. 3-ranked Central has its last major test before the aforementioned showdown next week. This week's matchup features the conference's top offense -- Coe's 426.8 yards per game -- against the conference's top defense -- Central's 221.6 yards allowed per game. Coe looks to bounce back from its loss to Wartburg last week, while Central hopes that it still has some points left after putting a 73-7 hurting on William Penn last week. Stopping Coe quarterback Tim Vinyard (who averages nearly 280 passing yards per game to lead the IIAC) will be crucial for Central to remain unbeaten going into next week's showdown.
Ripon (6-1) at Illinois College (6-1), 1:30 p.m., Jacksonville, Ill.
The two teams who still have a shot at catching unbeaten Midwest Conference leader St. Norbert (7-0) meet. Illinois College, one of the big surprises in Division III football this season, rallied for a 40-39 win at Lake Forest, winning the game with two seconds left. Quarterback Derek Leonard threw an 8-yard scoring strike to Dan Klendworth to complete a 63-yard drive, but instead of kicking an extra point to tie the game and force overtime, the Blueboys went for two, and Leonard hit Dan Holden for the game-winning two-point conversion. Meanwhile, Ripon had a much easier time in a 62-27 win against Monmouth, pouring on 504 yards of total offense. Griff Prochnow threw three touchdown passes, all to Dan Henken, who had 113 yards receiving.
This column is drawn from a variety of sources, including the outstanding work and research of sports information directors from Division III schools all over the Midwest.
