Top 25 roundup: Johnnies overwhelm Tommies

More news about: Brockport | Muhlenberg | St. John-s | Trine | Washington U.
Oct 13, 2018
Will Gillach grabbed 14 receptions, 256 yards and a school record as St. John's overwhelmed St. Thomas in the latest installment of the Johnnie-Tommie rivalry.
 Photo by Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com
 

Will Gillach and Jackson Erdmann had record-setting days as No. 8 St. John's knocked off No. 3  St. Thomas 40-20 before a crowd of 16,922 Saturday afternoon in Collegeville.

The win marked the Johnnies' first over their archrivals since 2014 and snapped the Tommies' streak of 31 consecutive victories over MIAC opponents. It also came nearly a week after the passing of John Gagliardi, the iconic figure who coached St. John's for six decades.

"I thought about him early this morning when I woke up and I couldn't sleep. I thought about him on my way here. I thought about him during the moment of silence before kickoff. And I'm sure he's looking down and smiling," said St. John's coach Gary Fasching about the late Gagliardi.

St. Thomas turned the ball over seven times -- five interceptions and two fumbles, including one that was returned 99 yards for a touchdown by St. John's senior safety Max Jackson in the fourth quarter.

The Johnnies, meanwhile, piled up 539 yards of total offense. Gillach had 14 catches for a single-game school record 256 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, Erdmann, a junior quarterback, threw for a single-game school record 470 yards and three touchdowns.

"This is the first one I've experienced. It's about time. That's all I have to say," said Johnnies senior wideout Will Gillach. "This was amazing."

Senior Josh Parks had 22 carries for 256 yards and three touchdowns to lead St. Thomas, which had 610 yards of total offense.

"We had some huge shortcomings on our side today. But you have to give credit to St. John's for making a lot of things happen," said St. Thomas coach Glenn Caruso. "They played a tremendous game."

It looked like a playoff game on paper, and it played out like one on the field. No. 23 Muhlenberg made the long trek to Kentucky and remained unbeaten, defeating Thomas More 34-31 on Todd Spirt's 20-yard field goal as time expired.
 
The game featured five lead changes after a scoreless first quarter. Both run defenses were stout. The Mules held Thomas More’s combo of Hjavier Pitts and Luke Zajac to 125 yards on 37 attempts. Muhlenberg’s James Diggs mustered just 56 yards on 19 carries. But Michael Hnatkowsky outplayed Justin Post, passing for 376 yards and two touchdowns to Post’s 257 yards and one score. H-back Ryan Curtiss was Hnatkowsky’s favorite target, hauling in eight receptions for 150 yards and a touchdown.
 
Spirt made both of his field goal attempts on the day. Thomas More’s Cole Mathias missed a 34-yard attempt on the Saints’ final drive. The Mules improve to 6-0, their best start since the 2008 season. Thomas More slips to 5-2. 
 
Olivet went for two points and a victory at home over No. 15 Trine, but came up short on both as the Thunder edged the Comets 50-49. Elijah Klepper caught a three-yard touchdown pass to put Trine (6-0) ahead 50-43 with four minutes to play. The Comets (4-2) answered with a 66-yard scoring drive, capped by Lane Porter's 11-yard touchdown pass with 37 seconds left. Trine held Porter out of the end zone on the Comets' two-point conversion attempt and recovered the onside kick to seal the victory. 
 
Washington U. showed it's ready to compete in its new conference by stunning No. 12 Wheaton 17-10. The Bears outgained Wheaton 94 to -3 on the ground and Johnny Davidson threw two touchdowns. The Thunder (4-2) commited three turnovers and 114 yards of penalties in the loss. Wash U. sits one game back of No. 18 Illinois Wesleyan, which beat Elmhurst 44-28. The Titans and Bears play in St. Louis next weekend.
 
No. 4 Brockport continued its romp through the Empire 8 by blasting Alfred 52-0. Tyree Brown caught three touchdown passes from Joe Germinerio and the Golden Eagles (6-0) outgained the Saxons 484-84. Alfred ended Brockport's streak of holding opponents to zero or negative rushing yards, but not by much. The Saxons gained 12 yards on 26 carries.
 
No. 22 Delaware Valley overcame 150 yards of penalties and scored twice in the fourth quarter to rally past Lycoming 23-17. Aggies freshman Michael Nobile registered four tackles for loss including two sacks, giving him 20 tackles for loss in the first six games of his career. Delaware Valley remains tied for first place in the MAC with Misericordia, which scored 15 points in the period to beat Lebanon Valley 25-21. The two teams do not play each other this year because of the MAC's unbalanced schedule.
 
A 12-yard touchdown pass from Jacob Adams to Andrew Wolf with 30 seconds left broke a tie game and gave No. 11 Washington and Jefferson a 50-43 win over Geneva. It was a script few were expecting from the Golden Tornadoes, which were 2-3 going into a game against the 6-0 Presidents. W&J had 630 yards of offense, of which Adams threw for 432. Geneva running back Trewon Marshall not only rushed for 143 yards and three scores but also took a pitch before lofting the ball downfield to an open Harrison Kozlow, who went 74 yards to the end zone.
 
In NJAC play, No. 5 Frostburg State scored 42 points in the second quarter and cruised past winless William Paterson 56-0. Wesley bounced back from last week's loss to the Bobcats with a 54-6 victory at Kean.
 
No. 13 UW-Oshkosh nabbed the lead in the first quarter against UW-Platteville and never let go en route to a 31-10 final. Oshkosh forced three turnovers on the day, converting two of them into touchdowns in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
 
Allegheny appeared to be a threat for No. 16 Wittenberg when the teams went into halftime separated by just three points, but the Tigers broke away with 24 points in the third quarter to clinch a 41-14 victory and remain alone atop the NCAC. Witt quarterback Jake Kennedy put up 368 passing yards, including a one-play scoring drive on an 80-yard pass to Thad Snodgrass.