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COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Fifth-ranked Saint John's University raced out to a 27-0 lead in the first quarter and went on to defeat the St. Olaf College football team, 57-7, in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play on Saturday afternoon at Clemens Stadium.
Saint John's (7-0, 6-0 MIAC) piled up 659 yards of total offense, including 383 yards on the ground, to continue its unbeaten start to the season. Senior Ricardo Johnson III connected with sophomore tight end Caleb Golberg for a 15-yard touchdown on the final play of the opening quarter for the lone touchdown of the game for St. Olaf (5-2, 3-2 MIAC).
Reigning MIAC Offensive Player of the Week Jackson Erdmann completed 11-of-12 passes for 178 yards and three touchdowns and also ran for another score for the Johnnies before exiting the game in the second quarter. Henry Trost and Adam Essler each went over 100 yards on the ground for Saint John's and were two of four Johnnies with rushing touchdowns in the game. Trost also caught a 52-yard touchown from Chris Backes in the fourth quarter.
The Johnnies got the scoring started just 47 seconds into the game when Erdmann found Will Gillach for a 14-yard touchdown to cap a quick, three-play scoring drive. Gillach caught five passes for 119 yards and a pair of scores from Erdmann.
Johnson III hit Isaac Coutier for a 33-yard pass play before connecting with Noah Johnson for a 13-yard gain on the next play on St. Olaf's first possession, but the Johnnies sacked Johnson III on fourth down in Saint John's territory to get the ball back. Kai Barber then capped a six-play, 58-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run to make it a 13-0 game.
Saint John's scored touchdown on each of its first four possessions, as Erdmann found Tommy Auger from nine yards out and scored on a nine-yard run of his own to open up a 27-0 lead with 1:39 to go in the opening quarter.
The Ole defense set up the St. Olaf offense's touchdown on the final play of the opening quarter. After a 68-yard pass play from Erdmannn to Blake Patrick, Sam Stuckmayer and Leandro Ferreira combined to sack Erdmann and jar the ball loose and Luke Dahl recovered at the Johnnie 15-yard line. On the ensuing play, Johnson III found Golberg for the pair's second scoring strike of the season. Both of Golberg's receptions this season have gone for touchdowns.
Saint John's held St. Olaf scoreless the rest of the way, scoring the game's final 30 points over the last three quarters. The Johnnies' final four touchdowns all covered at least 50 yards.
The Oles face their second-straight top-10 opponent when they travel to the University of St. Thomas to face the seventh-ranked Tommies on Saturday, Oct. 27 at 1:10 p.m.