Whether the big moments take place in front of a sea of red or a sea of purple, the St. John's-St. Thomas rivalry has grown to outsized proportions in the past eight seasons, when it has drawn more than 12,000 fans five times.
Photo by Scott Pierson, d3photography.com

When St. John's, St. Thomas meet, crowds follow

In 2000, D-III football was played mostly on grass, and the teams were under previous coaches, but it was no less intense.  Photo by Neil Coleman, D3sports.com

The 2003 Johnnies won the national title, but needed a last-minute field goal to sneak by the 3-7 Tommies. Photo by Tom Dahlin

The bottom fell out of the Tommies in 2007 as they stumbled to a 2-8 finish. By Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com

Rivalries add excitement, drama and fun to the games fans already love. And for fans of Division III football, the rivalry between St. John’s and St. Thomas holds a special place.

The first Johnnie-Tommie game was played on Thanksgiving Day in 1901 at Lexington Park in St. Paul, Minn. Since then, the two rivals – separated by just 90 miles – have met 83 times, including an annual meeting each of the last 63 years.

With the potential for a record-setting crowd, the teams will meet again in Collegeville, Minn., this weekend to square off for the Holy Grail Trophy.

Glenn Caruso, in his eighth year as the Tommies’ head coach, said the longevity of this matchup has helped make this annual game an exciting event for fans. But he noted that both teams are very similar, which adds to the matchup.

“I think, a lot of times, when there is a rivalry situation a lot of people want to draw lines of demarcation on how each school is different. But in reality, rivalries often occur because of so many great similarities – whether it be locational, the mission of the school or the type of school it is,” Caruso explained. “Both sides have wonderful kids and I think there is a lot of respect for each other on both sides.”

While both colleges are similar – Catholic institutions in southern Minnesota, Gary Fasching, the third-year head coach at St. John’s and former longtime assistant coach and Johnnie player, pointed to the difference between the schools. He said “a little bit of everything” plays into the rivalry, comparing St. Thomas’ larger, urban campus to St. John’s smaller, rural location.

“There’s a lot of those little differences that feed into the whole thing,” said Fasching, who led SJU to a 24-14 win over the Tommies last year.

Due to the schools’ close proximity, many St. John’s players were recruited out of high school by St. Thomas and vice versa. That familiarity between players from the Twin Cities and the surrounding area fuel the rivalry.

Additionally, Caruso said the consistency of the programs helped the rivalry. He credited legendary SJU coach John Gagliardi for supplying many winning teams.

Both Caruso and Fasching emphasized that they try to treat this game like any other week on the schedule.

Caruso said his team’s preparations remain consistent leading up to the game vs. St. John’s. And the Johnnies take a similar approach. However, it easy to recognize around the campus that team supporters are anticipating a big matchup.

“I try not to put any more importance on this game than any other game,” Fasching said. “It’s the next game on our schedule, and that’s the way we always kind of look at it. But obviously, the fans and the media have made it a real big event, and the other day somebody said, ‘St. Thomas-St. John’s is like Michigan and Ohio State.’ It’s the same kind of rivalry.”

The build-up for game day can be felt at UST too, which creates a stirring environment.

“Our kids live in two different worlds. They live in the football world and they live in the regular student body world,” Caruso said. “In the football world, I think our kids do a really nice job of sorting out what’s important – what we need to focus on and what we don’t. Certainly, in their everyday world, where they live 23 hours a day, it’s hyped up in the media on campus and there is a tremendous feeling of excitement.”

“There’s a huge buzz around Tommie-Johnnie week,” St. Thomas senior offensive lineman David Simmet agreed. “It’s a major event.”

Wasn't he in? Seems Ben Wartman scored on this first-and-goal play from the 1 with under a minute left in 2008, but officials ruled otherwise and he fumbled on second down. St. John's held on to win 12-9. Photo by Scott Pierson, d3photography.com

Two years later, Wartman left no doubt he was in the end zone on a TD run in overtime and the matter of inches swung to the Tommies' favor as the Johnnies' extra point hit the left upright. Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com

Simmet understands the history of the Johnnie-Tommie game well. His father attended St. John’s while his mother and sister attended SJU’s sister school, St. Benedict.

Now a Tommie, Simmet said the atmosphere in the stadium is his favorite part about playing this game.

“The opportunity to play in front of that many people in such a fun environment, where the student body gets into it even more than normal, I think it’s most exciting thing you can get playing D-III football,” Simmet said.

The Johnnie-Tommie game has drawn tremendous crowds, including five crowds of 12,000 or more and a high of 16,421 in Collegeville in 2010. Although the NCAA doesn’t officially recognize a single-game attendance record, that’s the highest we’re aware of.

With St. John’s ranked eighth nationally and St. Thomas holding the No. 12 spot in the Top 25, this year’s crowd at Clemens Stadium could challenge that record.

The throng of fans that turn out for the game is one of the most unique qualities about the Johnnie-Tommie matchup, according to Fasching.

“If (fans have) ever been to a small college football game, they aren’t going to find that size of crowd anywhere else,” Fasching said. “I think the fans are very, very passionate about their teams, and they’re going to notice that.

“It will be a loud crowd – let’s just say that.”

Caruso believes the pride that each fan base displays stands out as well.

“I don’t think there’s any way that you can come to your very first Tommie-Johnnie game and leave without a very, very strong feeling of how proud both universities are for their schools, their alumni base and certainly their football teams,” Caruso said.

“The event that is Tommie-Johnnie is a pretty amazing spectacle, regardless of where it’s played or when it’s played or the two teams’ records coming into the game.”

The Johnnie-Tommie game, which ESPN will spotlight during SportsCenter on the Road Saturday, comes with a lot of tradition, passionate fan bases and plenty of hype. However, both coaches acknowledged this game is really just one of 10 regular season games.

“Although this is a wonderful game and wonderful rivalry, it truly is one step in the entire journey of the season. You can’t think much more about this game than any other, because in reality, if you win one week and lose the next, it’s still a loss,” Caruso said.

After St. Thomas won three in a row from 2010-2012, St. John's won the last two meetings, both of them on the Tommies' home turf. Photo by John Kruger, d3photography.com

“It counts the same – if you win, it counts as a win and if you lose, it counts as a loss,” Fasching agreed. “We kind of approach it in that way. I know the fans approach it way differently and I know the media approaches it way differently.

“You got two really good football teams,” Fasching added. “We have great respect for their football program, their coaches and their players. We know it’s going to be a great game. There haven’t been too many games that haven’t been really tight and close in this whole thing. I think people are probably expecting that again on Saturday.”

Johnnie-Tommie notes

Saturday’s meeting will be the 10th time in the past 11 years that at least one of the teams enters the game ranked in the Top 10 nationally. … St. John’s leads the all-time series 51-31-1. … The rivalry has produced many close games including one tie, seven one-point victories and 11 others decided by four points or less. … The lone tie in the series was a 0-0 deadlock in 1935. … St. John’s and St. Thomas have won or shared the conference title in 20 of the last 26 seasons. … At least one of the two teams has reached the NCAA Division III players in 23 of the last 30 years. … The 2015 Johnnie-Tommie game will feature cousins Austin Harrington, a senior wide receiver at UST, and Dan Harrington, a junior wideout at SJU.

Number of the week

28 – as in the number of unanswered points scored by UW-Platteville in a 35-28 non-conference win over then-No. 13 North Central (Ill.). The Pioneers scored the final 21 points in regulation, capped by Dillon Villhauer’s 75-yard punt return for a touchdown. Tom Kelly, who threw two touchdown passes to Dan Arnold in regulation, ran for a score in overtime to lift UW-Platteville to the victory.

The rest of the West

Linfield's defense racked up 14 tackles for a loss, including eight quarterback sacks, as the Wildcats trounced Redlands, 44-7. … Shane Finnegan hauled in a 7-yard touchdown catch with 7 seconds to play, snapping a 14-14 tie and giving St. Scholastica a 21-14 win at Eureka. … Loras gave up 49 points in the first half, but out-scored visiting Augustana 29-3 in the second half to win 58-52. Nick Schulte completed 47-of-64 pass attempts for 588 yards and six touchdowns in the shootout. … Cal Lutheran staved off a Willamette rally to improve to 2-0 behind 132 yards rushing and two scores from Ben Chavez Jr. The Bearcats scored three touchdowns in the final 7:11, but the rally fell three points shy, as the Kingsmen won 27-24. … Bethel quarterback Trey Anderson had as many touchdowns as incompletions (3), leading the Royals to a 49-3 win over St. Olaf. … Sam Mentkowski had 101 yards and two touchdown on just three receptions, and the UW-Oshkosh defense recorded its second straight shutout in a 35-0 victory over North Park. … Matt Michaud and Josh Edlund combined for 246 yards rushing and five touchdowns as Crown took down Martin Luther, 43-33. … Cael Halfman returned an interception 22 yards for a touchdown and the Central defense went on to intercept two more passes. The Dutch limited Maranatha Baptist to 26 total yards of offense in 65-0 shutout. …

Kevin Masini caught a touchdown pass, kicked two field goals and converted a pair of PATs in Pomona-Pitzer’s 20-14 win over Lewis and Clark. … UW-Whitewater allowed the first points scored by upstart Finlandia, but cruised to a 66-3 victory as eight different players scored touchdowns. … Ayrton Scott threw three touchdown passes and ran for two more as he guided Augsburg to a 54-28 win over Carleton. Scott finished with 187 yards passing and 154 yards rushing for the Auggies. … Jason Smith caught two fourth quarter touchdown passes for Pacific, but Dubuque held off the Boxers, 31-29. The Spartans forced four turnovers and then recovered an onside kick in the waning minutes to seal the win. … The Westminster (Mo.) defense registered four sacks, recovered two fumbles and intercepted a pass in a 24-22 win vs. MacMurray. … Luther scored 37 first-quarter points and rolled past Grinnell, 56-0. … Mike Longmeyer recovered a fumble, intercepted a pass and helped the UW-Stevens Point defense hold off Coe’s late charge in a 34-31 victory. … Ian Kolste had 378 yards and three touchdowns through the air as Whitworth outscored La Verne 39-0 in the first half and eventually won 39-20. … Northwestern (Minn.) blanked Minneosta-Morris, 27-0, in a game that featured nine turnovers. … Brandon Domeyer rushed for 148 yards and two scores, lifting Wartburg to a 41-33 win at UW-Stout. … Gustavus Adolphus got 107 yards rushing and three touchdowns from Dalvon Poole in a 42-35 win over Hamline. … Hamid Camara gained 110 yards on 17 carries and scored three times, leading Greenville to a 38-27 win at Iowa Wesleyan.

Rank 'em

Eight teams from the West Region remained ranked in the Top 25.

Top-ranked UW-Whitewater received 19 first place votes this week while third-ranked Linfield collected two first place votes. Wartburg, St. John’s and St. Thomas remained ranked Nos. 6, 8 and 12, respectively.

UW-Platteville climbed five spots to No. 17, one spot ahead of WIAC foe UW-Oshkosh at No. 18. Bethel remained ranked No. 23.

Gustavus Adolphus (6), Chapman (6), Concordia-Moorhead (4) and Whitworth (3) received votes in this week’s poll.

Be heard

Do you have a story idea for the Around the West column? Contact me about approaching milestones, broken records, break-out players or any other storylines in the Region. Or just drop me a note to let me know what you think of the column. All ideas and feedback are welcome. Email me at josh.smith@d3sports.com or follow me on Twitter @By_Josh_Smith.