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Oles Upset Johnnies

John Eickhoff
September 17, 2001

Sean Koomen?s (So., Mankato, Minn.) 22 yard field goal with 41 seconds left gave the Oles a 31-28 upset over last year?s Division III national runner-up, St. John?s University in Collegeville. The last time the Oles beat St. John?s in Collegeville was 1986.

The game looked as though it could become an early route, in favor of the Oles for once. On their first offensive play, Joe Hammond (Sr., Neillsville, Wis.) hit Steve Ryan (Sr., South St. Paul, Minn.) for an 80-yard touchdown strike. The Oles took their next possession and put it in the end zone on a two- yard pass from Hammond to Kevin Clausen (Sr., Pierson, Ia).

The Ole offense then stalled out and committed three turnovers, which allowed the Johnnies to get back into the game. St. John?s capitalized on the turnovers by scoring three quick touchdowns on three drives totaling only four plays.

The Oles got back on track offensively with Manuel Spreigl (Sr., South St. Paul, Minn.) capping off a drive with a one-yard touchdown plunge. The Oles entered the half trailing by just one point, 21-20.

The Johnnies were the first to score in the second half when Ross Denne connected with Jed Riegelman on a 25-yard scoring pass late in the third quarter.

The Oles countered in dramatic fashion on a fourth and 22-yard play from the Johnnies? 23-yard line. Brian Senske (So., Apple Valley, Minn.) found Ryan in the corner of the end zone out-jumping the defender for a touchdown. Senske completed the two point conversion on a pass to Jake Rath (Sr., Apple Valley, Minn.) to bring the score even at 28-28.

On the next drive St. John?s was poised to take the lead, but missed a 35-yard field goal.

St. Olaf got the ball back and marched down the field in a drive that took six of the remaining seven minutes off the clock. St. Olaf lined up to kick a field goal with 41 seconds remaining, despite the fact that they had already had a bad snap on a previous attempt and a botched extra point. Jeff Schmidt (Jr., Bloomer, Wis.) took the high snap from Jeff Flugum (Sr., Apple Valley, Minn.) and put it down in time for Koomen to nail the game winning kick.

The Oles committed five turnovers on the day. "This game is a lesson in adversity," said Senske, who shared quarterback duties with Hammond. "I mean, I threw four interceptions. How many games are you going to win when you do that? But we came back and beat a powerhouse like St. John's." St. John?s also committed its share of turnovers by fumbling five times and throwing one interception.

St. Olaf offensively out-gained St. John?s tallying 497 yards to 294 yards respectively. St. Olaf controlled the ball for over 40 minutes and ran 97 offensive plays compared to only 57 for the Johnnies.

Leading the receiving core on the day was Ryan as he hauled in 8 catches for 207 yards. Senske threw for 146 yards on 16 of 27 passes and Hammond threw for 168 yards on 10 of 14 passes. Spreigl led all ball carriers with 119 yards on 32 attempts.

The victory was the first win over St. John?s by Coach Paul Miller in his five seasons with the Oles. The Oles improve to 2-0 on the year and 1-0 in the MIAC. Next week St. Olaf takes on Hamline at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, September 22 at Manitou field in Northfield.

Contact Judy Stromeyer at 507-786-3315 or stromeye@stolaf.edu.