
Will CBP Search Your Employee’s Laptop and Cell Phone at the Port of Entry?NoneCOLLEGEVILLE — The temperature didn't get above 13 degrees at Clemens Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 30. And with a little wind, it felt like two degrees for most of St. John's NCAA Division III second-round playoff game against Wisconsin-La Crosse. After a punchless first half, the No. 3 Johnnies woke up from a deep freeze offensively to beat the Eagles 24-13 in front of 3,117 fans. St. John's (11-0) will next host Susquehanna (Pennsylvania) in a third-round game at noon on Saturday, Dec. 7, in Collegeville. Susquehanna beat Hobart (N.Y.) 42-35 in a second-round game Saturday. The Johnnies , who led 3-0 at the half, started the second half with the ball and ran it five straight times behind Will Blakey (two carries for 19 yards) and Corey Bohmert (three carries for 27 yards) to the Eagles' 33-yard line. And wouldn't you know it, running the ball set up the pass. SJU senior quarterback Aaron Syverson found senior wide receiver Marselio Mendez for a 33-yard touchdown on the sixth play of the drive to give the Johnnies a 10-0 lead — and some much-needed life. Mendez had a huge day, finishing with 11 catches for 135 yards while Syverson went 27-of-39 passing for 357 yards and three TDs. "We got some outside practices in (during the week) and that prepared us for today," Mendez said. "In the end, the cold wasn't a big factor. And, it wasn't that windy. We talked at the half — made some adjustments — and took off from there." Bohmert breaks out Establishing Bohmert in the running game came in handy when it mattered most for St. John's. The speedy sophomore from Mahtomedi has been used sparingly this year. He had three carries for 34 yards at the half. With the Johnnies up 17-13 late in the fourth quarter, Bohmert came up with the biggest play of the year. On a 3rd-and-4 from the Eagles' 31-yard line, St. John's went to unbalanced line on the left side. Four players shifted to the left of center before the play and Syverson dumped a screen pass off to Bohmert on the right side. And then the 5-foot-10, 175-pound Bohmert turned on the jets by cutting across the field and turning an "old style" play (as SJU head coach Gary Fasching called it) into a 69-yard touchdown to give the Johnnies a 24-13 lead with 2:38 left. Bohmert finished with 10 carries for 69 yards and had four catches for 88 yards. Syverson said St. John's put the play in for the first time this week at practice. "You just have to make sure you have seven guys on the line when you shift everybody over like that," Syverson said. "Bohmert had some good runs for us throughout the game. His explosiveness is so nice to have as a weapon." When Fasching saw the play for the first time this week, he told offensive coordinator Kole Heckenedorf and running backs coach Josh Bungum how much he liked it. "I said 'I love that play.' That's old style football right there. Really old school. Credit to Josh Bungum for coming up with that during the week," Fasching said. "We've slowing been working Corey into the game plan after (starting running back) Caden Wheeler went down. When he gets going, he's fun to watch. "We have to supplement the running game in a little more and I thought Kole and Josh did that today. The mixed it in at the right times. It kept La Crosse off-kilter." Bohmert said the play worked well at practice, but he never imagined he could turn it into a long touchdown. "The goal is to ultimately do that and everything panned out perfectly on that one," Bohmert said. "We were just hoping to get a first down there, but their whole defense motioned over with our offensive line. That left the whole backside open. I saw a little hole, made another cut with my left foot and saw a huge opening. Once I got around the corner, I knew I was gone." Eagles linebacker Ryan Daines credited the Johnnies for their innovation on Bohmert's touchdown. "He hit a cutback lane and we went heavy to the other side," Daines said. "There was nobody left over there and he took advantage. (Bohmert) ran the ball really well. They gave us some looks we weren't expecting." The dynamic duo The Eagles cut it to 10-7 on the next drive following Mendez's TD catch on a 25-yard touchdown run by running back Braedon Ott with 9:22 left in the third. Syverson found junior wide receiver Dylan Wheeler just before the end of the third for a 22-yard touchdown pass on a 3rd-and-20 play. Syverson rolled to his right and threw it up for Wheeler, who leapt over two defenders to come down with his 20th touchdown catch of the season. Wheeler has 78 catches for 1,093 yards on the season while Mendez has 67 catches for 1,070 yards and 13 TDs. Fasching feels that Wheeler and Mendez are the two best receivers in D-III football this season. "Dylan and Marselio have been making plays like that all year for us," Fasching said. "I think they're the two best receivers in the country. Marselio has been lights-out the past six to seven weeks. And, they have a great trigger man in Aaron to get them the ball. They're both winning a lot of one-on-one battles." Eagles struggle in red zone The Eagles cut it to 17-13 when quarterback Kyle Haas hit Jack Studer for a 17-yard touchdown pass with 4:17 left. But St. John's defensive lineman Charlie King blocked kicker Maddox Pratt's extra-point attempt to keep it a four-point game. La Crosse got into the red zone on the final drive of the game, but SJU senior linebacker Hayden Sanders ended it by sacking Haas with no time left. Sanders finished with eight tackles — including two for a loss — and the sack. The Eagles finished 1-of-3 in their red-zone scoring opportunities. "We didn't play well in the red zone," La Crosse head coach Matt Janus said. "With it being so cold, there were a couple of times we should have tried a field goal. We just couldn't finish down there. Their defense really tightened up when they had to." Haas finished 19-of-33 passing for 168 yards with two interceptions (one each by SJU's Cooper Yaggie and Ben Dahl). SJU held Eagles running back Gabe Lynch to 13 carries for 63 yards and Studer to five catches for 44 yards. Lynch came into the game with 993 yards rushing on the season and Studer came in with 1,037 yards receiving. Yaggie led the Johnnies with nine tackles, Jake Schwinghammer had eight tackles and Westin Hoyt and Jack St. Fleur each had seven stops. St. John's outgained the Eagles 432-347 in total offense. Gendreau added seven catches for 96 yards for the Johnnies and Blakey had nine carries for 42 yards. It's the first time that Syverson has advanced past the second round in his four years at St. John's. To him, that's a relief, but there is still more to accomplish. "Next week (against Susquehanna) is another big one. We lost to Linfield and Wartburg in the second round in my other playoff games here. We all know we need to be locked in for it," Syverson said. "We've shown even if we start slow, the seal will eventually break and we can score on every possession. We got it going in the second half and that made the difference." Notes St. John's guard Nick McKenzie left with 2:18 left in the game with an injury and didn't return. Next Saturday's forecast calls for temperatures in the low 30s. When told of that, Fasching got a big smile on his face. "I guess that's a heat wave compared to today," he said. "We'll take it." Mendez was asked how tall he is in the postgame press conference. Mendez is listed at 5-foot-9, 165 pounds. Mendez replied that he's probably more like 5-7 or 5-8. "I'd say it's more like 5-6, really," Fasching said. "It doesn't matter though. He makes incredible catches. He's a great route runner who finds pockets in the defense. He's a great combo to have with Dylan." St. John's wide receiver Riley Schwellenbach (4) runs for yardage after making a catch in the first half against Wisconsin-La Crosse Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024, at Clemens Stadium in Collegeville. Andy Rennecke / St. Cloud LIVE
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