COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Carleton College kept things close for one half Saturday, but host Saint John's University pulled away in the second for a 41-14 victory at Clemens Stadium. With the win, the Johnnies (10-0, 8-0 MIAC) completed a perfect regular season and in the process clinched the outright MIAC title and with it, the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Playoffs.
Five seniors wrapped up their collegiate careers on the gridiron today for the Knights (3-7, 1-7 MIAC). Running back Phil Blue (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) carried the ball 10 times for 48 yards and a touchdown in his final game in the maize and blue.
Also ending their Carleton careers were Adam Hallbeck (Anoka, Minn.), John Schlaefer (St. Paul, Minn./St. Thomas Academy), Spenser Williamson (La Crosse, Wis./Luther), and Kyle Burkhardt (Eden Prairie, Minn.).
Coming into the day, Saint John’s had permitted only three rushing touchdowns all season, the Knights nearly doubled that figure, pounding in both scores via the running game.
The Knights put up a strong fight in the first half, tying the game at seven early in the second quarter after a two-yard touchdown rush by Jon Lien (So./Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes). It was the fourth score of the year for the versatile back, who ran the ball 16 times for 46 yards on the day and wraps up a strong 2009 season with 144 carries for 625 yards rushing in addition to a team-high 37 receptions and 281 receiving yards.
Saint John's scored later in the second quarter to take a 14-7 lead into the locker room, but the Johnnies exploded out of the gates after the intermission and outscored the Knights 27-7 in the second half.
Carleton's second touchdown of the afternoon came on Blue's two-yard scamper early in the fourth quarter.
Freshman running back Stephen Johnson carried the bulk of the offensive load for Saint John's, rushing 26 times for 128 yards and two touchdowns. Josh Overman added 3 catches for 73 yards and a score.
After receiving last week off, Knights' quarterback Vaughn Schmid (So./Mahtomedi, Minn.) completed 16-of-27 passes for 158 yards but also threw three interceptions, two of which were returned for Johnnie touchdowns. Schmid finishes his first season as a starter with 178 completions on 312 attempts for 2,070 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Filling in for Neil Kolstad, Tim Bielecki (Jr./Pengilly, Minn./Greenway) led the Carleton defense on the day with a career-high 14 tackles.
Dylan Bothun (Jr./Rosemount, Minn.) paced the Knights' receivers with seven catches for 89 yards. Rookie Anthony Kemper (So./Pior Lake, Minn.) could not find the end zone, leaving him tied for fourth all-time with nine touchdown catches over the course of a stellar debut campaign in which he totaled 35 catches for a team-leading 621 yards.
Despite a frustrating end of the season, the future looks bright for the Knights, who will return all but two of their contributing players in 2010.