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ST. PAUL, Minn. – Saint John's forced five turnovers and St. Thomas missed a 32-yard field goal on the game's final play as the Johnnies knocked off the second-ranked Tommies 20-18 on Saturday, Sept. 21, in St. Paul.

The victory snapped three UST (2-1, 0-1 MIAC) win streaks: 18 consecutive at home, 36-game regular-season and 27-game MIAC regular-season, preserving the Johnnies' conference record of 28 consecutive MIAC wins from 2001-04.

The win is the Johnnies' 50th of the series (50-31-1) and the 17th in the last 21 meetings.

Sophomore wide receiver Josh Bungum (Paynesville, Minn.), the reigning MIAC Offensive Player of the Week, caught 12 passes for 104 yards. He now has 21 receptions for 209 yards, with no touchdowns, in two career games against UST.

Senior quarterback Connor Bruns (Baltimore, Md./Loyola Blakefield) had an efficient day, completing 21 of 30 passes for 182 yards. He also gained seven yards on five carries, including a one-yard touchdown in the second quarter, and was only sacked once.

Sophomore running back Sam Sura (South St. Paul, Minn.) ran for 88 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries in his first collegiate start.

UST's Paul Graupner missed his first field-goal attempt of the game, also from 32 yards, on the Tommies' opening drive. The Johnnies (3-0, 1-0 MIAC) answered with a 40-yard drive, but fumbled around the UST 40-yard line.

Quarterback Matt O'Connell capped a nine-play, 60-yard scoring drive with an 11-yard touchdown run on the ensuing possession. A Dan Ferrazzo run gave UST the two-point conversion and an 8-0 lead with 4:55 left in the first quarter.

SJU tilted the game back in its favor with the Tommies' first turnover, a Brenton Braddock fumble on the UST 28. The Johnnies, however, turned the ball over on downs on the UST 19. The Tommies ate up 7:23 of the second quarter, going 58 yards on 15 plays, but turned the ball over on downs on the SJU 23.

The Johnnies were forced into a three-and-out, but Dan Noehring fumbled the punt return (an SJU flashback to last Saturday vs. Wisconsin-Eau Claire) and SJU recovered on the UST 40. The SJU offense found its groove, especially on third down, as well as the scoreboard seven plays later on a quarterback sneak from Bruns. Bruns hit senior wide receiver Blake Belland (Chaska, Minn.) for gains of 24 (third-and-six) and eight yards (third-and-seven) on the drive. The extra point from freshman Alexi Johnson (Shakopee, Minn.) made it 8-7 with 3:33 left in the first half.

On the ensuing drive, O'Connell connected with Matt Misiewicz for a 20-yard gain on third-and-10, but sophomore cornerback Trevor Warner (Murrieta, Calif./Vista Murrieta) stripped the ball and recovered the fumble on the SJU 47.

The rest belonged to Sura, who gained 52 yards on four consecutive carries, including a 35-yard gain down to the one-yard line. He was dropped for a one-yard loss on first-and-goal but punched it in from two yards out on the next play to give SJU the lead.

Graupner ended the first-half scoring with a 53-yard field goal, a new UST record, to cut the Tommies' deficit to 14-11.

SJU took the second-half kickoff and marched down to the UST 19, but had to settle for a 27-yard field goal from Johnson.

The Tommies answered with an 11-play, 72-yard scoring drive that ended on a 22-yard pass from O'Connell to Dominic Truoccolo. The extra point gave the lead back to UST, 18-17, with 3:40 left in the third quarter.

The Johnnie defense took over from there. Following an SJU three-and-out, senior Nolan Lortz (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech) intercepted O'Connell on first down and returned it 22 yards to the UST 21. A 34-yard field goal from Johnson gave the lead back to SJU, and unknowingly ended the scoring for both teams, 20-18.

Noehring returned a Johnnie punt 61 yards down to the SJU 33 with 5:30 remaining. Senior safety Darryl Williams ' (Hawthorne, Calif./Verbum Dei) first collegiate interception, on third-and-four, eliminated the Tommies' threat.

Following a three-and-out, UST took over from its own 12-yard line with 2:38 remaining. O'Connell hit Misiewicz for a 20-yard gain on fourth-and-seven from the UST 15 to extend the drive. From there, the Tommies chipped away down to the SJU 18 on eight plays. O'Connell connected with Ferrazzo for a seven-yard gain to the SJU 11, placing the spot on the left hash mark. With a timeout to burn, O'Connell took the snap and jogged over to the right hash, instead of the middle of the field, and took a knee for a four-yard loss. Graupner's game-winning attempt went wide left on the next play to end the game.

Lortz led the SJU defense with 10 tackles (eight solo), while sophomore linebacker Drake Matuska (Kasson, Minn./Kasson-Mantorville) added eight stops (seven solo), including two for a loss and one sack.



O'Connell finished the day 20 of 37 passing for 245 yards. He also gained 60 yards on 15 carries. Running back Brenton Braddock totaled 81 yards on 21 attempts.

UST entered the game with a 51.7 percent conversion rate on third down but was held to a 4-for-15 showing on the afternoon (4-for-5 on fourth down). The Tommies also scored points on 10 of their first 12 red-zone appearances this season, only to go 1-for-4 on Saturday.

The Johnnies return home to host Concordia-Moorhead for Homecoming Saturday, Sept. 28. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Clemens Stadium in Collegeville. SJU is 64-19-2 (.765) in 85 known Homecoming games, dating back to 1924. The Johnnies have won 23 of their last 27 Homecoming games and are 6-2-1 against Concordia. Saturday's meeting is the first for SJU against the Cobbers on Homecoming Day since Oct. 13, 1984 (W, 13-9).

Notes: The announced crowd of 10,800 set a new UST attendance record…Bungum's 11 receptions are the most by a Johnnie in a game since Mike Patnode caught 13 passes for 115 yards in the NCAA playoff loss at Central (Iowa) on Nov. 24, 2007…Bruns cracked two SJU top-10 lists on the day: career pass attempts (316), moving past Tom Kafka (1968-70) into 10th; and career pass completions (207), moving past Willie Seiler (1990-93) into 10th…SJU takes on St. Thomas in St. Paul for the second consecutive season on Sept. 27, 2014.