Johnnies will play Tommies at new Allianz Field

SCTimes

Dusty Krueger and Nick Neumann celebrate a touchdown during the fourth quarter against St. Thomas Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017, at Target Field in Minneapolis.

COLLEGEVILLE — St. John's head football coach Gary Fasching got his first serious look at the new Allianz Field in St. Paul.

It's where the Johnnies play St. Thomas on Oct. 19 and will be the first college football game played at the new home for the Minnesota United FC pro soccer team.

"It's a beautiful stadium," Fasching said Tuesday. "It's very well done and a magnificent venue. It'll be a great spot for a football game."

The Johnnies faced the Tommies Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017, at Target Field in Minneapolis.

Fasching and officials from St. John's attended a press conference Tuesday in St. Paul to announce it.

The $250 million stadium has 19,400 seats. The last time the Johnnies played the Tommies in a St. Thomas home game, the game was played at Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins. That contest drew an NCAA Division III record 37,355 fans.

The teams played Oct. 13 in Collegeville in front of 16,922 fans, a 40-20 St. John's victory.

"It'll be a perfect spot for any football game," Fasching said.

The Johnnies have been asked to move their game with St. Thomas from Clemens Stadium in Collegeville, but have declined.

"We have zero interest," Fasching said. "We will never move it off our campus. We feel our stadium is a special place, and we have no interest in moving out of it."

during the Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017, game at Target Field in Minneapolis.

The Tommies' home field is O'Shaughnessy Stadium. It has 5,000 seats. St. John's and St. Thomas' rivalry is regarded as one of the biggest in college football. The Johnnies lead the all-time series 52-35-1 and are coming off a 12-1 season that concluded with a 21-18 loss Saturday at Mary Hardin-Baylor in the national quarterfinals.

More:Johnnies fall 21-18 in national quarterfinals

Johnnies earn more honors

Junior quarterback Jackson Erdmann has been named the D3football.com West Region Offensive Player of the Year. And Fasching has been named the West Region Coach of the Year.

Erdmann, who is from Rosemount, is one of six Johnnies to earn All-West Region first-team honors. Also honored were: defensive lineman Nathan Brinker (Senior, Holdingford); wide receiver Will Gillach (Sr., Chisago Lakes); offensive lineman Dan Greenheck (Jr., Cretin-Derham Hall); safety Max Jackson (Sr., Cretin-Derham Hall); and cornerback Sam Westby (Sr., Hill-Murray).

All six earned first-time All-MIAC honors. The D3football.com All-American team is scheduled to be announced Dec. 14 prior to the Division III national championship game in Texas.

More:SJU QB gets a nice surprise

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Erdmann is the MIAC's most valuable player and a semifinalist for the Gagliardi Trophy, Division III's version of the Heisman Trophy. It's named after former St. John's head coach John Gagilardi.

More:Defensive end's huge senior season fueling success of St. John's football

Wisconsin-Whitewater had nine players on the All-West Region team. Bethel had five. St. Norbert (Wis.), Simpson (Iowa) and Wisconsin-Oshkosh each had four.

Fasching led the Johnnies to their first MIAC championship since 2014 and the 33rd in school history. St. John's went 12-1. Fasching has a 58-12 record in six seasons as head coach.

Gillach OK

Gillach, who looked to be seriously injured in Saturday's game in Belton, Texas, is OK. His injury wasn't as serious as initially feared, Fasching said.

"He's fine," Fasching said.

St. John's University players take the field during the Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017, game at Target Field in Minneapolis.

Follow Tom Elliott on Twitter @sctimestom or call 320-259-3661. Send an email to telliott@stcloudtimes.com.