COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – The St. Olaf College football team was defeated 55-6 by unbeaten and nationally-ranked Saint John's University in Northwoods Division play in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) on Saturday afternoon at Clemens Stadium.

Saint John's (9-0, 7-0 MIAC, 4-0 Northwoods) opened up a 34-0 halftime lead and scored at least 14 points in each of the first three quarters on its way to booking its spot in the 2024 MIAC Football Championship. Junior Gus Gartzke ran for a 17-yard touchdown for the lone points of the game for St. Olaf (6-3, 4-3 MIAC, 2-2 Northwoods) midway through the third quarter.

The Johnnies, who were ranked No. 3 this week by D3football.com and No. 4 by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), piled up 607 yards of offense and averaged 9.3 yards per play in the win. Aaron Syverson was 25-for-28 for 438 yards with six touchdowns and one interception and threw three touchdowns apiece to Marselio Mendez and Dylan Wheeler, who both had over 150 yards receiving.

Gartzke carried the ball 10 times for 38 yards and a touchdown for St. Olaf, which was held to two rushing yards on 18 attempts in the game. Gartzke also caught two passes for 21 yards.

Senior Elijah Short and fifth-year senior Deonta Thomas recorded interceptions for the Oles, while senior Tate Sauerwein had a game-high nine tackles, including 1.5 tackles for a loss.

St. Olaf will host Augsburg University, which finished third in the Skyline Division, during MIAC Championship Week on Saturday, Nov. 16 in a noon kickoff at Klein Field at Manitou.