Reusse: St. John's turns to shapeshifting to overcome Wisconsin-La Crosse in Division III football playoffs

COLLEGEVILLE, MINN. – There were 28 conference champions and only four at-large teams in the field for the Division III football playoffs in 2023.

St. John's had gone 8-2 and was No. 2 in strength of schedule nationally. The Johnnies were high among a number of extra-strong teams that were not selected for those precious at-large spots.

There was enough consternation over all the quality missing from the playoff field the number of at-large teams was expanded to 12 for this season.

The new 40-team field added a week to the playoffs, with eight first-round games among a mix of at-large teams and lower-seeded conference champs.

Which made for this interesting situation for the 2024 Johnnies: They were 10-0, MIAC champions and based on D-III's new national power index, the No. 1-seeded team in the entire field.

In that situation a year ago, the Johnnies would have had a first-game walkover against the qualifier from the nearest champion of a much weaker conference in the region (OK, let's be blunt here — from the UMAC).

Instead, St. John's rested last week as at-large Wisconsin-La Crosse dismissed UMAC champion Northwestern 59-14.

Meaning this new format made their game in the round of 32 the furthest thing from a walkover for the Johnnies.

"That is a very good football team," St. John's coach Gary Fasching said of Wisconsin-La Crosse, and he wasn't blowing smoke either before or after Saturday's smashmouth contest in the 9-degree cold at Clemens Stadium.

The Johnnies survived, winning 24-13. And the outcome was in doubt until they decided to break out a play that arrived in the mind of running backs coach Josh Bungum during preparations this past week.

The key to this play was getting the four players on the line to the right of center Charlie Folkens to shift en masse to the left side.

This would be followed by quarterback Aaron Syverson throwing a short pass to Corey Bohmert, a swift, emerging sophomore running back, and hope he could use his speed against a La Crosse defense that would be puzzled momentarily.

"They explained the play to me," Fasching said. "My reaction, 'I love that idea. I love that play.' "

The coaches gave it a name — "Rampage" — and they introduced the shift in practice Wednesday.

"We only went through it two or three times at practice," Syverson said. "It might look complicated, but it's not. You just have to make sure the shifting is done properly."

The Johnnies had informed the officials — a crew brought in from outside the MIAC or WIAC — that they were likely to use this play in this game. Message: "We're going to shift four players legally from right to left. They are going to get set. And then we're going to go."

St. John's still was sitting on Rampage when Eagles quarterback Kyle Haas threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Jack Studer with 4:17 remaining. A botched snap led to a blown PAT, and the Johnnies' lead was down to 17-13.

Two plays after the kickoff, the Johnnies were facing third-and-4 at their 31, looking at a punt to a riled-up UW-La Crosse bunch. The time for Rampage had arrived:

Four players shift. Everyone in the frozen crowd announced at 3,117 asks, "What's going on?" And that also seemed to be the case with the Eagles defense.

"I said I loved the play," Fasching said. "But I didn't expect it would go for 69 yards."

Syverson tossed the pass to Bohmert, a superstar prepster at Mahtomedi who had been waiting his turn with the Johnnies — finally moving to No. 2 at running back when Caden Wheeler was lost for the season in late October.

Bohmert took the pass, made a quick cut, then started speeding across the field to within a few yards of the right sideline — occupied by a now-panicked group of UW-La Crosse coaches and players.

It looked as though a couple of Eagles had an angle to get to Bohmert. Marselio Mendez, the small, fast, creative senior receiver from St. Paul, knew better, saying: "When I saw Corey going the opposite way, with his speed, I said, 'They're not going to catch him.' "

Mendez had 11 catches for 135 yards, with a touchdown. His receiver partner, Dylan Wheeler, had a terrific touchdown catch — and a more spectacular one that was nullified by a blown call from an official (as revealed by TV replay).

But Bohmert making the most of Rampage was what officially did in UW-La Crosse.

"I saw a little hole, then I made another cut with my left foot and saw a huge opening," Bohmert said. "There were still blocks going, and when I got around the corner, I knew I was gone."