Reusse: A typical result for St. John’s and Carleton includes respect for the opposition

COLLEGEVILLE, MINN. – There was not an actual anticipation Saturday that Carleton could reverse the 0-41 record that it held against St. John’s on the gridiron, although the fine work that quarterback Jack Curtis and the Knights had done against five MIAC opponents created hope that this meeting could be somewhat competitive.

The ease with which the Johnnies cruised through the Carleton defense on their first two possessions took care of that pipe dream. The final was 49-10 for the home team, with Carleton getting its touchdown in the final five minutes.

The Knights had lost the nonconference opener at Wisconsin-Whitewater by 45-14 — not that bad considering the Warhawks’ status as always powerful in Division III. Carleton then reeled off MIAC victories vs. Macalester, St. Olaf, Gustavus Adolphus, St. Scholastica and Hamline by a combined score of 238-91.

Curtis had upped his seasons total to 2,253 yards and 21 touchdowns. The average coming in was 375.5 yards per game, and he was completing passes at 73.6%.

Then again, St. John’s and Bethel remained on the schedule, and in the current MIAC, this is a flashback to the Big Ten 40 years ago when it was titled the Big Two (Michigan and Ohio State), Little Eight.

As for St. John’s and Bethel, they became the Big Two when St. Thomas left the MIAC in 2021, and the talent advantage between those two programs — the Little Eight — seems to be getting larger by the season.

A month ago, Curtis was getting ready for the annual battle of Northfield with St. Olaf and was asked if he had a go-to receiver: “Anybody open. That is Tyler Dimond a lot of the time.”

The Knights elected to receive to get their passing attack on the field to open the game. Three plays later, Curtis was getting bulldozed by Aiden McMahon and Landon Gallagher on a 7-yard sack, and Carleton was punting.

When they lost at Bethel in early October, the Johnnies still were alternating at quarterback with transfer Trey Feeney and program veteran Zander Dittberner, a pair of lefties. Coach Gary Fasching decided after that the division of time practicing with the No. 1s was a problem, and he officially made Feeney his starter.

Carleton opened with its usual three-player front, with an emphasis on coverage, and Feeney was masterful in finding open receivers. He went 6-for-7 on the first drive, covering 64 yards, with star receiver Dylan Wheeler getting the touchdown.

Those first 6½ minutes — three-and-out, followed by a near-flawless touchdown drive — basically were a preview of the rest of this cool afternoon.

Feeney finished 33-of-41 for 409 yards and six touchdowns. Wheeler had 10 catches for 111 yards and three of the touchdowns.

Quite an aerial show by Feeney, the older brother of Jett Feeney, the Moorhead High quarterback who figures to make the Spuds a tough out among the 16 teams left in Class 6A.

“When you look at the schedule, you would rather play St. John’s early than later,” Carleton coach Tom Journell said. “With Gary and his coaching staff, they usually get better by the week. We didn’t play well, but that might’ve been them more than us.”

It also could have been this: Curtis, Carleton’s outstanding senior quarterback, had his final chemotherapy session with his lymphoma treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester on Monday.

This was a mini celebration for Jack and his family, but it left him feeling very beaten down. Curtis did not go through an actual practice all week. He admitted to several days of feeling weakened, but he also said:

“We put a lot of our offense on my shoulders, and I didn’t get it done today. St. John’s is a really good team, as always.”

And that wasn’t all tributes from the Carleton visitors.