Reusse: It’s a shame the Tommies-Johnnies rivalry has ended

The COVID-19 pandemic was responsible for many misfortunes around the world, creating much that was tragic and also stealing things that would have been just great fun.

One of the latter here in Minnesota was an NCAA Division III football contest that would have been Number 90 and presumably the last gridiron match between St. Thomas and St. John’s.

The scheduled date was Nov. 7, 2020, and the Johnnies were willing to sacrifice a home game that would have jammed the natural bowl on their Collegeville campus for this option:

The chance to end the greatest rivalry in Minnesota football at U.S. Bank Stadium. St. Thomas was all for it, and the Johnnies couldn’t say no to the possibility of playing in front of 50,000 fans.

Sounds outrageous for a small-college game, until you consider this:

The Twins and team president Dave St. Peter had recruited the two teams to play a St. Thomas home game at Target Field on Sept. 23, 2017. The crowd was announced at 37,355, and it was not padded.

St. Thomas won that game, 20-17.

That was not supposed to be the football finale for this often un-Saintly rivalry, but COVID-19 and the Tommies’ move to Division I made it so. The series ended with the Johnnies holding a 53-35-1 advantage, thanks to having the all-time winningest coach in college football, John Gagliardi, for 60 of those contests (43-17 vs. St. Thomas).

When it comes to football, which school should have missed the other the most?

I was convinced the answer was St. Thomas, playing in the non-scholarship Pioneer Football League, without any opponent that resembled a rival.

Bethel has risen over the past 20-plus years to give St. John’s an outstanding competitor beyond Glenn Caruso’s Tommies in the MIAC. And there were also old grudges for the Johnnies to resolve with Concordia (Moorhead) and Gustavus Adolphus.

The Tommies’ neighborhood rival in the PFL is Drake, and it’s a 250-mile bus ride to Des Moines.

“St. John’s just had over 10,000 for a game in Collegeville,” I said to this Tommie for life.

Those eyes of a former hoops sharpshooter rolled.

Except, the Johnnies’ advantage seems a bit hollow now, with the dreary home schedule they are facing for 2025.

As with nearly all D-III conferences (the eight-team WIAC in Wisconsin being an exception), there is a horrible balance problem in the MIAC. St. John’s and Bethel are now annual favorites; Concordia and Gustavus are dangerous; and St. Olaf and Carleton are moderately competitive.

Hamline, Macalester and St. Scholastica have no chance. And Augsburg could be joining them, now that Derrin Lamker (quarterback on the Auggies’ 1997 championship team) quit as head coach this spring to return to Osseo High School.

Minnesota Morris from the UMAC’s collection of tiny schools, followed by Augsburg, Macalester, Carleton, St. Scholastica and St. Olaf.

The Johnnies frequently have led D-III in total football attendance. I had to issue this warning to coach Gary Fasching when hanging out at the Johnnies athletic building last week:

“You’re not going to lead the nation in attendance this season, coach.”

Fasching remained stoic and said: “We’re honoring Blake Elliott, our new College Football Hall of Famer, at the opener; we have homecoming; and we have enthusiastic fans.”

The level of enthusiasm could depend on Oct. 4, when the Johnnies visit Bethel. D3football.com has St. John’s rated No. 5 and Bethel at No. 12 in its preseason top 25.

Meantime, Bethel has Cooper Drews as its triggerman, the transfer (from St. John’s) who led the Royals on a postseason run last season.

As well as traveling to play Bethel, the Johnnies also are at Concordia and Gustavus. No St. Thomas, but St. John’s still has major rivals.

How about the Tommies? Caruso and four veteran players were at a media session at noon Monday to draw some attention to their fifth season in Division I, and the first in which they can win the PFL’s traditional place as ultra-longshots in the FCS playoffs.

The players were asked this question: “After four years, do you have a real rival … a team that you can’t stand?"

There were careful looks, but then Ryan Sever, a senior linebacker from Edina, came through with this: “I do not like the Drake Bulldogs.”