Schrader, Wartburg up for the St. John’s challenge

WAVERLY - The odds say St. John's defense is unlikely to come up with eight interceptions two weeks in a row. That probably hasn't happened too many times at any level of football.

It's not just the fact that such a statistical anomaly is extremely rare that should have Wartburg fans optimistic, though.

The Knights have one of the best quarterbacks in the country to decipher the No. 13 Johnnies (10-1) in an NCAA Division III second round playoff game today.

'For me, really it's just been great play (of) the O-line,” Logan Schrader said of what's allowed him to achieve a 182.7 passing efficiency rating, the fourth best in the country. 'They give me plenty of time back there to feel comfortable.”

St. John's, the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion, has come up with 22 interceptions this year, including eight in last week's 35-7 first-round win over St. Scholastica. It has also recovered seven fumbles.

Schrader was named a semifinalist for the Gagliardi Trophy, Division III's version of the Heisman, earlier this week. He has thrown 28 touchdown passes to just five interceptions to lead the fifth-ranked Knights (11-0).

'There's probably not very many statistics in football that are more correlated to winning and losing then the turnover margin,” Wartburg head coach Rick Willis said a few days after his team had a 2-0 mark in that category in a 37-31 win over No. 20 St. Thomas. 'We've got to do a good job of that.”

Schrader agreed that keeping possession of the ball will be crucial.

'They've got a great unit. They're fast. You can see why they've been so successful as a defense so far,” Schrader said. 'They're very opportunistic.”

Schrader won't be the only Gagliardi semifinalist on the field today. Sam Sura ranks second in the nation with 1,752 rushing yards for the Johnnies.

Wartburg's defense has been stiff against the run, allowing 122.4 yards per game. This will undoubtedly be their biggest test.

'They're probably gonna give him the ball enough that he's gonna get his yards, but we're gonna have to limit the gain,” Willis said. 'We're gonna have to get a lot of guys around him, tackle well and be able to control that.”

Wartburg, which hadn't won a game by less than 17 points before last week, is 3-0 against MIAC opponents this season.

'I think the thing that I'm most proud of with our team this year is just the consistency that they've played with,” Willis said. 'I think it's really a tribute to the focus, maturity and the leadership of our older guys.”