Big plays put Tommies over Johnnies at half

Tight end Matt Christenson socres a touchdown in the first half. The Tommies led the Johnnies 17 to 10 at Target Field. (Carolyn Meyer/ TommieMedia)

MINNEAPOLIS — Tommie quarterback Jacques Perra threw for touchdowns of 31 and 61 yards Saturday at Target Field to lead the Tommies to a 17-10 halftime lead over archrival St. John’s.

On both scoring plays, Perra was flushed out of the pocket. He connected with tight end Matt Christenson in the first score and wide receiver Gabe Green for the second.

The Johnnies found the end zone once in the second quarter when quarterback Jackson Erdmann hit tight end Jared Streit for a 31-yard score. Streit broke three tackles within the Tommie 5-yard line en route to the end zone.

The 10 points scored by the Johnnies was their lowest first half total all season. In the first three games of the season, they averaged 43 points in the first half.

The Tommies gained 225 yards of total offense in the first quarter. Fullback Jeremy Molina led the ground attack with 32 yards on two carries. Perra completed seven of 14 pass attempts for 161 yards and two touchdowns. He completed throws to six different receivers in the half.

St. Thomas’ defense, which struggled at times against the pass throughout season, held the Johnnies to 94 yards in the half. Defensive lineman Austin Jochum led the attack with 1.5 sacks.

This is the 87th matchup between the two teams. Since 2010, the Tommies have 6-2 record against the Johnnies.

Noah Brown can be reached at brow7736@stthomas.edu.