Minnesota college football report: Caden Wheeler comes back strong for St. John’s

In late August, St. John’s running back Caden Wheeler was recovering from surgery to repair a broken foot suffered soon after the Johnnies opened preseason practice.

Wheeler missed the Johnnies’ first two games before returning to the lineup on Sept. 28 against Bethel. Wheeler rushed 20 times for 86 yards and a touchdown in the Johnnies’ 45-20 victory.

Last weekend, the junior from Andover rushed 15 times for 136 yards and a touchdown to lead the Johnnies to a 45-20 victory over Augsburg.

“I’m pretty happy to be where I’m at now,” Wheeler told the Johnnies website. “Especially considering where I was at a few weeks ago. I had just had surgery, I was in a boot and I wasn’t sure when I was going to play again. If you had told me I was going to be back doing this so soon, I’d have probably thought you were crazy. But I’d have hoped it was possible, and now that it’s happened, I’m really thankful.”

The Johnnies (4-0), ranked No. 3 in the D3football.com poll, play at Concordia (Moorhead) on Saturday.

Here are four other Minnesota college football storylines this week:

St. Thomas (2-3, 1-0 Pioneer League) will travel to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., to take on Marist on Saturday in its second road game of the season.

The Tommies are coming off a 34-24 victory over Stetson in St. Paul last Saturday, in which the Tommies recovered two blocked punts for touchdowns and returned an interception for a touchdown in a 28-point first quarter.

Marist (0-5, 0-2) is coming off a 42-19 loss at Pioneer co-leader Davidson.

The Tommies are 3-0 against Marist since joining the Pioneer League. They defeated the Red Foxes 49-14 last year in St. Paul.

Two years ago, Camden Dean appeared in eight games as a freshman — starting two — at quarterback for Minnesota State Mankato. Following the season, the Lakeville native transferred to NSIC rival Sioux Falls.

Last Saturday, Dean returned to Mankato and helped the Cougars hold on for a 40-36 upset victory over the Mavericks, ranked No. 7 in Division II.

Dean passed for 304 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown for the Cougars, who led 30-9 early in the third quarter.

Dean completed 17 of 25 passes as the Cougars gained 543 yards.

St. Olaf (4-0), which is off to its best season start since opening the 2019 season with five victories, will play host to crosstown rival Carleton on Saturday in Northfield.

Last Saturday, the Oles raced to a 41-0 lead in the first half en route to a 41-6 victory over Hamline in Northfield. The Oles were led by Theo Doran, a senior from Minneapolis, who passed for 257 yards and two TDs and rushed for three touchdowns.

It will be the 104th meeting in the series, which began in 1918. The Oles lead the all-time series with the Knights, 56-46-1, but the Knights have won the last two meetings.

Concordia (St. Paul) kicker Jeff Isotalo-McGuire converted a 60-yard field goal for the Golden Bears in their 19-13 overtime victory over Mary last Saturday in Bismarck, N.D.

The kick is the longest in Division II this season. A week earlier, Isotalo-McGuire kicked a 51-yard field goal against Minnesota State Mankato.

Isotalo-McGuire, from Phoenix, is a graduate transfer. He was an All-WIAC kicker at Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he earned a degree in business. He booted 25 field goals and made 96 of 99 extra-point attempts in two seasons for the Warhawks.