St. John's shocks No. 11 Gonzaga with last-minute fourth-down touchdown

Video: Joachim Bangda high school football highlights
The St. John's running back was the hero on Saturday.

Joachim Bangda barely got over the goal line, but that's all he needed.

The St. John's (Washington, D.C.) running back broke the plane of the goal line on fourth down with 30 seconds remaining to give his team a mammoth 21-17 victory over 11th-ranked Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) on Saturday afternoon. St. John's (7-3) needed just four plays to take a 7-0 lead on a 5-yard run by Bangda, but Gonzaga, with a rugged defense and special teams, seemed to take control.

The Eagles tied the game at 7-7 on a 5-yard touchdown run by Tyree Randolph midway through the second quarter, then took a 14-7 lead following a punt block by Maguire Dilenge that was recovered in the end zone with 3:08 left in the third.



St. John's tied it at 14-14 on a fake field goal and seven yard run by D.J. Brown with 11:05 to play.

Gonzaga (9-1) grabbed the lead back on a 30-yard field goal by Brian Johnson with 5:43 to play, but St. John's drove it methodically down the field before Bangda scored on fourth down.

A win would have given Gonzaga the undisputed Washington Catholic Athletic Conference regular season crown.

The Eagles joined the Xcellent 25 rankings, presented by the Army National Guard, after upsetting then-No. 3 DeMatha on Oct. 16. The Eagles didn't let down in their next two games, beating Good Counsel and Archbishop Carroll by a combined score of 73-32.

St. John's had won three straight — including two shutouts — before a head-scratching 42-35 loss to Bishop McNamara last week. The Cadets have now won 10 of their last 14 games against Gonzaga.

St. John's has three of 247Sports' top five prospects in Washington D.C. for the Class of 2016. However, four-star defensive end Terrell Hall and Tennessee-bound tight end Devante Brooks were injured. That left four-star linebacker Aaron Hansford, a two-way talent who leads the team in receptions.



The game, featured this week in the MaxPreps Rivalry Series presented by the Army National Guard, was the 98th meeting between the two teams. The rivalry started in 1893, making it the oldest rivalry game between two Catholic schools.