University of St. Thomas Athletics
Hamline
Toms close MIAC season Thursday at Metrodome
11/11/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
St. Thomas (6-3 overall, 6-2 MIAC) tries to keep its MIAC title share hopes alive as it closes its 1999 MIAC season against the Hamline Pipers (2-7, 1-7) in an 8 p.m. kickoff in the Metrodome.
Tickets are $8 for adults and $4 for students (youths age 12 and under admitted free). Tickets will go on sale outside Gates F and H at 4 p.m. Thurtsday and are good for the 5:30 game (Macalester vs. St. Olaf) and the 8 p.m. game. There are free bus rides for students leaving from St. Thomas.
If the Toms don't reach the NCAA playoffs, this will be the final game for 24 seniors. Hamline has 17 senior starters.
UST has won three in a row vs. the Pipers, although last year's Metro-dome game went to the wire with UST holding off a Piper upset bid, 26-23.
Hamline won its first MIAC game last Saturday, 45-14 over Macalester. Piper kicker Steve Koehn was named MIAC Special Teams Player of the Week. He kicked field goals of 23, 31, 21 yards with a 48.5 punting average.
UST showed why it's ranked No. 1 in MIAC total defense in last Friday's 22-7 win at Concordia. The Toms held the Cobbers to 46 yards on 39 rushes and 205 total yards. Fourth-quarter pickoffs by seniors Tim Balthazor and Steve Nolander helped the Toms pull away from a 10-7 lead. Sophomore DE Andy Kaiser had two sacks and another tackle for loss among his nine tackles and was named MIAC Defensive Co-Player of the Week.
There's now a four-team tie in the MIAC for second place among UST, Bethel, Concordia and Gustavus at 6-2 behind 7-1 St. John's. If all four of those second-place teams win tonight and Friday -- including a Gustavus win over St. John's -- the MIAC race will end in a five-way tie for first place.
In that scenario, UST wins the tie-breaker for the MIAC's automatic NCAA playoff berth. UST's last NCAA playoff berth came in 1991, and the Toms' last MIAC football title share came in 1990.
UST also wins a three-way tie-break with Gustavus and St. John's. There are three four-team tie possibilities -- Gustavus wins a four-way tie-breaker among St. John's, Bethel, Gustavus and UST; Concordia wins a four-way tie-breaker among SJU, Bethel, Gustavus and the Cobbers;
SJU wins a four-way tie-breaker among SJU, Concordia, UST and Gustavus. see more on playoff scenarios Two dozen St. Thomas seniors are playing their final MIAC football game tonight. With a win, the Toms will finish 7-2 in the conference for the fourth season in a row and be assured of the school's third consecutive top-two MIAC finish. UST is 29-10 thus far in the four-year era of the current senior class. Here's a look at the UST seniors: .#2 Tim Balthazor... FS ... three-year starter... 38 tackles in 1999... Career: 126 tackles, 15 break-ups, four interceptions, three fumble recoveries... Accounting and Computer Science major..#6 Will Bryant...WR... one catch for 23 yards in 1998... Math major.
.#60 Joe Busch... OG... Business major..#62 Will Hankee... OG... starter junior and senior year on offensive line... Marketing/Econ major.
.#98 Josh Harrington... DT... six sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss in career (two sacks, 7.5 for loss this season)... Criminal Justice major..#75 Brian Hartigan... OT... second team All-MIAC in 1998... starter part of three seasons... Finance major.
.#46 Mark Heaney... DE... two sacks this season... Psychology major..#64 Jesse Johnson... OT... 2X MIAC Academic Honor Role... Finance and Economics major.
.#12 Andy Juntenen... QB... Career: 30-for-67 pass ... 2X MIAC Academic Honor Role... Finance major..#9 Greg Kaiser... QB... has completed 132-of-204 for 1,701 yards, 11 TD, 8 INT, 152.1 rating this season, with nine rushing TDs... ranks 15th all-time among Minnesota collegians in passing yards -- needs 211 yards to reach No. 13... 1997 2nd Team Academic All-American... 1999 Burger King NCAA Div. III Scholar Athlete... 1999 AFCA Good Works Team for community service... MIAC Offensive Player of the Week Oct. 4 (25-of-32 for 247 yards, 2 TD, in 18-17 win over Gustavus)... has led six second-half comeback wins in career... team is 20-8 when he starts... career totals are 6,264 yards passing, 6,467 total offense, 482-781 (.617) completions, 54 TD passes, 15 rushing TDs... nine passing games over 275 yards... Business major.
.#97 Bryan Keister... DT... has 91 career tackles, 21 this year... made All-MIAC in 1997 with three sacks among 41 tackles... Business major..#99 Mike Leiss... DE... six tackles in '98... one sack and three other tackles this year... has one season of eligibility left... Elementary Education major.
.#38 Mike McDonough... RB... seven rushing yards and one TD this season... Health Science major..#58 Pete Moosbrugger... LB... strong special teams player... Sociology major.
.#23 Darren Nelson... CB... has 36 tackles, one interception, seven pass break-ups this year... Career: three Interceptions, two fumble recoveries, 15 break-ups... Psychology/ Criminal Justice major..#45 Steve Nolander... SS... Career: 16 interceptions, second in UST history, including three returned for TDs, plus six fumble recoveries and 184 tackles... 1998 third-team All-American... Finance major.
.#20 John Penshorn... FS... Social Studies/ Education major..#3 Scott Solinger... LB... two sacks among 42 tackles this year... Career: 106 tackles (11 for loss), five sacks, three interceptions... Management major.
.#71 John Stewart... C... three-year starter... Physical Education major..#21 Frank Streit... LB... has 61 tackles as a senior, 114 on career... three interceptions and three sacks this season... Financial Management major.
.#10 Nick Tietz... PK... Animation and Journalism/Mass Comm major..#28 Blane Tetreault... LB... 216 career tackles, team-leading 79 this season... needs eight tackles for No. 7 on UST career list... 1998 first team All-MIAC... eight career interceptions (four this season)... has five career fumble recoveries... Marketing major.
.#67 Tom Virnig... OG... two-year starter...English major.
.#43 Mike Westland... FB... sitting out 1999 season with leg injury... 1998: team-best 47 receptions for 515 yards with one TD, first team All-MIAC, third team All-West Region... Career: 79 receptions for 792 yards... Accounting/Economics major. (end)
