University of St. Thomas Athletics
Gustavus Adolphus
Football escapes with 28-27 win over Gusties
10/27/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sat. Oct. 27, 2001
MIAC Football-- St. Thomas 28, Gustavus 27
3 Interceptions, Barkley's 201 yards help Tommies escape
St. Thomas safety Paul Sommerstad (FR-Apple Valley/Eastview) made a diving interception of Gustavus QB Joe Thorvig at the UST 4-yard-line with 1:07 to play to halt a potential game-winning drive and help the Tommies (6-2 overall, 6-1 MIAC) escape with a 28-27 MIAC football win over visiting Gustavus (5-3, 4-3) Saturday at O'Shaughnessy Stadium.
The win coupled with Bethel's 34-0 loss at St. John's, created a three-way tie atop the MIAC standings with Bethel, UST and St. John's all 6-1 with two games to play. The Toms, whose last conference football championship came in 1990, play at Hamline next Saturday and host Bethel Nov. 10.
UST held the ball for 34:25 to GAC's 25:25, as Jake Barkley (JR-Plymouth-Robbinsdale Armstrong) rushed 35 times for 201 yards, including a 40-yard burst in the final minute that sealed the victory.
UST tight end Jon Learn (SR-Red Wing) caught TD passes of 2 and 32 yards, the latter with 10:58 to play that let the Tommies regain the lead. Tommie Brian Brenberg (SR-Wyoming/Forest Lake) had his first TD catch of the season on an acrobatic play that resulted in a 10-yard TD reception in the third period.
Tommie QB Nick Ambrasas (JR-St. Paul/Arlington) completed 18-of-30 passes for 240 yards and three TDs and no interceptions. He has thrown 86 passes in a row without being picked off. All three of his TD passes Saturday occurred after he was flushed from the pocket.
The Tommies, who went 4-0 in October, had three interceptions Saturday and have picked off 13 passes in their four-game win streak. John Kaiser (SO-Mora) had a first-half pickoff in the St. Thomas end zone to kill an early Gusties drive.
UST had no turnovers of its own and outgained Gustavus 477-299. The Toms' biggest error was a blocked punt on the first play of the fourth quarter by Gustavus' Brad Baglien that set the Gusties up at the Tommie 17-yard-line. Two plays later, Andy Traetow's 10-yard scoring run gave the Gusties their first lead at 27-21. But the PAT kick was wide left, keeping the lead at six points.
On UST next's drive it faced 4th-and-1 at the GAC 32-yard-line. Ambrasas avoided a sack and found Learn for a 32-yard scoring TD. Andy Clark's fourth PAT kick of the day made it 28-27 with 10:58 left.
Gustavus' final drive started at its own 30 with 3:24 to go. In seven plays, the Gusties moved 45 yards and had a first down at the UST 25-yard line with 90 seconds to play. But two plays later, Sommerstad made an over-the-shoulder pickoff at the 4-yard line to kill the best Gustie threat.
Gustavus had three time outs left, but on 2nd-and-8 from the UST 6-yard-line, Barkley broke a 40-yard run that allowed the Toms to kill the clock. For the Gusties, Thorvig completed 19-for-35 for 174 yards, with three TDs and three pickoffs; LB Brian Bergstrom was in on 19 tackles; and Traetow surpassed 200 all-purpose yards (103 rushing yards on 20 carries, 30 yards on six receptions, and 78 yards on three kickoff return). Traetow also rushed for first downs twice on fake punts. UST's Sean O'Leary (JR-Wisconsin Rapids, Wis./Lincoln) had nine tackles and a sack; Connell Nolan (SR-Burnsville) had nine tackles and a break-up; and Matt Meunier (FR-Brooklyn Park/Osseo) had his seventh interecption of the season. see box score here
