University of St. Thomas Athletics
Concordia-Moorhead
Football rallies to 38-35 victory at Concordia-Moorhead
9/15/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
St. Thomas rolled up 509 yards of offense but needed every bit as it survived an offensive shootout Saturday in Moorhead. The Tommies rallied in the final 5:30 and scored a 38-35 victory over the host Cobbers in the 2001 MIAC opener for both teams. It was UST's fourth consecutive victory over the Cobbers, although none have come easily.
St. Thomas (1-1 overall, 1-0 MIAC) got a 25-yard TD pass from Nick Ambrasas to Justin Hall with 2:43 to go. The Tommie defense bent much of the day, allowing 410 yards of offense, but UST came up big in the final 2:00 to preserve the victory. The Cobbers (1-1 overall, 1-1 MIAC) faced 4th-and-22 at midfield on its last possession when Jeff Hertel gained 20 before being run out of bounds at the UST 22 by Matt Boro, two yards shy of a first down.
After a scoreless first quarter, St. Thomas built a 14-7 lead. On 4th-and-1 at the 17, UST's Andy Kaiser caught a 17-yard scoring pass to break a 7-7 tie. But Concordia scored with 11 seconds left in the first half on a 15-yard TD pass. A missed PAT kick let UST cling to a 14-13 halftime lead.
The Cobbers took a 21-14 lead early in the third period on a long TD march and two-point conversion. But the Toms scored the next 10 points to reclaim the lead 31-28 with 10:00 left in the game.
After the Cobbers regained the lead at 35-31 with a TD with 5:23 to play, UST's Justin Kostner ripped off a 41-yard kickoff return to give the Toms the ball at the Cobber 41. Five plays later, Ambrasas connected with Hall for what proved to be the winning TD.
Ambrasas threw for a career-best 323 yards as he completed 19-of-32 passes with three TDs and one interception. Hall caught five passes for 94 yards; Andrew Hilliard caught 10 passes for 191 yards and one TD; defensive end Andy Kaiser caught a 17-yard TD pass as a tight end; Jake Barkley rushed 32 times for 171 yards and two TDs, his 10th 100-yard rushing outing in his last 11 games; Brian Lynch had a 20-yard field goal and was 5-for-5 on PAT kicks; Matt Meunier had an interception; and linebacker Rick Joslin was in on 17 tackles. The Toms finished 8-of-15 in third-down conversions and 2-of-3 in fourth-down conversions.
Four of the five MIAC road teams won Saturday. St. Olaf kicked a field goal with 41 seconds to play to stun St. John's 31-28. That dropped the Johnnies, the 2000 NCAA Division III runner-up, to 0-2 on the season. Gustavus and Augsburg on the road and Bethel at home all had comfortable wins.
The Tommies host 0-2 Carleton next Saturday at O'Shaughnessy Stadium and play Sept. 29 at St. John's.
