University of St. Thomas Athletics
Central (Iowa)
Turnovers haunt Football in loss to No. 8 Central
9/1/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
St. Thomas held No. 8-ranked Central to 175 yards of total offense, broke a school passing record, recorded 25 first downs, had 10-of-21 third-down conversions, and had only one penalty... and still lost by 25 points.
The host Dutch (1-0) used two touchdowns from their defense and one from special teams en route to a strange 35-10 victory over St. Thomas (0-1) in non-conference football Saturday in Pella, Iowa. The Dutch extended their regular-season winning streak to 18 games, thanks in part to their 182 return yards after their two interceptions and one scooped up fumble.
The Tommies ran a school-record 98 offensive plays and gained 378 yards of offense but were zapped by four costly first-game mistakes.
Central used a fumble recovery and a 52-yard return for a TD for a quick 7-0 lead. The Dutch added an 82-yard interception return that built a 21-0 lead just 10 minutes into the game. A 46-yard interception return preceded a 28-yard scoring drive for the Dutch and a 28-3 advantage. Then a blocked punt recovered in the end zone for a touchdown pushed the margin to 35-3.
UST junior QB David Sauer completed 37-of-56 passes for 258 yards. His 37 completions broke a 14-year-old St. Thomas record set by Tom Stallings' in the famed 602-yard passing day vs. Bethel in 1993. Senior P.J. Theisen caught 11 passes for 58 yards, Tony Margarit added nine catches for 81 yards, and Scott Brink rushed for 49 yards.
The Tommies drove inside the Central 45-yard-line seven times but scored just twice -- on freshman Sean Barrett's 25-yard field goal in the second quarter, and a 4-yard TD pass from Sauer to Theisen with 9:00 to play in the game. The TD was set up by Justin Thom's interception and a Central penalty that gave UST 1st-and-goal at the Dutch five. St. Thomas also had a late drive end on downs at the Central four-yard line.
UST, which lost 17-7 at home to Central last season, ranked among the Division III leaders in turnover margin last season at plus 14. But Central had no turnovers by its starters and capitalized on Tommie errors as it built a 21-0 lead in the game's first 10 minutes.
The Tommie defense allowed one long scoring march -- a 10-play, 70-yard drive in the first eight minutes of play. On the Dutch's last 10 possessions, they punted eight times and threw one interception, with just seven first downs and 105 yards over the last 51:00. Defensively, Pat Sommerstad and Adam Johannsen each had eight tackles, and Marcel Walker and Thom each had a sack for UST.
UST absorbed its ninth loss in its last 10 season openers, including eight defeats to Division II teams or ranked Division III teams.
St. Thomas plays at Loras next Saturday in Dubuque. It opens its MIAC and home seasons Sept. 15 vs. Gustavus.
See link to box score here:
http://www.central.edu/athletics/football/statistics/game-1.htm
