Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Univ. of St. Thomas	14	14	14	7	49
St. Olaf College	0	0	7	7	14

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Univ. of St. Thomas

St. Olaf College

W, 49-14

at St. Olaf, September 18, 2010

By DOUG HENNES

NORTHFIELD, Minn. -- An offense that a backup running back said was "hitting on all cylinders" and a stingy defense that forced three turnovers joined forces Saturday to lead St. Thomas to a 49-14 win over St. Olaf.

The fourth-rated Tommies (3-0, 1-0) sprinted to a 28-0 halftime lead on the strength of four touchdown passes and cruised to the victory, avenging a six-overtime loss to St. Olaf in 2008, the last time these two teams met in Northfield.

The dominating win over the Oles (2-1, 0-1) came without the services of All-American running back Ben Wartman, who sat out the game because of soreness. In stepped Colin Tobin to fill Wartman's spot.

"It's a different role as a starter, and sure, it's exciting," said the junior from Chicago Fenwick High, who rushed for 85 yards on 14 carries and threw a touchdown pass. "But I didn't feel any more pressure. We have a great offensive line, and I felt confident we could move the ball. We were hitting on all cylinders today."

PHOTOS: Top, Fritz Waldvogel had three TD catches and 239 reception yards;

below, Colin Tobin rushed 14 times for 85 yards in his first career start.

Offense steps up

Caruso agreed with Tobin and said he was most pleased how the offense "got into a rhythm" early in the game. St. Olaf packed defenders to stop the Tommies' running, and quarterbacks Dakota Tracy and Greg Morse took advantage with a crisp passing game.

"Our offense had something to prove today," said Caruso, who thought the Tommies were inconsistent in their first two wins over St. Norbert (40-7) and UW-River Falls (27-3). "St. Olaf is a strong team, and we wanted to throw more."

Throw they did. Tracy was 9 for 15 for 151 yards and three touchdowns and Morse was right behind with 145 yards and one touchdown on 10 for 11 passing. Toss in Tobin's 22-yard touchdown pass and the Tommies exceeded 300 yards in the air and played their second game in a row without a turnover.

After the Oles and UST combined for three three-and-outs to open the game, the Tommies struck quickly on their second possession after taking the ball on the Oles' 48. On the first play, Tracy hit wide receiver Fritz Waldvogel on the right-hand sideline, and Waldvogel deked around and outraced three defenders for the touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

Tracy and Waldvogel connected on three passes for 60 yards on the next drive, capped by a 42-yard reception in which Waldvogel outjumped an Ole defender at the 4-yard line and slipped in for the touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

"That was just a deep shot," Waldovogel said of the Tracy pass, "and we were able to convert it." Tracy called it one of many great plays made by Tommie receivers all day.

After holding the Oles on the next series, St. Thomas ran off an 83-yard drive in nine plays, with Waldvogel making his third touchdown reception of the half -- this one on a 22-yard pass from Tobin.

"My first touchdown pass from Colin," said a grinning Waldvogel, who caught 12 passes for a career-best 239 yards, just one yard shy of a 20-yard per-catch average. "It was a little wobbly, but he got it there." Waldvogel closed with 295 all-purpose yards.

Defense joins the fun

Two plays later, the Tommies had the ball again. Linebacker Willy Baregi sacked St. Olaf quarterback Dan Dobson and Kevin Potas recovered at the St. Olaf 21. Tobin gained 16 yards on two rushes and Tracy threw for the last five yards and a touchdown to Ben Graham for a 28-0 lead.

"The defense put constant pressure on the quarterback (Dan Dobson)," Caruso said of the Tommies, who had five sacks and forced three turnovers, including interceptions by Brady Ervin and Chinni Oji. "We got our hands in his face and that made a difference in how comfortable he felt in the pocket."

St. Thomas opened scoring in the third quarter with its third touchdown on a drive that started in St. Olaf territory. After Waldvogel returned a punt 20 yards to the St. Olaf 38, the Tommies moved to a 35-0 lead on a two-yard Tobin run.

St. Olaf and St. Thomas then traded touchdowns for the final 28 points. Morse led the Tommies' longest drive of the day by throwing for 91 of the 95 yards collected, capped by a 14-yard touchdown strike in the corner of the end zone to wide receiver Ricky Margarit.

"We have been working hard in practice doing that route," said Morse, a junior from St. Paul Como Park. "I trust Ricky. I threw it up there and he came down with it."

St. Thomas' last touchdown came with 2:20 left in the game when Oji, a backup cornerback from Irondale, picked off Dobson and ran 60 yards for the score.

After the game, as the Tommies huddled at midfield, Caruso congratulated his team on its "great effort and hustle" and referred to their 29-23 loss to the Oles in six overtimes.

" I thought two years ago we had a pretty good chance of singing our school song," he said of the team's tradition of serenading its fans after wins. "That didn't work out, so let's go over there and sing it now."

St. Thomas returns home to face Concordia-Moorhead next Saturday. The Cobbers are 1-2 after Saturday's 40-28 road loss at St. John's.

Click here for final box score:

http://www.stolaf.edu/athletics/football/statistics/sto-ust3.htm

Football cruises to big victory at St. Olaf

Offense steps up

Defense joins the fun

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Football cruises to big victory at St. Olaf

Offense steps up

Defense joins the fun

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