University of St. Thomas Athletics
4 , 2-0
Concordia-Moorhead
2-2 , 0-2
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concordia-Moorhead | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Univ. of St. Thomas | 7 | 28 | 14 | 7 | 56 |
Football posts 56-7 victory, caps 4-0 September
9/25/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
By DOUG HENNES
St. Thomas rolled to its fourth consecutive football win Saturday, combining a quick-strike offense and a suffocating defense to crush MIAC rival Concordia-Moorhead 56-7 in St. Paul.
The No. 4-ranked Tommies (4-0, 2-0 MIAC) dominated every facet of the game in piling up 503 yards of offense, holding the Cobbers (1-3, 0-2) to 167 yards and forcing five turnovers before 1,800 fans in O'Shaughnessy Stadium
St. Thomas now will turn its attention to Collegeville and next Saturday's matchup with archrival St. John's (3-1, 2-0). The Johnnies tuned up for the clash with a 48-10 win over Augsburg on Saturday.
"I just continue to be pleased with our effectiveness and our energy over the last four weeks," Coach Glenn Caruso said. "We have gotten increasingly better as a team. We're hitting a nice stride as we go into a big game next Saturday."
Four quarterbacks saw action for the Tommies, whose balanced attack racked up 283 yards in the air and 220 on the ground. Dakota Tracy completed 13 of 18 for 181 yards and two touchdowns, while Greg Morse also had a pair of touchdown passes and 97 yards on 6 of 7 passing. Backup running back Garrett Engelhardt led the Tommie ground game with 96 yards, all in the second half.
Defense dominates
St. Thomas was equally effective on defense, holding Concordia to 167 net yards. The Cobbers, who played without injured starting QB Michael Dunham, lost three fumbles and threw two interceptions, one of which was returned by linebacker Mike Valesano for a 56-yard touchdown. It was the third pickoff by a Tommie defender returned for a score this year.
Caruso credited his defense for stopping Concordia's running game -- 24 yards on 26 rushes -- and allowing only one third-down conversion. The Tommies forced nine punts as the Cobbers had eight 3-and-out series and also failed to convert a fourth-down opportunity in St. Thomas territory.
"We had two big positives on defense," Caruso said. "One, we were able to get our defense off the field. ... And two, we were able to create turnovers. It's nice when our defense scores points."
The Tommies have been able to score quickly all season long, but they also showcased the ability on Saturday to put together long, time-consuming drives.
Their opening drive covered 15 plays and took nearly seven minutes off the clock but stalled at the Concordia 9. Tim Albright's 25-yard field goal attempt was wide right.
Fritz Waldvogel set up the next drive by returning a punt 36 yards to the Concordia 27, and five plays later Colin Tobin ran it in from the 2. After another Concordia three-and-out, Tracy engineered another 15-play drive, covering 82 yards over 7:48 before hitting Ricky Margarit from eight yards out for a 14-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
St. Thomas put the game away with 21 points in slightly more than four minutes:
• A failed Concordia drive left the Tommies with the ball at their 43. They needed just 44 seconds to go 57 yards in three plays, capped by a 41-yard Greg Morse touchdown pass to Dan Noehring.
• Linebacker Zach Sturm forced a Concordia fumble that Brady Ervin scooped up on the second play from scrimmage - one of two Ervin fumble recoveries on the day. Three plays and 1:19 later, Waldvogel ran it in from the 11 for a 28-0 lead.
• After another Concordia 3-and-out and on the first play from scrimmage, Tracy hit Margarit 10 yards behind the Cobber secondary for an easy 56-yard touchdown and the 35-0 halftime lead.
"I don't know how I got that open," said Margarit, a junior wide receiver from Holy Angels. "We'll take the easy ones when we can get them."
"We got on a roll there," Tracy said of the three-touchdown spurt. "Our defense put us in good position all day, and once the offense got in a flow we were able to move the ball well."
Strong finish
The Tommies held big statistical edges at halftime -- 347-33 in total yards and 16-2 in first downs -- but didn't let up in the second half. Again, the defense set the tone.
On the Cobbers' second series, Valesano picked off a Nate Schaefbauer pass and returned it 56 yards for a touchdown and a 42-0 lead. Another Concordia three-and-out gave the Tommies the ball at their 29 and Morse took them 71 yards in seven plays, with Waldvogel making an acrobatic 26-yard catch for his second touchdown of the day.
"When you have good rhythm, good things happen," Waldvogel said of the Tommies' offensive splurge. "We hit some key passes. Dakota and Greg are both playing fabulous right now."
St. Thomas scored its final touchdown on a 43-yard run by Engelhardt, who broke a tackle near the line of scrimmage and cruised through an open secondary.
Concordia avoided the shutout with a touchdown run with 4:15 to go six plays after a St. Thomas lost fumble at the UST 28-yard line.
Good month
With four September wins by a 172-31 margin, St. Thomas turns its attention to St. John's, hoping to avenge last year's 20-17 overtime loss in Collegeville. It might have been tempting in recent days to look past Concordia and think about St. John's, but Caruso said that never happened.
"I don't think I've ever been with a team that focused on a week's task like this team," he said. "It's a tribute to their mental toughness."
Ervin, a two-time All-MIAC cornerback, has three interceptions and two fumble recoveries this season. He said the Tommies will approach the St. John's game and a Collegeville crowd expected to exceed 12,000 no differently than they have all year. They will watch film Sunday, take off Monday and return to practice Tuesday.
"We'll play it like any other game," he said. "No matter how many people are there, we just need to focus on what's happening on the field."
"It will be day by day," added Waldvogel, who had six receptions for 89 yards and 149 all-purpose yards against the Cobbers. "Then I hope we can take care of business on Saturday."
Click here for box score:
http://www.tommiesports.com/ftbl/stats/9-25-fb.htm
Mike Valesano (41) and Willy Baregi (40) take down a Cobber. (Mike Ekern photo)
Colin Tobin (37) rushed for 51 yards in the first half. (Mike Ekern photo)
Ricky Margarit (12) had two toudhdowns on the day. (Mike Ekern photo)
Dakota Tracy (17) improved to 8-0 as a starter on his career. (Mike Ekern photo)
Zach Sturm (34) strips the ball loose and Brady Ervin recovered. (Mike Ekern photo)
Greg Morse (22) takea a hit as he watches he pass find the hands of tight end Jon Nelson. (Mike Ekern photo)
Brady Ervin (21) now has 13 interceptions and three fumble recoveries in 27 career games. (Mike Ekern photo)
Garrett Engelhardt (27) rushed for a career-best 96 yards, all in the second half. (Mike Ekern photo)
Team Stats
CC 0, UST 7
UST - Colin Tobin 2 yd run (Tim Albright kick), 5 plays, 27 yards, TOP 2:23
CC 0, UST 14
UST - Ricky Margarit 8 yd pass from Dakota Tracy (Tim Albright kick) 15 plays, 82 yards, TOP 7:48
CC 0, UST 21
UST - Dan Noehring 41 yd pass from Greg Morse (Tim Albright kick) 3 plays, 57 yards, TOP 0:44
CC 0, UST 28
UST - Fritz Waldvogel 11 yd run (Tim Albright kick), 3 plays, 25 yards, TOP 1:19
CC 0, UST 35
UST - Ricky Margarit 56 yd pass from Dakota Tracy (Tim Albright kick) 1 plays, 56 yards, TOP 0:09
CC 0, UST 42
UST - Mike Valesano 56 yd interception (Tim Albright kick)
CC 0, UST 49
UST - Fritz Waldvogel 26 yd pass from Greg Morse (Tim Albright kick) 7 plays, 71 yards, TOP 3:13
CC 0, UST 56
UST - G. Engelhardt 43 yd run (Griffin Snyder kick), 3 plays, 51 yards, TOP 1:24
CC 7, UST 56
CC - SeanBrandenburg 2 yd run (Porfirio Diaz kick), 6 plays, 28 yards, TOP 1:54
