University of St. Thomas Athletics
11-0
St. Scholastica
10-1
Defense, run game fuel Football's 48-2 playoff win
11/19/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
By DOUG HENNES
Cold, wind and snow don't bother Colin Tobin in the least.
The St. Thomas running back actually likes the kind of nasty conditions that prevailed Saturday in O'Shaughnessy Stadium, and he thrived in them in leading the 11-0 Tommies to a 48-2 win over St. Scholastica in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.
"It was a lot of fun for me," said Tobin, who rushed for a career-high 206 yards and notched his first 1,000-yard season in finishing with 1,179 yards. "It brings me back to playing with friends on Thanksgiving in all kinds of weather."
As Tobin spoke in a post-game news conference, you could see his defensive teammates smile and nod. Lineman Ayo Idowu, linebacker Tremayne Williams and cornerback Chinni Oji also enjoyed the inclement weather as their defense buried a St. Scholastica team that had averaged 45 points and 482 yards a game.
"We've played seven (consecutive) games and only allowed four touchdowns," Coach Glenn Caruso said. "Our goal is to stop the run and pressure the quarterback when he has to throw. ... I'm entirely comfortable with not only how well we're playing on defense but that we're getting better and better."
St. Scholastica coach Greg Carlson credited the St. Thomas defense as the biggest difference in handing the Saints (10-1) their first loss in 15 games and advancing to the second round of the playoffs next Saturday against Monmouth.
"That is an outstanding defense - as good a defense as any I have seen in a long, long time," said Carlson, who has coached for three decades. "They smother you - they absolutely smother you."
In holding St. Scholastica to 73 yards and four first downs - two on penalties, one rushing and one passing - the St. Thomas defense consistently created short fields for quarterback Dakota Tracy and Tobin. The Tommies scored on six consecutive possessions over a 23-minute span in the middle of the game on drives of 49, 55, 44, 50, 55 and 45 yards.
St. Thomas spotted the Saints a 2-0 lead on the opening kickoff after the ball glanced off the hand of returner Kyle Whitley at the 25-yard line and rolled into the end zone. He retrieved it but was tackled for the safety. It was just the fourth time the Tommies have trailed this season; the other three also were at the beginning of games in September.
The defense stopped St. Scholastica on the next series and St. Thomas regained the lead on an 11-play, 86-yard drive capped from two yards out by one of Tobin's three rushing touchdowns. He moved into second place for career touchdowns with 46, behind only Ben Wartman's 50.
Neither team could generate any offense over the next seven series. Tyler Erstad stopped one drive with one of two St. Thomas interceptions of Saints quarterback Alex Thiry, who had thrown only one interception - and 33 touchdown passes - this year.
After three consecutive punts by Garrett Maloney, the Tommies got on track offensively in the second quarter. A short St. Scholastica punt gave St. Thomas the ball on the Saints' 49 and 11 plays later - including 9 rushes for 27 yards by Tobin - Tracy ran it in from the 1 on fourth down for a 13-2 lead.
On the next series, Williams sacked Thiry for a nine-yard loss on third-and-7, one of two sacks by the sophomore linebacker from Appleton, Wis.
"We run those blitzes to free me up, but you can't just give me the sacks," Williams said before adding to laughter, "though I really do like getting those sacks."
Tobin again starred on the ensuing drive. He caught a screen pass for 13 yards and ran for 35 yards, including the final eight for the touchdown and a 20-2 lead right before halftime.
"We felt the best thing for this team was to stick with the running game, get it going and not abandon it," Caruso said when asked why the usually balanced Tommies had more than twice as many rushes as passes in the game.
The second half brought more of the same - the Tommies stopped St. Scholastica on four straight series and followed with touchdowns to run the lead to 48-2 early in the fourth quarter. Wide receiver Fritz Waldvogel scored on a 15-yard run and Tobin on a 42-yard run before two freshmen running backs from California - Aaron Terell-Byrd and Ryan Toney - picked up rushing touchdowns to close the scoring.
For Waldvogel, it was another day to set a school record - he has started in 47 games. With 75 receiving yards, he climbed to within 63 of his third straight 1,000-yard season, and he has scored a touchdown against 16 of 18 opponents over four years.
If Caruso was displeased about anything, it was penalties. The Tommies had their second straight game with more than 100 yards in penalties, whistled on nine for 109 yards compared with St. Scholastica's 2 for 19.
"That's one of those things we need to clean up," he said.
He will have a week to do so before facing Monmouth (10-1). The Fighing Scots went on the road beat Illinois Wesleyan 33-27 in triple overtime to advance to the round of 16. A site for the game will be announced on Sunday, with a likelihood the Tommies will host because of they have a better record and higher ranking.
Two years ago, St. Thomas defeated Monmouth 43-21 in Caruso's first NCAA playoff game. Waldvogel, Tobin, Tracy and Erstad all played starring roles as well as Wartman, who rushed for 177 yards. Waldvogel had 207 all-purpose yards, including 96 yards on 10 catches, Tobin rushed for 87 yards, Tracy threw for 149 yards and one touchdown and Erstad blocked a punt and ran it in 22 yards for a touchdown.
To view more Greg Smith action photos, click here:
Dakota Tracy (Greg Smith photo)
Colin Tobin (Greg Smith photo)
Tremayne Williams (33) had two sacks among seven solo tackles in his first career start. (Greg Smith photo)
Glenn Caruso improved to 5-2 in NCAA playoff games. (Greg Smith photo)
Aaron Terell-Byrd (Greg Smith photo)
Josh Carey (28) and Tyler Erstad (5) helped slow down the Saints. (Greg Smith photo)
Team Stats
CSS 2, UST2011 0
CSS - TEAM 0 yd safety
CSS 2, UST2011 6
UST2011 - Colin Tobin 2 yd run (Matt Stern passfailed), 11 plays, 85 yards, TOP 4:13
CSS 2, UST2011 13
UST2011 - Dakota Tracy 1 yd run (Tim Albright kick), 11 plays, 49 yards, TOP 5:49
CSS 2, UST2011 20
UST2011 - Colin Tobin 8 yd run (Tim Albright kick), 8 plays, 55 yards, TOP 2:52
CSS 2, UST2011 27
UST2011 - Fritz Waldvogel 15 yd run (Tim Albright kick), 8 plays, 44 yards, TOP 3:35
CSS 2, UST2011 34
UST2011 - Colin Tobin 42 yd run (Tim Albright kick), 2 plays, 50 yards, TOP 0:37
CSS 2, UST2011 41
UST2011 - A. Terell-Byrd 11 yd run (Tim Albright kick), 3 plays, 55 yards, TOP 1:07
CSS 2, UST2011 48
UST2011 - Ryan Toney 7 yd run (Tim Albright kick), 8 plays, 45 yards, TOP 3:56
