University of St. Thomas Athletics
5-0
Gustavus Adolphus
2-3
Football overcomes errors in 28-14 home win
10/6/2012 12:00:00 AM | Football
By DOUG HENNES
St. Thomas came into Saturday's home game against Gustavus Adolphus with the No. 6 rushing defense in the country, but the Tommies knew they would face the biggest challenge of their young season.
Gustavus boasted the MIAC's No. 2 ground attack at 253 yards per game, including the third and fourth leading rushers in quarterback Muresuk Mena (117 ypg) and halfback Jeff Dubose (108.5 ypg).
So how did the showdown turn out? Not only did the Tommies shut down the Gusties -- holding them to 20 net rushing yards, including minus-22 by Mena and 18 by Dubose -- but they also recorded a school-record 12 sacks and 14 overall tackles-for-loss in a 28-14 win before 3,750 fans in O'Shaughnessy Stadium.
No. 3-rated St. Thomas (5-0, 3-0 MIAC) needed the sterling defensive performance to survive six turnovers, record its 29th consecutive regular-season victory, and set up Saturday's first-place battle against Bethel. The No. 7 Royals (also 5-0, 3-0) scored on the last play of their home game and converted a two-point PAT to edge unbeaten Concordia 15-14.
Coach Glenn Caruso, running his career record to 48-7, couldn't find enough superlatives to describe his defense's performance against Gustavus. He was particularly concerned how the Tommies would handle the electric Mena, a senior who converted to quarterback this season after three years as a wide receiver.
PHOTOS: top, Tremayne Williams, below Matt O'Connell
"The reason why you feel comfortable as a coach is that they (opponents) are not able to establish a run game, and we are," Caruso said of the 248-20 yardage advantage that the Tommies held on the ground in lowering their season average to 49 yards per game. "If we let him (Mena) get to the edge, he can be real trouble. He did get to the edge a couple of times, but we were able to push him back."
The defense never let up on Mena, who lost 64 yards alone on the 12 sacks as the Tommies broke the school record of 10 sacks recorded in 1990 against Macalester and 1984 against Bethel. Linebacker Tremayne Williams was one of 10 players involved in the sacks, and also forced and recovered a fumble and picked off a Mena pass in the fourth quarter.
"We focused on getting 11 guys to the ball and tying up the quarterback as much as possible, said junior lineman Riley Dombeck, who had two sacks. "He (Mena) was shifty, so we stayed after him and tried to create a pocket so he couldn't get out."
Cornerback Chinni Oji also had the first two sacks -- on back-to-back plays in the fourth quarter -- of his collegiate or high-school career.
"We knew we had to stop their quarterback because he runs so well," Oji said, "and then we had to keep bringing the heat all day. The line was unbelievable today."
Another Quick Start
St. Thomas scored on its opening drive for the fifth straight game. Quarterback Matt O'Connell hit a wide-open Dan Noehring in the end zone for a 35-yard touchdown to cap a seven-play, 76-yard drive. Holder Dan Ferrazzo took the PAT snap and ran it in for two points and a St. Thomas 8-0 lead.
Gustavus recovered an O'Connell fumble at the Tommies' 47 on their next possession, but lost 22 yards on the ensuing series and had to punt. Both teams struggled to move the ball the rest of the half, and the Tommies had three straight three-and-out possessions before a Jack Gilleland fumble on a punt again gave Gustavus the ball at the St. Thomas 47. The defense held on four downs.
The Gusties intercepted a long fourth down O'Connell pass at their 4-yard-line but again had to punt. O'Connell took over at the Gustavus 43 with 42.3 seconds remaining and no timeouts and completed two big passes -- a 23-yarder to Ferrazzo to the 9, and one to Whitley in the right end zone for a touchdown with 4.8 seconds left and a 15-0 halftime lead.
Both teams scored early in the second half, and both on one long play.
After the Tommies forced a three-and-out punt, O'Connell ran 74 yards on the first play from scrimmage for the touchdown and a 21-0 lead. It was his third long touchdown run of the season -- he also had the winning 32-yard run in the opener at UW-Eau Claire and a 56-yarder at Carleton last week - and pushed him over 100 rushign yards for the game. He finished with 147.
"The guys set up the run when I cut it back to the middle," O'Connell said of the play, which started out as a keeper to the left before a big alley opened in the middle of the field. "The receivers were running with me the whole way. They got me into the end zone."
Gustavus Rallies
O'Connell also threw for 220 yards to reach 367 yards in total offense. But he admitted he didn't have his sharpest game with two lost fumbles and three interceptions. The Gusties converted the second fumble, the result of a sack, into their first points when Cory Colvard scooped up the ball and ran 53 yards for a touchdown. The Gusties lead NCAA football with 16 fumble recoveries in five games.
Gustavus cut the St. Thomas lead to 21-14 early in the fourth quarter on its longest drive -- nine plays in 71 yards -- held the Tommies on the next series and took over on its 38-yard line with 6:33 remaining. Two plays later, Williams picked off Mena.
"Their receiver was running a route behind me," Williams said. "I dropped back to where I was supposed to be, and the quarterback must not have seen me from behind the line."
Caruso praised his junior linebacker's dogged play, noting how "as the game goes on, Tremayne just gets stronger. If you look back at all five of our games, in the fourth quarter he's still playing tremendously. ... He's a very dynamic player."
A facemask penalty on the interception moved the ball to the Gustavus 18. Two plays later, freshman running back Brenton Braddock bulled in from the 4 and the Tommies had an insurance touchdown and a 28-14 lead.
Next up is what Caruso calls his favorite game of the year -- against Bethel -- because he admires the Royals' hard-nosed approach and believes that matches up well against the kind of game that the Tommies like to play. Under Caruso, St. Thomas has won all four regular-season games against Bethel, including 23-13 last year, but the Royals were victorious 12-7 in a NCAA quarterfinal playoff game in 2010 at O'Shaughnessy Stadium.
"Homecoming, a beautiful day, two great teams . . ." Caruso said, his voice trailing off. "You couldn't ask for anything more."
Click here for box score:
http://www.prestosports.com/admin/team/event/viewComparison.jsp?id=r6qmu0ngpxauc8u0
Team Stats
GAC 0, UST-2012 8
UST-2012 - Dan Noehring 35 yd pass from Matt O'Connell (Dan Ferrazzo rush) 7 plays, 76 yards, TOP 3:43
GAC 0, UST-2012 15
UST-2012 - Kyle Whitley 9 yd pass from Matt O'Connell (Griffin Snyder kick) 6 plays, 43 yards, TOP 0:38
GAC 0, UST-2012 21
UST-2012 - Matt O'Connell 74 yd run (Dan Ferrazzo kickfailed), 1 plays, 74 yards, TOP 0:16
GAC 7, UST-2012 21
GAC - Cory Colvard 53 yd fumble recovery (T. Huepenbecker kick)
GAC 14, UST-2012 21
GAC - Phillip Butler 6 yd pass from Muresuk Mena (T. Huepenbecker kick) 9 plays, 71 yards, TOP 3:19
GAC 14, UST-2012 28
UST-2012 - BrentonBraddock 4 yd run (Griffin Snyder kick), 2 plays, 18 yards, TOP 0:25
