University of St. Thomas Athletics
9-0
Concordia-Moorhead
7-2
Defense does it again as Football gets 3-peat
11/3/2012 12:00:00 AM | Football
By DOUG HENNES
MOORHEAD - Glenn Caruso kept coming back to one word -- "pivotal" -- in describing St. Thomas' 21-7 win over Concordia on Saturday.
He knew the game against the second-place and No.16-ranked Cobbers would be closely fought, given their hard-nosed defense and bruising running attack plus the game-day experience that 15 starting seniors would bring to their home field.
But Caruso also knew his Tommies were hungry -- to win their third consecutive
MIAC title and to clinch a spot in the NCAA Division III playoffs for the fourth straight year. Winning three consecutive conference football titles was last done at St. Thomas from 1947-49.
"This might have been the most pivotal program victory we have had," he said, referring to his five-season tenure during which St. Thomas has compiled a 52-7 record. "It's not easy winning on the road against a great team like Concordia."
The play of sophomore quarterback Matt O'Connell (shown at right) certainly was pivotal. He sat out last Saturday's win over Augsburg with a leg injury but showed no ill effects against the Cobbers. He piled up 247 yards of offense in the first half en route to finishing with 297 yards (217 passing and 80 rushing).
The play of senior tight end Logan Marks was pivotal. He caught his fourth and fifth touchdown passes of the season -- and 13th and 14th of his career -- in the first half and led Tommie receivers with five receptions for 78 yards.
And the play of senior defensive end Ayo Idowu was pivotal. With the Tommies up 14-0 but Concordia on a long drive midway through the third quarter, Idowu broke through with a 16-yard quarterback sack on fourth down to stop the Cobber threat.
It all added up to another win for the No. 3 Tommies (9-0, 7-0) who ran their regular-season winning streaks to 33 overall and 26 in the MIAC, including 14 in a row on the road. They are 45-0 since September 2008 in games when they scored 21 or more points.
Toms Continue 1st-Q Dominance
St. Thomas came in with an 85-17 scoring edge in the first quarter this year and added to that on its second series.
The defense set up the scoring drive when safety Tyler Erstad pounced on a fumble forced by Tremayne Williams near midfield. The Tommies marched 52 yards in seven plays as O'Connell completed two long third-down passes -- to running back Jack Kaiser for 30 yards on a reverse flea flicker and to Marks for 13 yards and the touchdown.
The flea flicker was one of several misdirection plays that St. Thomas ran during the first half to give its running attack a little breathing room.
"They loosened things up," Caruso said of the plays. "They (the Cobbers) were clogging up the box, and we expected that."
For the fourth time in the last five games -- and seventh time in 13 games -- the Tommies closed the first half with a late touchdown. They took over at their 36 at the 2:46 mark and with 14.7 seconds and no timeouts left, O'Connell hit Marks with a nine-yard touchdown pass and a 14-0 halftime lead. The play was the same as their first touchdown.
"I blocked down, Matt drifted out to the right, I popped out on the other side of the (defensive) line and Matt threw back to me," Marks said in describing the two scoring receptions. "Matt was really patient with me on the second throw. We were lucky their guys bit on it."
O'Connell dominated the first-half statistics, involved in 247 of St. Thomas' 266 yards by hitting 8 of 12 passes for 164 yards and running for 83 yards. He said he felt no ill effects from the injury suffered two weeks ago.
"My leg held up well," he said. "I was just happy to be out there with the guys today."
3rd Q TD Gives Cushion
St. Thomas extended its lead to 21-0 in the third quarter, thanks to a key defensive stop and a quick five-play scoring drive.
After holding the Tommies to a three-and-out possession on their first series of the second half, Concordia launched a 15-play drive kept alive by two fourth-and-one conversions. With the ball at the St. Thomas 22, Idowu broke through the line to sack Cobber quarterback Griffin Neal for a 16-yard loss on fourth down.
"Coach (Wallie) Kuchinski called up a great blitz and I got free," said Idowu, who also had nine tackles and leads St. Thomas this year with 11 tackles for loss. "There was no science to it . . . I just threw an arm out there and got him.
"Ayo was a man on a mission today," Caruso said. "He was very tough to block."
With the play, St. Thomas took over at its 38-yard line. O'Connell hit Dan Ferrazzo with a 32-yard pass and three plays later Ferrazzo ran 19 yards on a reverse to the Concordia 9. Brenton Braddock stormed in on the next run for the 21-0 lead.
Concordia averted a shutout with 5:06 remaining on a two-yard run by Baune, the conference's second-leading rusher, who finished with 89 yards. Backup quarterback Mitch Tauer, who came into game in the fourth quarter after an injury to Neal, had the key play in the drive -- a 41-yard run on fourth down to the St. Thomas 3.
While disappointed in losing the shutout, linebacker Mike Valesano was pleased with how the Tommies shut down a Concordia attack with per-game averages of 38 points and 427 yards, including 264 on the ground. The Cobbers had outscored opponents 191-39 in the first half until Saturday.
"Every single week we emphasize the run," said Valesano, who led the Tommies with 10 tackles and has a team-high 47 for the season. "Concordia likes to run, and when you play a team with as many good athletes as they have, everybody has to do his job in covering his guy. We did that today."
St. Thomas returns home on Nov. 10 to finish the regular season against St. Olaf, one of three second-place teams with two losses in the MIAC. The Oles (7-2, 5-2) defeated Bethel 24-17 Saturday in Northfield.
Click here for box score:
http://concordiamn.prestosports.com/sports/fball/2012-13/boxscores/20121103_ntbu.xml
Team Stats
UST-2012 7, CC 0
UST-2012 - Logan Marks 13 yd pass from Matt O'Connell (Paul Graupner kick) 7 plays, 52 yards, TOP 3:31
UST-2012 14, CC 0
UST-2012 - Logan Marks 9 yd pass from Matt O'Connell (Paul Graupner kick) 9 plays, 64 yards, TOP 2:32
UST-2012 21, CC 0
UST-2012 - BrentonBraddock 9 yd run (Paul Graupner kick), 5 plays, 62 yards, TOP 1:43
UST-2012 21, CC 7
CC - Brett Baune 2 yd run (Benjamin Wagner kick), 13 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:25
