University of St. Thomas Athletics
13-0
Hobart
12-1
Fast start, few mistakes, Football back to semifinals
12/1/2012 12:00:00 AM | Football
By DOUG HENNES
The St. Thomas football team is clicking on all cylinders again.
In the last four games, Coach Glenn Caruso says, his players "clicked at times" but weren't "consistently feeding off each other." After jumping to early leads in their first nine games, the Tommies found themselves behind in the opening quarter each of the last three weeks.
Not so on Saturday. No. 3-ranked St. Thomas combined exceptional play from its special teams (a blocked punt), defense (three interceptions) and offense (463 yards against the nation's third-ranked defense) to roll over No. 7 Hobart 47-7 Saturday in the NCAA Division III playoffs.
The win moves the Tommies (13-0) into the semifinal round for the second year in a row, and on Dec. 8 they will face No. 5 UW-Oshkosh, a 31-24 overtime survivor over Linfield.
The location will be announced Sunday, although St. Thomas, by virtue of its better West Regional seeding than Oshkosh's, likely will be the host. The winner will move on to the national championship game, the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, on Friday, Dec. 14 in Salem, Va.
Saturday's win over Hobart matches last year's 13-0 start for best in school history. Caruso also tied Frank Deig (1946-1957) for most career coaching victories at St. Thomas with 56 (56-7 record). The Tommies are 33-2 at home -- including 16 wins in a row -- in Caruso's five years.
"The last time we played a game like this was a month and a half ago, against Bethel," said Caruso, referring to the 37-0 Homecoming shutout of the archrival Royals. "It's tough to get in rhythm with so many moving parts."
But get into a rhythm the Tommies did. Caruso wasn't surprised because "the buzz in the locker room was palpable," he said. "You knew something great was going to happen."
And it happened early.
Field Position Makes Difference
St. Thomas took advantage of superior field position in the first half, with an average starting position at its 45-yard line. Hobart's average starting position on all 13 drives in the game was its 19.
Freshman Wolfgang Dvorak blocked a Hobart punt after its opening three-and-out series, and Kyle Coyne recovered on the Statesmen's four-yard line. Two plays later, Brenton Braddock scored the first of four short rushing touchdowns and wide receiver Dan Ferrazzo, the holder on the extra-point kick, ran in a two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead.
"Boom-boom," Caruso said of the blocked point and touchdown just two minutes into the game. "It definitely sparked us."
After a Hobart punt and a personal foul penalty, the Tommies had another short field and needed only five plays to go 32 yards and a 15-0 lead. Braddock ran it in from the 2.
"The offensive line made it easy for me all day," said Braddock, whose 94 yards on the ground pushed him to 1,008 for the season. "It feels great the coaches trust me to get the ball over the goal line, but I couldn't do it without the O-line."
Hobart gambled on fourth and 1 from its 34 on the following series and it paid off. Running back Steven Webb burst through the line and ran 66 yards untouched for a touchdown -- the longest play from scrimmage given up by St. Thomas this season.
Two series later, the Tommies again took advantage of midfield position after a Chinni Oji interception, his fourth of the season and one of three St. Thomas pickoffs on the day. They moved 45 yards for another Braddock touchdown, this one from five yards, and a 22-7 lead one play into the second quarter.
"When you see ball in air, you have confidence in guys like Chinni and our other backs," Caruso said of how St. Thomas held Hobart quarterback Nick Strang to 11 of 25 passing and 106 yards. "These guys can cover a whole lot of ground."
Paul Graupner hit a 42-yard field goal to extend the lead to 25-7, and the Tommies got the ball back with 1:10 left in the half. Quarterback Matt O'Connell hit Ferrazzo for passes of 23 and 14 yards and capped the drive with a two-yard touchdown throw to tight end Matt Allen with :09.7 seconds remaining. It's the 10th time in 17 games that St. Thomas has scored in the closing two minutes of the first half.
Long 3rd Q Drive Seals Win
The Tommies put away the game on their first drive of the second half, moving 89 yards in 10 plays for a 40-7 lead. Braddock had a two-yard run for his fourth touchdown of the day and 16th of the season, and went over 1,000 yards on the drive.
"This is beyond my wildest dream," Braddock said of the 1,000-yard milestone and his role after breaking his leg last year and not cracking the starting lineup until the Hamline game this season. "I didn't see anything of this happening. I couldn't ask for anything else."
The scoring drive also marked a milestone for Ferrazzo, a Mahtomedi High School classmate of Braddock and a former quarterback who converted to wide receiver here. He caught three passes for 60 yards on the drive, finished with his first 100-yard day -- six balls for 103 yards and five first downs -- and ran for a pair of two-point conversions.
"Our offensive game plan, usually every week, is to try to pound the ball," Ferrazzo said. "We'll take some deep shots if we see we have something. ... They (the Statesmen) are a cover three team (with three deep safeties), and that allowed us to get some open routes underneath. Matt did a great job of getting me the ball."
St. Thomas finished the scoring with six minutes left on a one-yard run by freshman Jack Kaiser. Hobart drove to the St. Thomas 14 in the game's waning seconds, but Dan Bedor picked off a pass to end the threat.
O'Connell completed 14 of 28 passes for 238 yards, but rushed for only a season-low 17 yards -- perhaps with good reason.
"I was up all night with the flu," he said. "It was just one of those 24-hour bugs."
"He came to breakfast this morning," Caruso recalled, "and said, 'Coach, I can't keep anything down. (But) I'm playing.' "
The defense held Hobart, which ranked No. 18 in Division III at 38.5 points per game, under 26 points for the first time this season. The Statesmen also had converted half of their third-down plays but were only 2 of 13 against the Tommies.
Toms' Resilience Impresses Caruso
O'Connell's will-do attitude reflects that of the entire team, Caruso said, and he spoke about its resilience after losses to graduation (four All-Americans) and injuries (20 different starters on offense this season).
"Ridiculously pumped up," Caruso replied to a post-game news conference question about how excited he was to return to the semifinals. "In a year as tumultuous as this one, not a lot of people thought our kids would be in this position. Fortunately for us, our kids thought they were capable."
As the season progressed, he said, he knew he would find out "whether we have a good football team or a good football program. There's a big difference between the two."
Caruso also is impressed with his team's week-to-week focus, never looking beyond the next Saturday's game. He believes that is a sign of maturity from the Tommies' first trip to the playoffs in 2009, which ended with a quarterfinal defeat at Linfield.
"We had some mental fatigue because our kids had never played that many games (13) before," he said. "In building the program, you try to make sure you don't peak too early."
Four years of playoff experience "doesn't entitle us to feel comfortable," he said, "but it gives us a benchmark." He is most pleased that he can keep together his team, which he always refers to as a family, together "as long as we can. I don't care who we play or if we play in a cornfield in Alabama."
Oshkosh Rallies Past Linfield
Oshkosh rallied from a 21-6 halftime deficit and won in overtime, 31-24, over the Wildcats in McMinnville, Ore.
Titans quarterback Nata Wara led the comeback as he completed 23 of 30 passes with no interceptions for 237 yards. Cole Myhra rushed 21 times for 110 yards.
Oshkosh drove 57 yards and 80 yards for fourth-quarter touchdowns and added a two-point conversion to tie the game 24-24 with 7:43 to play. Linfield lined up for a game-winning 39-yard field goal with a few seconds left but it was blocked.
Linfield won the overtime toss and went on defense. Oshkosh reached the end zone on two pass completions to go ahead 31-24. Linfield used a 15-yard penalty to move closer to the tying touchdown but fumbled on a double reverse and the Titans recovered.
St. Thomas and Oshkosh have played three times in football, with no matchups in the last four decades. The Tommies won in the 1914 season opener, 67-0, but lost at home in the 1968 opener, 23-21, and lost in Oshkosh in the 1969 season opener, 34-20.
Box score: http://www.hwsathletics.com/boxscore.aspx?id=21665
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Greg Smith shot today's action photos -- click here to view more Greg Smith action photos:
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The Tommie defense limited Hobart to 2-of-13 first-down conversions in Saturday's 47-7 victory. (Greg Smith photo)
Matt O'Connell improved to 12-0 as a starter and threw for 238 yards. (Greg Smith photo)
Steve Dejewski (30) gets a fourth-quarter sack. (Greg Smith photo)
Mozus Ikuenobe (13) makes a stop. (Greg Smith photo)
Brenton Braddock (34) rushed for 94 yards and now has eight touchdowns in three playoff wins. (Greg Smith photo)
Team Stats
HOB 0, UST-2012 8
UST-2012 - BrentonBraddock 4 yd run (Dan Ferrazzo rush), 2 plays, 4 yards, TOP 0:30
HOB 0, UST-2012 15
UST-2012 - BrentonBraddock 2 yd run (Paul Graupner kick), 5 plays, 32 yards, TOP 1:44
HOB 7, UST-2012 15
HOB - Steven Webb 66 yd run (James Hull kick), 4 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:02
HOB 7, UST-2012 22
UST-2012 - BrentonBraddock 5 yd run (Paul Graupner kick), 7 plays, 45 yards, TOP 2:51
HOB 7, UST-2012 25
UST-2012 - Paul Graupner 42 yd field goal 8 plays, 33 yards, TOP 3:07
HOB 7, UST-2012 32
UST-2012 - Matt Allen 2 yd pass from Matt O'Connell (Paul Graupner kick) 8 plays, 66 yards, TOP 1:00
HOB 7, UST-2012 40
UST-2012 - BrentonBraddock 1 yd run (Dan Ferrazzo rush), 10 plays, 89 yards, TOP 5:09
HOB 7, UST-2012 47
UST-2012 - Jack Kaiser 1 yd run (Griffin Snyder kick), 4 plays, 61 yards, TOP 1:38
