University of St. Thomas Athletics
2-0
UW-River Falls
0-2
Explosive offense, stingy run defense leads Football to 2-0
9/8/2012 12:00:00 AM | Football
By DOUG HENNES
St. Thomas threw two interceptions, lost two fumbles, was called for 10 penalties and had two miscues on 
kickoffs but used an overpowering offense and a stingy run defense to roll over UW-River Falls 43-9 on Saturday in O'Shaughnessy Stadium.
The No. 7 Tommies (2-0) piled up 636 yards on offense on 96 plays and held River Falls' running game to minus 13 yards in cruising to their 26th consecutive regular-season win and setting up next week's game at archrival St. John's, which defeated UW-Eau Claire 31-28.
Sophomore quarterback Matt O'Connell, fresh off last-minute heroics in St. Thomas' season-opening win over Eau Claire, had another strong performance before a home crowd of more than 4,000. He tied a school single-game record with 35 completions, and his 53 passing attempts and 403 yards are the most in Glenn Caruso's five-year tenure.
Caruso praised performances by O'Connell and his receivers, but felt the Tommies held a special edge because of the way their defense stopped the Falcons' running attack in the first half.
"It was encouraging how we were able to shut down the running game," Caruso said. "Regardless of the score, I felt confident on the sidelines when we could run the ball and they couldn't. That made a big difference."
St. Thomas jumped out to an early 15-0 lead with scoring drives on two of its first three possessions.
PHOTOS: Matt O'Connell (top), Dan Ferrazzo (bottom)
After holding River Falls to a three-and-out possession on minus 26 yards following the opening kickoff, the Tommies went 66 yards in six plays to grab a 7-0 lead. Dan Ferrazzo hauled in a 33-yard O'Connell touchdown pass after it was deflected at the River Falls 5 by a defender. It was one of 10 receptions by the sophomore wide receiver, for 148 yards.
"I give all the credit to Matt," Ferrazzo said of his quarterback, who had 301 passing yards in the first half alone, including 17 completions for first downs. "He is a terrific quarterback and a great leader. I just run the routes, and he gets the ball to me."Two series later, O'Connell took the Tommies 80 yards in a 10-play drive capped by a four-yard Ryan Toney run. They faked the extra point and Ferrazzo ran in the ball for two points and a 15-0 lead, which held up through a scoreless second quarter.
Air Show
River Falls struggled offensively in the first half, with minus 22 yards on the ground. The Falcons had seven first-half drives of five plays or less and abandoned their running game in the second half, when freshman quarterback Ryan Kusilek went to a short passing attack en route to a final completion rate of 39 of 74 attempts for 342 yards.
St. Thomas extended its lead to 22-0 early in the third quarter. Sophomore running back Aaron Terrell-Byrd, who had lost two first-half fumbles at the River Falls 46 and the 3, took a pitchout from O'Connell and ran 75 yards down the sideline for a touchdown. He ended with 120 yards on 11 carries.
"Just a little bit," Terrell-Byrd replied when asked if the touchdown sprint felt like redemption for the fumbles. "I got great blocking from the offensive line, and (fullback) Willie Schneider and (tight end) Logan Marks threw good blocks. I had to give one guy a little stiff arm (near the River Falls 15) to get away and go in."
River Falls got on the scoreboard with a 28-yard field goal midway through the third quarter on its first trip into the St. Thomas red zone and recovered an onside kick. But the Tommies held on four downs and took the ball 45 yards in nine plays on the ensuing drive, capped by a two-yard Toney touchdown run for a 29-3 lead.
The Falcons scored their only touchdown of the game early in the fourth quarter on a 10-yard pass to trail 29-9. They recovered the ensuing kickoff when a special teams player outraced the Tommies to recover the ball at the 26, but the defense held on four downs inside the 10.
Receivers Sharp
O'Connell responded with St. Thomas' longest drive of the game -- 92 yards in 14 plays -- to boost the lead to 36-9. He completed eight of nine passes on the drive for 77 yards, including the nine-yard touchdown to tight end Matt Allen.
"The receivers did a great job all day long in getting open and making plays," said O'Connell, who credited the River Falls defense for pressure that often flushed him out of the pocket. "That got us out of our rhythm a bit, but it always seemed like somebody was open."
Caruso also was impressed with his receivers, knowing there were questions marks after the graduation of All-American Fritz Waldvogel. On Saturday, four receivers each had four or more receptions.
"I feel our receiving game is as good as it's ever been, and it's deep," he said. "You can never replace a guy like Fritz with just one guy, but we have a strong overall corps and a more dynamic passing scheme."
St. Thomas wrapped up the scoring with less than a minute remaining in the game. After the defense recorded another fourth-down stop at the River Falls 34 -- the Falcons were just 1 of 6 in fourth-down conversions and only 4 of 20 on third down -- Garrett Engelhardt plunged in from the 1 for the final touchdown.
Next week, the Tommies will attempt to win their third straight game over St. John's, having routed the Johnnies 63-7 in St. Paul last year after a 27-26 overtime win in Collegeville in 2010. Caruso reminded his team in the post-game huddle at midfield of the importance of one thing -- the need to "focus" in everything they do in practice over the next week.
Click here for box score:
Team Stats
RF 0, UST-2012 7
UST-2012 - Dan Ferrazzo 33 yd pass from Matt O'Connell (Griffin Snyder kick) 6 plays, 66 yards, TOP 2:06
RF 0, UST-2012 15
UST-2012 - Ryan Toney 4 yd run (Dan Ferrazzo rush), 10 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:41
RF 0, UST-2012 22
UST-2012 - A. Terrell-Byrd 75 yd run (Griffin Snyder kick), 1 plays, 75 yards, TOP 0:12
RF 3, UST-2012 22
RF - Chad Blair 28 yd field goal 9 plays, 49 yards, TOP 1:06
RF 3, UST-2012 29
UST-2012 - Ryan Toney 2 yd run (Griffin Snyder kick), 9 plays, 55 yards, TOP 3:32
RF 9, UST-2012 29
RF - Nathan Brandt 10 yd pass from Ryan Kusilek (Chad Blair kickfailed) 8 plays, 54 yards, TOP 1:34
RF 9, UST-2012 36
UST-2012 - Matt Allen 9 yd pass from Matt O'Connell (Griffin Snyder kick) 14 plays, 92 yards, TOP 5:40
RF 9, UST-2012 43
UST-2012 - G. Engelhardt 1 yd run (Griffin Snyder kick), 8 plays, 34 yards, TOP 3:15
