University of St. Thomas Athletics
2-0
UW-River Falls
0-2
Defense steps up big again in FB's 25-7 win
9/12/2013 12:00:00 AM | Football
By DOUG HENNES
RIVER FALLS, Wis. - Second-ranked St. Thomas survived an uneven, penalty-plagued performance on offense to overcome stubborn UW-River Falls 25-7 Thursday night at Ramer Field.
The Tommies (2-0) scored easily on their first possession with a four-play drive but struggled thereafter to find their rhythm on offense. They played stingy defense deep in their own territory to twice keep River Falls (0-2) at bay in the fourth quarter.
"We knew they were tough from the St. John's game," Coach Glenn Caruso said of the Falcons, who dropped a 17-14 heartbreaker to the Johnnies on Sept. 6 after leading 14-7 late in the game. "They improved greatly between games 1 and 2."
The St. Thomas defense, after allowing 182 yards and seven-of -11 third-down conversions in the first half, buckled down after the break. It held the Falcons to 62 yards on 32 plays in the second half and only two-of-eight third-down conversions - more in tune with the 28 percent hold rate that ranked among the best in Division III last year. The Tommies finished with five sacks for 33 yards.
"What I loved about our defensive effort," Caruso said, "was we rolled a ton of guys in there, stayed fresh and were aggressive throughout the whole game."
St. Thomas had a 438-244 advantage in total offense and held the Falcons to net 72 rushing yards on 34 carries after the sacks were factored in.
The win was the 36th in a row during regular seasons for St. Thomas and sets up a Sept. 21 showdown with St. John's at O'Shaughnessy Stadium. The Tommies' last loss in regular season was 20-17 in overtime in October 2009 at St. John's.
Quick Start, Then Stalls
The Tommies opened scoring as they did in their home opener against UW-Eau Claire - quickly.
Quarterback Matt O'Connell hit wide receiver Dan Ferrazzo with a 42-yard pass down the middle on the first play from scrimmage, and three plays later wide receiver Dan Noehring took a reverse pitch for a 19-yard touchdown run. Fullback Dominic Truoccolo handled the PAT snap and ran it in for two points and an 8-0 St. Thomas lead with only two minutes gone in the game.
Ferrazzo missed the Sept. 7 opener against UW-Eau Claire and was anxious to get on the field against River Falls. He finished with six catches for 80 yards, with more than half of them coming on his first reception of the season.
"Their defense backs are good but they are aggressive, and they bit on a double move route," he said. "I was able to get behind them and Matt laid the ball right in there for me."
The Tommies advanced into River Falls territory on their next two drives but came up empty-handed both times. Running back Jack Kaiser, following runs of four and nine yards and a 26-yard reception, fumbled at the Falcons' 36 and they recovered. After forcing a punt, St. Thomas moved from its 23 to the River Falls 1, but a holding penalty negated a one-yard Kaiser touchdown run and the Falcons held on downs.
The pair of missed opportunities frustrated Caruso.
"We came out clicking on our first three drives," he said, "but we didn't finish the last two because of the fumble and the hold on the 1-yard line. Those are the kinds of things we have to clean up."
St. Thomas extended its lead to 15-0 on its next series, taking advantage of excellent field position after a 14-yard Noehring punt return. The Tommies went 43 yards in five plays and Kaiser got his touchdown on this drive, from three yards out.
River Falls broke through late in the first half with a 10-play drive; all 73 net yards came via passes from sophomore quarterback Ryan Kusilek. He converted three consecutive third-down tosses, including a four-yarder to Jordan Christianson for the touchdown with 1:18 remaining to cut the St. Thomas lead to 15-7 at halftime.
Waldvogel A Spark
St. Thomas' offense remained sluggish at the outset of the second half, losing the ball on another Kaiser fumble and forced to punt after the third of four holding penalties, but got a spark from freshman running back Nick Waldvogel on the next series.
Waldvogel accounted for 46 of the Tommies' last 49 yards on the 65-yard drive, starting with a 19-yard reception and ending with a 10-yard burst up the middle for the touchdown and a 22-7 lead.
"They blitzed over the top of me and left me open," Waldvogel said of the swing pass that he took to the River Falls 30. On his touchdown run, he credited the offensive line for creating "a huge hole. All I had to do was dive through it and into the end zone."
River Falls recovered an unsuccessful UST onside kick at St. Thomas' 45 and drove to the 17, but the Tommies held on downs and took over. The Falcons drove deep into St. Thomas territory, to the 28, on their next possession but again were stopped on downs.
The St. Thomas defense, after allowing 182 yards and seven of 11 third-down conversions in the first half, buckled down after the break. It held the Falcons to 62 yards on 32 plays in the second half and only two of eight third-down conversions -- more in tune with the 28 percent hold rate that ranked among the best in Division III last year. The Tommies finished with five sacks for 33 yards.
Next up: St. John's
St. John's will visit O'Shaughnessy Stadium on Sept. 21 and attempt to break a three-game losing streak to the Tommies -- 43-21 last year, 63-7 at home in 2011 and 27-26 in overtime in 2010. The Johnnies will play Eau Claire on Saturday in Collegeville.
St. Thomas is installing temporary stands in the end zones and expects to be able to seat up to 10,000 for the 1:10 p.m. game, Athletic Director Steve Fritz said. The 2011 game attracted a stadium record 10,420 fans.
Click here for box score:
http://www.d3football.com/seasons/2013/boxscores/20130912_rllh.xml
Team Stats
UST 8, UWRF 0
UST - Dan Noehring 19 yd run (Dom Truoccolo rush), 4 plays, 67 yards, TOP 2:03
UST 15, UWRF 0
UST - Jack Kaiser 3 yd run (Paul Graupner kick), 5 plays, 43 yards, TOP 2:15
UST 15, UWRF 7
UWRF - J. Christianson 4 yd pass from Ryan Kusilek (Ryan Kusilek kick) 10 plays, 72 yards, TOP 4:36
UST 22, UWRF 7
UST - Nick Waldvogel 10 yd run (Paul Graupner kick), 11 plays, 65 yards, TOP 4:22
UST 25, UWRF 7
UST - Paul Graupner 41 yd field goal 11 plays, 43 yards, TOP 5:03
