University of St. Thomas Athletics
10-0 , 8-0
Gustavus Adolphus
7-3 , 5-3
Football caps 10-0 regular season with huge win
11/14/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
By DOUG HENNES
ST. PETER – On Saturday, for the fourth week in a row, an MIAC opponent threw an early scare into the St. Thomas football team.
And for the fourth week in a row, St. Thomas shrugged off the challenge and went on to thoroughly dominate the game. Their 66-9 rout of Gustavus Adolphus wrapped up the Tommies' fourth undisputed MIAC title – and fourth 10-0 regular season – in six years.
No. 4-ranked St. Thomas now will wait to learn its first-round opponent in the NCAA Division III playoffs, which will open on Saturday Nov. 21. The NCAA will announce the 32-team field at 5 p.m. Sunday, with the Tommies assured of hosting a noon game in O'Shaughnessy Stadium.
"I thought they would give us a run," Coach Glenn Caruso said of the Gusties (7-3, 5-3 MIAC), who came into the game featuring an offense that averaged 46.6 points and 491 yards a game under record-setting quarterback Mitch Hendricks.
"And they did early. But as the game went on, we made adjustments and figured out how to stop them. To hold a team like that to nine points is incredible."
The Tommies broke open a 7-6 game with 24 second-quarter points, scored on 10 of their 11 possessions, and accumulated a season-high 715 yards of offense (396 rushing and 319 passing). But after the game, everybody wanted to talk about the defensive effort against Hendricks, who Caruso called "the gold standard for MIAC quarterbacks" in averaging 320 passing yards a game. He finished with 188 yards but had only 75 after the first quarter.
"We stuck with our plan," said defensive coordinator Wallie Kuchinski, whose Tommies recorded five sacks and seven tackles for loss in holding their eighth opponent of the season under 10 points. "We wanted to throw a lot of different looks at him. The in-game adjustments with the blitzes were really impressive. We got to him (Hendricks) a couple of times, and it started wearing him down."
St. Thomas was just as overwhelming on offense, already setting a school record for most points in a season with 564, exceeding the 521 scored in 2011 when the Tommies played 14 games and 13-1. Their margin of victory stands at 48 points a game (56.4 to 8.1).
Junior halfback Jordan Roberts rushed for 230 yards on 32 carries and three touchdowns. It was his eighth straight game with more than 100 yards on the ground, and he now has 24 rushing touchdowns (plus one receiving) and 1,439 yards for the season.
"We executed again so well on both sides of the ball," said Roberts, a Wyoming native who transferred to St. Thomas from Division I South Dakota this year. He marveled over the perfect season record, "but I'm not surprised at all by it," he said. "I knew how good we could be."
Senior quarterback John Gould also had a sharp day, completing 13 of 18 passes for 229 yards and one touchdown and running for two touchdowns. Wide receiver Jack Gilliland was a favored receiver, catching five balls for 114 yards, and Nick Waldvogel's four receptions included a 16-yard touchdown catch. Backup halfback Tucker Trettel, a freshman, had 101 second-half rushing yards – his second straight week with a plus 100-yard day off the bench.
Gusties strong at outset
After holding Gustavus on its opening drive, the Tommies took over the ball on their own 3-yard line and churned out a 97-yard, 12-play scoring drive capped by Gould's six-yard run. Roberts carried the ball on eight of the plays for 64 yards en route to a 183-yard first half.
Gustavus bounced right back behind Hendricks, who hit Matt Boyce for a seven-yard touchdown pass after a 78-yard drive (69 yards by air). The extra point kick failed and the Tommies held only a 7-6 lead late in the first quarter.
They appeared en route to another touchdown on their ensuing drive, but Roberts was stripped of the ball and the Gusties recovered at their 2. They were unable to move, and after a punt St. Thomas needed only five plays to go 81 yards for a rushing touchdown by Roberts from the 4. Tight end Charlie Dowdle, holding for the PAT, tried to run for two points but was stopped.
The Tommies held Gustavus to one first down after the kickoff and marched 68 yards in 12 plays to extend their lead to 20-6 with 2:34 left in the second quarter. Gould picked up his second rushing touchdown, from nine yards.
But St. Thomas was not done scoring in the half. The defense forced a 3-and-out Gustavus punt and Gould needed just 1:23 to push the offense 66 yards for another touchdown, a Roberts four-yard run with 21 seconds left. Dowdle ran in the PAT for two points and a 28-6 lead.
The Gustavus returner lost his handle on the ball after receiving the kickoff, and the Tommies recovered at the 17. Gould scrambled out of bounds with 1 second left in the half, and Paul Graupner kicked a 31-yard field goal and a 31-6 lead at the break.
Tommies salt away win
Gustavus scored 13 final-minute points last week to stun Concordia, but St. Thomas made sure early in the second half there would be no encore Gusties rally.
The Tommies scored after the kickoff on Roberts' third rushing touchdown, forced a 3-and-out Gustavus punt and needed only six plays to push their lead to 45-6 on Gould's 16-yard bubble screen pass to Waldvogel.
Gustavus kicked a 24-yard field goal and St. Thomas answered with a pair of touchdown passes – 45 and 25 yards – from Alex Fenske to Wolfgang Dvorak and a 59-9 lead halfway through the fourth quarter. The Tommies closed the scoring on a 20-yard Trettel run.
Tommie Notes
• With their game average of 56.4 points, it appears the Tommies are No. 1 in Division III for most points scored during the regular season. They ranked third coming into Saturday's game, but Mount Union and Linfield finished with averages of 53.8 and 53.4 points, respectively.
• St. Thomas has punted 12 times this season and only three times over 74 possessions in the last six games, scoring 49 touchdowns in that span.
• Gould went over 2,000 passing yards for the season and is at 2,183, with 21 touchdown passes. The two rushing touchdowns against Gustavus were his first of the year, and he was not sacked.
• Roberts narrowly finished behind Sam Sura of St. John's, 1,476 to 1,439 yards, in regular-season rushing. Roberts had 184 receiving yards to Sura's 134, giving him a 1,623-1,610 edge from scrimmage, and scored 25 touchdowns to Sura's 24. When the Tommies defeated St. John's 35-14 in September, Roberts outrushed Sura 230-74.
• The UST defense will remain in the top 10 in several Division III categories. The Tommies came into the Gustavus game No. 4 in scoring defense (8 points), No. 4 in total defense (196.1 yards) and No. 2 in third-down conversions (20.2 percent).
Team Stats
UST-MEN 7, GAC 0
UST-MEN - John Gould 6 yd run (Paul Graupner kick), 12 plays, 97 yards, TOP 5:36
UST-MEN 7, GAC 6
GAC - Matt Boyce 7 yd pass from Mitch Hendricks (Brandon Boche kickfailed) 8 plays, 78 yards, TOP 4:36
UST-MEN 13, GAC 6
UST-MEN - Jordan Roberts 4 yd run (Charlie Dowdle rushfailed), 5 plays, 81 yards, TOP 2:12
UST-MEN 20, GAC 6
UST-MEN - John Gould 9 yd run (Paul Graupner kick), 11 plays, 68 yards, TOP 4:57
UST-MEN 28, GAC 6
UST-MEN - Jordan Roberts 4 yd run (Charlie Dowdle rush), 7 plays, 66 yards, TOP 1:23
UST-MEN 31, GAC 6
UST-MEN - Paul Graupner 31 yd field goal 3 plays, 3 yards, TOP 0:17
UST-MEN 38, GAC 6
UST-MEN - Jordan Roberts 2 yd run (Paul Graupner kick), 10 plays, 70 yards, TOP 3:56
UST-MEN 45, GAC 6
UST-MEN - Nick Waldvogel 21 yd pass from John Gould (Paul Graupner kick) 6 plays, 52 yards, TOP 2:44
UST-MEN 45, GAC 9
GAC - Brandon Boche 29 yd field goal 11 plays, 71 yards, TOP 4:28
UST-MEN 52, GAC 9
UST-MEN - Wolfgang Dvorak 45 yd pass from Alex Fenske (Paul Graupner kick) 3 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:25
UST-MEN 59, GAC 9
UST-MEN - Wolfgang Dvorak 25 yd pass from Alex Fenske (Carter Schmitz kick) 9 plays, 62 yards, TOP 4:07
UST-MEN 66, GAC 9
UST-MEN - Tucker Trettel 20 yd run (Carter Schmitz kick), 5 plays, 45 yards, TOP 2:14
