University of St. Thomas Athletics
Drake
St. Thomas Football travels down Interstate 35 for its final road game of inaugural Division I season
11/11/2021 3:46:00 PM | Football
Coming Up
St. Thomas Football (5-3, 4-2 PFL) embarks on its final road trip of the season, this time by bus, to face Drake (2-6, 1-5 PFL) in its second-to-last game of the 2021 season.
Drake is on a three-game losing streak, most recently falling to Marist, 7-0. The Marist game was the Bulldogs first game in three weeks, as their game against Stetson was canceled due to COVID-19 issues with Drake's Tier I personnel.
Despite being border neighbors, Saturday will be just the ninth football game played by St. Thomas in the state of Iowa over the last 60 years.
The last time St. Thomas Football played a team from Des Moines was in 1925, a 12-7 home win over Des Moines University.
The Tommies finish the regular season at home Nov. 20 against Presbyterian.
The contest can be heard live on AM-1500 Radio Skor North, with Corbu Stathes on the play-by-play call. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
Diving into Drake
Drake had 15 winning seasons in a 16-year span from 2004 through 2019. Last spring in a schedule reduced by Covid protocols, the Bulldogs lost three games by four or less points in a 2-3 finish.
This year's 2-6 Drake record is also misleading, with three-point defeats to both San Diego and Valparaiso; a 7-0 road loss to Marist; and two road losses to top-11 ranked FCS scholarship teams in North Dakota and Montana State. Drake also had a home game cancelled against 3-5 Stetson. The Bulldogs allow 12.5 ppg in PFL games but have only scored 54 points in their last seven games.
Upper Echelon of the Conference
In just its first year as members of the Pioneer Football League, St. Thomas is showing it belongs. The Tommies rank in the top-five of the conference in a myriad of categories including the top ranked defense.
Below are rankings and statistics for all games by the eight conference schools this season. These stats and rankings include totals from the Tommies' game against FCS power-house Northern Iowa, which is currently ranked No. 24 in the nation.
Rank Category Stat
Defense
1st Total Defense 292.8 yards per game
1st Scoring Defense 18.6 points per game
1st Pass Defense Efficiency 104.8 efficiency rating
1st Pass Defense 156.9 yards per game
1st Opponent 4th Down Percentage 17.7% (3/17)
1st Opponent 1st Downs Allowed 16 per game
t-1st Interception Return TDs 2 touchdowns
4th Rushing Defense 135.9 yards per game
4th Opponent 3rd Down Percentage 35.9% (42/117)
Offense
4th Offensive Rushing Yards 1,224 yards
5th Rushing Offense 153 yards per game
5th Rushing Touchdowns 16 touchdowns
Special Teams
1st Field Goal Percentage 71.43 percent
Team
1st Penalties Committed 32 penalties (4 per game)
3rd Time of Possession 32:18 minutes per game
Hope is on the Way
Sophomore running back Hope Adebayo leads the St. Thomas rushing attack with 586 rushing yards on 87 attempts. Adebayo is averaging 6.7 yards per carry and has scored eight touchdowns on the ground this season.
Adebayo gashed the Stetson defense for a 78-yard touchdown on the game's opening offensive play in his first collegiate start. He finished the game with 182 rushing yards and four touchdowns, earning him Pioneer Football League Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Noteable Performances in First Career Starts by Tommie RBs
2021: Hope Adebayo, 20 rushes-182 yards, 4 TD vs. Stetson
2016: Josh Parks, 14-74, 1 TD vs. Gustavus
2016: Tucker Trettel, 6-70, 1 TD vs. Carleton
2015: Jordan Roberts, 16-92, 3 TD vs. UW-La Crosse
2014: Nick Waldvogel, 14-67, 2 TD, vs. Hamline
2013: Jack Kaiser, 17-60, 1 TD, vs. UW-River Falls
2012: Brenton Braddock, 13-79, 0 TD vs. Augsburg
2010: Colin Tobin, 14-85, 1 TD vs. St. Olaf
2008: Ben Wartman, 11-84, 2 TD vs. Macalester
Pioneers in the Pioneer League
St. Thomas has posted a 4-2 record against Pioneer Football League teams. The Tommies two losses came at the hands of the top-two ranked teams in the conference - Davidson (6-0) and San Deigo (6-1).
Tommie D
St. Thomas' defense has only allowed 15 touchdowns through eight games. That includes four scored by FCS power Northern Iowa, plus one on a blown coverage for a wide-open 35-yard scoring catch by Valparaiso, and a 2-yard, one-play drive after a bad snap on a punt attempt against Marist.
Adding in the opponents' three special-teams or return TDs -- and 8-of-9 field-goals made -- St. Thomas allows 18.6 points per game to lead the PFL.
The Toms are holding teams to just 34.1 percent (42-of-123) on third- and fourth-down conversions.
Proud Program Builder
Last weekend's game was No. 155 at St. Thomas for 14-year head coach Glenn Caruso. He has a 5-3 record so far in FCS after building a 126-21 record in the Toms' D-III era.
Adding in his 6-12 record in two seasons of a rebuilding project as Macalester College head coach (2006, 2007), Caruso boasts a 137-36 career record (.800). That all-game win percentage ranks in the top 10 among current NCAA football coaches at all levels who have worked 10 or more seasons.
Balance on Both Sides
The 2021 Tommies have no superstars but have played well as a team with several guys sharing the load.
Through eight games, the Toms are winning despite these unusually low totals by category leaders:
• The leading passer, Cade Sexauer, is averaging just 85 yards per game.
• The leading available receiver, Wesley Juszczak, is averaging 42 yards per game.
• The leading scorers Adebayo, 48 points, and K Louis Hyde, 33 points, both average under five points per game.
• Their 24 touchdowns have come from 10 different players.
• Their defense has only player (Luke Glenna) with more than three solo tackles a game, with 12 different players recording an interception, a forced fumble or a fumble recovery.
Starting Strong in the Second Half
In seven of the first eight games of the season, St. Thomas has been in scoring position on its first drive of the second half. On five of those instances, the Tommies have scored on their first drive of the second half (touchdown vs. Butler, field goal at San Diego, touchdown vs. Valpo, touchdown at Stetson, touchdown vs. Marist, touchdown at Davidson). Against Michigan Tech, St. Thomas turned it over on downs at the Husky 7-yard line.
Home Sweet Home
St. Thomas has started its Division I era with a 3-0 home record - building on its 36-1 record in its last 37 games played on campus to close out its D-III chapter. The only loss in that span was to eventual NCAA runner-up UW-Oshkosh 34-31 in the 2016 NCAA playoffs.
The Purple is riding a 30-game home-field regular-season win streak.
Last Time Out
Davidson, NCAA Football Champion Series rushing leaders, proved why they lead all FCS schools in rushing as it ended St. Thomas' three-game winning streak with a 42-15 win powered by 392 rushing yards on 65 rushing attempts.
"The brightest part of it is, I know who we are," said Head Coach Glenn Caruso. "The growth we've seen throughout the season specifically has come to a head in watching the toughness, the mental toughness, the physical toughness no how matched we are or are not and the genuine love we have for eachother."
QB Tommy Dolan led the St. Thomas offensive attack with 18 completions on 31 attempts for 134 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. WR Andrew McElroy was Dolan's favorite target, he finished with 49 receiving yards on four catches.
Defensively, LB Jonathan Bunce led the charge with 14 tackles, including seven solo stops. He and LB Luke Glenna were the two tommies to record double digit tackles, Glenna finished with 11 tackles, four of which were solo stops.
Davidson started the game with an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive which included seven rushes and one incomplete pass. The Wildcats rushed the ball 20 times for 127 yards, but the Tommies limited them to just two scores.
With 1:41 remaining in the first half, the St. Thomas offense started its drive after a missed Davidson field goal. The Tommies scored their first touchdown of the game after a five play, 74-yard drive that consumed one minute off the clock. Senior TE Max Zimmerman scored the first St. Thomas points of the game on a four-yard reception.
The Wildcats used a 57-yard kickoff return to get themselves in scoring position, the St. Thomas 28-yard line, with 29 seconds remaining in the half. In a change of strategy, Davidson threw two-consecutive passes, included a 19-yard touchdown strike to regain a two-score, 21-7 lead heading into intermission.
Sophomore RB Hope Adebayo scored his touchdown of the game on a one-yard rush, followed by a successful two-point attempt by sophomore Kolby Gartner to cut the deficit to six, 21-15. Davidson responded with a touchdown of its own in the third quarter and extended its lead to 35-15 with 11:29 remaining in the game.
Davidson posted 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to pull away from St. Thomas as it earned the 42-15 win, their seventh-straight win and sit atop the PFL with 7-1 overall record and is 6-0 in conference play. With the loss, St. Thomas falls to 5-3 overall and 4-2 in league play.
Did You Know?
The Tommies have never played Drake University in football, basketball or baseball. This fall both Tommie soccer teams played Drake, the women losing 1-0 in overtime in Des Moines and the men falling 1-0 in St. Paul.
The last time St. Thomas Football played a team from Des Moines was in 1925, a 12-7 home win over Des Moines University.
Saturday will be just the ninth football game played by St. Thomas in the state of Iowa over the last 60 years: St. Thomas went 4-0 in games played in Iowa from 1953-58, all wins in Dubuque at Loras College. The next trip to Iowa was in 1984, a 17-10 loss in the NAIA playoffs at Northwestern College in Orange City. The Toms had a loss and a tie in Davenport at St. Ambrose in 1988 and 1990. The 2004 Tommies won at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, and the 2007 Toms lost both in Pella at Central College and in Dubuque at Loras. The 2014 Tommies lost a D-III playoff game in Waverly at Wartburg.
Eight weeks ago, St. Thomas lost in Cedar Falls to FCS power Northern Iowa.
• The Toms just missed their magic scoring number in the 27-24 loss at San Diego. They are 91-0 in regular-season games in the Glenn Caruso era when they score 25 or more points.
• St. Thomas had two pick-six interception returns to the end zone at San Diego -- by senior Joe Hird and sophomore Jonathan Bunce -- and nearly had two others. Johnson Fallah took an interception back to the USD 5-yard line.
• In 127 games last decade (2010-2019), St. Thomas defenders recorded 21 interception return touchdowns.
• Bunce's first interception since his youth football days took him to the end zone with a 22-yard return. But he scored several TDs as a high school running back at Edina High.
• Hyde, a sophomore and first-year starter, is 5-for-7 in field goals. That's a change from the 2019 season when the Toms made only 2-of-7 field goals.
• St. Thomas has held a second-half lead in 13 of its last 14 conference games (MIAC, Pioneer). The only game in which the Tommies didn't hold a second-half lead was at Davidson.
Best Opponent
Northern Iowa was the best team St. Thomas has played during the Caruso era, and thus the 44-3 final score was the Toms' widest margin of defeat over those 13 seasons. The Toms' previous biggest losses on the scoreboard were a pair of 20-point decisions.
The 44 points were the second most Caruso's teams have allowed -- they lost to Mount Union 49-35 in the 2015 NCAA championship game.
On Sept. 18 at UNI, it was the first time the Tommies didn't score a touchdown in a game since the 2011 national playoff semifinals, a 20-0 road loss to eventual NCAA champion UW-Whitewater.
Of the 21 losses by Caruso's D-III Tommie teams (2008-2019), 12 came by margins of seven or less points.
St. Thomas Returning Academic All-Conference honorees
Defense
• #91 – DL Seth Bickett, Actuarial Science major 3.98
• #90 -- DL Noah Borgeson, Political Science major 3.93
• #49 – DL Brent Robley, Biology major 3.87
• #2 – DB Tommy Fuller, Business Management major 3.58
• #21 – DB Rian O'Connor, Financial Management major, 3.71
• #22 – DB Max Meves, Mechanical Engineering major 3.75
• #12 – LB Trent Meyer, Financial Management major, 3.65
• #3—DB Grif Wurtz, Accounting major, 3.80
Offense
• #6 – WR Jacob Miller WR, Business major, 3.51
• #25 – RB Nick Rice, Mathematics major, 3.70
• #14 – QB Cade Sexauer, Mechanical Engineering major, 3.63
Pioneer Football League by the Numbers
11: Members for 2021 season with addition in 2021 of Presbyterian and St. Thomas
8: Conference games each team plays each season
8: Teams with Red or Blue as primary color
3: Teams with primary colors of Green (Stetson), Brown/Yellow (Valparaiso) or Purple (St. Thomas)
3: Teams that play games on natural grass (San Diego, Stetson, Presbyterian)
2: Teams with new head coaches in 2021 (Stetson, Presbyterian)
2: Teams with Bulldogs as nickname (Drake, Butler)
1: Teams that changed nicknames in 2021 (Valparaiso, was Crusaders now Beacons)
2: Teams whose nickname includes a color (Presbyterian Blue Hose, Marist Red Foxes)
4: Teams that don't share a nickname with any other college (Presbyterian Blue Hose, Stetson Hatters, San Diego Toreros, St. Thomas Tommies)
1: Team located in Pacific time zone
2: Teams located in Central time zone
8: Teams located in Eastern time zone
6: Teams that at one time were Division III programs (Dayton, San Diego, Marist, Valparaiso, Davidson, St. Thomas)
3: Teams located in a city that's the state capital (Butler/Indy; Drake/Des Moines; St. Thomas/St. Paul)
4: Remaining charter members since league's 1993 creation (Dayton, Drake, Butler, Valparaiso)
6: Different programs to win or share a PFL championship since 2012 (San Diego, Davidson, Dayton, Drake, Marist, Butler)
15-1: Coaching record in PFL games for Jim Harbaugh at San Diego, 2004-06
9: Pioneer alums playing on an NFL roster or practice squad in 2020 season
57: Years, from 1956-2013, when Stetson didn't play football before restarting its program
5: Current Pioneer schools that once played in a January 1 bowl game (Dayton, Drake, Presbyterian, Valparaiso, St. Thomas)
About Drake
Location: Des Moines, Iowa (pop. 210,743)
Distance to St. Paul: 242 miles
Founded: 1881
Athletics Website: www.godrakebulldogs.com
Undergrad Enrollment: 3,164
Nickname: Bulldogs
Colors: Blue and White
FB Stadium: Drake Stadium (14,557)
Surface: Artificial Turf
2021 FB Record: 2-6
FB Head Coach: Todd Stepsis (Third season)
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