University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, September 11
Houghton, Mich.
12:00 p.m.
1-0
12
at
9
Michigan Tech
1-1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
St. Thomas
0
3
0
9
12
Michigan Tech
6
3
0
0
9
FCS means Fun-Comeback-Saturday for Tommie Football
9/11/2021 3:18:00 PM | Football
Louis Hyde's 32-yard field goal with 59 seconds left gave St. Thomas its first lead, and Johnson Fallah's interception with 14 seconds left was the clincher as the Tommies' FCS era of football opened with a gritty 12-9 comeback win over Michigan Tech on a sunny Saturday in Houghton, Mich.
It was the Purple's first football game of the season and first in 95 weeks since their 2019 season finale.
The Tommie defense didn't allow a touchdown and pitched a second-half shutout. St. Thomas held the Huskies to 2-of-11 on third downs and had two takeaways and three sacks.
St. Thomas freshman tight end Aiden Carlson dug in the pile and recovered a fumble just inside the end zone on a 4th-and-inches play with 5:43 left to tie the game 9-9, but the Huskies (1-1) blocked Hyde's PAT kick to keep the game tied. The Tommie defense did its part with a three-and-out stop, and after a short punt, the offense took over at the MTU 39-yard-line.
The Toms marched to the 15-yard-line, aided by Josh Komis' 13-yard reception, but the drive stalled. Hyde, a sophomore from Benilde-St. Margaret's playing in his first college game, had made a 33-yard field goal into the wind in the second quarter. This time he calmly waited through a time out and broke the tie with a solid kick to put St. Thomas ahead 12-9.
Junior QB Will Ark responded by driving Michigan Tech 40 yards in 40 seconds, with three completions and an 11-yard run. With 19 seconds left and Tech on the edge of a tying field-goal try, Ark's pass was picked off by Fallah at the 16-yard line to seal the victory. It was Fallah's first game in a Tommie uniform -- the Osseo High graduate played Division II football in 2019 at Minnesota-Crookston before that school dropped its football program at season's end.
St. Thomas fell behind 6-0 when Fred Kemp scooped a blocked punt by teammate Marvin Wright and raced 34 yards for a TD. Isaiah Hall blocked the PAT for the Toms. Drew Wyble's field goal with :08 left in the first half let the Huskies go into halftime leading 9-3.
The Purple edged Tech in total offense 269-233. They survived two stalled drives inside the 10-yard-line that only netted three points and six sacks by a stingy Tech defense. Senior QB Tommy Dolan completed 13-of-23 passes for 184 yards and also had a 38-yard rush. Max Zimmerman's 41-yard catch helped set up the Tommie touchdown. Xavier Thurman made a leaping catch to keep a drive alive and finished with three catches for 62 yards.
On defense, senior Luke Glenna had a fumble recovery and a key tackle-for-loss among his 10 tackles; Trent Meyer had two sacks; Tommy Shelstad had nine tackles and a forced fumble; and Joe Hird had eight solos and a forced fumble.
Isaiah Hall had a 41-yard kickoff return in his debut game as a Tommie. Freshman Drake Tabor had two touchbacks and averaged 60.8 yards on four kickoffs.
Coach Glenn Caruso improved to 13-0 in season-opening games, but none was as challenging as this victory.
Next up is a 4 p.m. non-conference test Saturday in Cedar Falls, Iowa, against nationally-ranked Northern Iowa. The Panthers rallied from a 9-7 halftime deficit on Saturday night to win on the road 34-16 at Sacramento State.
It was the Purple's first football game of the season and first in 95 weeks since their 2019 season finale.
The Tommie defense didn't allow a touchdown and pitched a second-half shutout. St. Thomas held the Huskies to 2-of-11 on third downs and had two takeaways and three sacks.
St. Thomas freshman tight end Aiden Carlson dug in the pile and recovered a fumble just inside the end zone on a 4th-and-inches play with 5:43 left to tie the game 9-9, but the Huskies (1-1) blocked Hyde's PAT kick to keep the game tied. The Tommie defense did its part with a three-and-out stop, and after a short punt, the offense took over at the MTU 39-yard-line.
The Toms marched to the 15-yard-line, aided by Josh Komis' 13-yard reception, but the drive stalled. Hyde, a sophomore from Benilde-St. Margaret's playing in his first college game, had made a 33-yard field goal into the wind in the second quarter. This time he calmly waited through a time out and broke the tie with a solid kick to put St. Thomas ahead 12-9.
Junior QB Will Ark responded by driving Michigan Tech 40 yards in 40 seconds, with three completions and an 11-yard run. With 19 seconds left and Tech on the edge of a tying field-goal try, Ark's pass was picked off by Fallah at the 16-yard line to seal the victory. It was Fallah's first game in a Tommie uniform -- the Osseo High graduate played Division II football in 2019 at Minnesota-Crookston before that school dropped its football program at season's end.
St. Thomas fell behind 6-0 when Fred Kemp scooped a blocked punt by teammate Marvin Wright and raced 34 yards for a TD. Isaiah Hall blocked the PAT for the Toms. Drew Wyble's field goal with :08 left in the first half let the Huskies go into halftime leading 9-3.
The Purple edged Tech in total offense 269-233. They survived two stalled drives inside the 10-yard-line that only netted three points and six sacks by a stingy Tech defense. Senior QB Tommy Dolan completed 13-of-23 passes for 184 yards and also had a 38-yard rush. Max Zimmerman's 41-yard catch helped set up the Tommie touchdown. Xavier Thurman made a leaping catch to keep a drive alive and finished with three catches for 62 yards.
On defense, senior Luke Glenna had a fumble recovery and a key tackle-for-loss among his 10 tackles; Trent Meyer had two sacks; Tommy Shelstad had nine tackles and a forced fumble; and Joe Hird had eight solos and a forced fumble.
Isaiah Hall had a 41-yard kickoff return in his debut game as a Tommie. Freshman Drake Tabor had two touchbacks and averaged 60.8 yards on four kickoffs.
Coach Glenn Caruso improved to 13-0 in season-opening games, but none was as challenging as this victory.
Next up is a 4 p.m. non-conference test Saturday in Cedar Falls, Iowa, against nationally-ranked Northern Iowa. The Panthers rallied from a 9-7 halftime deficit on Saturday night to win on the road 34-16 at Sacramento State.
Team Stats
TOMMIES
MTU
Total Yards
269
233
Pass Yards
191
144
Rushing Yards
78
89
Penalty Yards
20
20
1st Downs
15
17
3rd Downs
5
2
4th Downs
0
1
TOP
30:35
29:25
1st Quarter
TOMMIES 0, MTU 6
MTU - Fred Kemp 38 yd blocked punt return (Drew Wyble kickblocked)
2nd Quarter
TOMMIES 3, MTU 6
TOMMIES - L. Hyde 33 yd field goal 8 plays, 15 yards, TOP 3:28
TOMMIES 3, MTU 9
MTU - Drew Wyble 25 yd field goal 13 plays, 55 yards, TOP 5:00
4th Quarter
TOMMIES 9, MTU 9
TOMMIES - A. Carlson 0 yd fumble recovery (L. Hyde kickblocked)
TOMMIES 12, MTU 9
TOMMIES - L. Hyde 32 yd field goal 6 plays, 24 yards, TOP 3:11
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
13
TD
0
YDS
184
INT
2
CMP
1
TD
0
YDS
7
INT
0
Players Mentioned
TE
/ FootballQB
/ Football
DB
/ Football
DB
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WR
/ Football
K
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LB
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LB
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WR
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TE
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