University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, September 25
St. Paul, Minn.
12:00 p.m.
2-1 , 1-0
36
vs
0
Butler
2-2 , 0-1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
BUTLER
0
0
0
0
0
St. Thomas
7
15
7
7
36
Photo by: Liam Doyle
Photo by: Liam Doyle
Photo by: Liam Doyle
Photo by: Liam Doyle
Photo by: Liam Doyle
Photo by: Liam Doyle
Photo by: Liam Doyle
Photo by: Liam Doyle
Photo by: Liam Doyle
Photo by: Liam Doyle
Photo by: Liam Doyle
Photo by: Liam Doyle
Photo by: Liam Doyle
Balanced O, rugged D makes Pioneer debut a happy one
9/25/2021 4:34:00 PM | Football
St. Thomas Football used a balanced offense and a stingy defense to make its Pioneer Football League debut a success Saturday with a 36-0 home-field defeat of Butler University before a revved-up crowd of 5,051 at O'Shaughnessy Stadium.
The Tommies (2-1 overall, 1-0 Pioneer) were playing the program's first home game in 97 weeks since Nov. 16, 2019, and were hosting their first home Division I contest. Coach Glenn Caruso's 150th game as the Purple's head coach had a fun atmosphere between the historical significance and the boost from a packed student section.
St. Thomas senior QB Cade Sexauer made the most of his first career start. The South St. Paul, Minn., native threw for 194 yards and two touchdowns and added 31 rushing yards. He completed 17 of 24 passes, connecting with nine different receivers.
Senior RB Tom Loeffler had two short scoring runs and finished with 99 yards of offense on 16 rushes and six receptions. That helped St. Thomas roll up 21 first downs and 424 yards of offense, with a near 50-50 pass-run yardage split at 217 yards in the air 207 on the ground. The hosts converted 9-of-17 on third and fourth downs to sustain drives.
Sophomore RB Hope Adebayo, playing his first career home game, rushed 34 yards for a fourth-quarter TD to cap the Tommie scoring. Adbayo closed with a 9.4 average as he ran for 75 yards on eight carries. True freshmen Aiden Carlson (TE) and Andrew McElroy (WR) combined for five receptions for 86 yards.
The Tommie defense had two takeaways, two sacks and two other tackles for loss. St. Thomas limited Butler (2-2, 0-1) to five first downs and 90 yards in the first half and 242 total offensive yards on the game. Senior Rian O'Connor had an interception to stop one Butler march, and later in the red zone Noah Borgeson recovered a fumble that was forced by Seth Bickett.
In 12 quarters this season the Tommies have allowed six touchdowns -- two on special teams returns, and only four scored by opposing offenses.
Caruso improved his young FCS career record to 2-1 after building a 126-21 Division III record here over his first 12 seasons.
St. Thomas makes its first Pioneer Football League road trip next week as it plays at the University of San Diego on Saturday.
The Tommies (2-1 overall, 1-0 Pioneer) were playing the program's first home game in 97 weeks since Nov. 16, 2019, and were hosting their first home Division I contest. Coach Glenn Caruso's 150th game as the Purple's head coach had a fun atmosphere between the historical significance and the boost from a packed student section.
St. Thomas senior QB Cade Sexauer made the most of his first career start. The South St. Paul, Minn., native threw for 194 yards and two touchdowns and added 31 rushing yards. He completed 17 of 24 passes, connecting with nine different receivers.
Senior RB Tom Loeffler had two short scoring runs and finished with 99 yards of offense on 16 rushes and six receptions. That helped St. Thomas roll up 21 first downs and 424 yards of offense, with a near 50-50 pass-run yardage split at 217 yards in the air 207 on the ground. The hosts converted 9-of-17 on third and fourth downs to sustain drives.
Sophomore RB Hope Adebayo, playing his first career home game, rushed 34 yards for a fourth-quarter TD to cap the Tommie scoring. Adbayo closed with a 9.4 average as he ran for 75 yards on eight carries. True freshmen Aiden Carlson (TE) and Andrew McElroy (WR) combined for five receptions for 86 yards.
The Tommie defense had two takeaways, two sacks and two other tackles for loss. St. Thomas limited Butler (2-2, 0-1) to five first downs and 90 yards in the first half and 242 total offensive yards on the game. Senior Rian O'Connor had an interception to stop one Butler march, and later in the red zone Noah Borgeson recovered a fumble that was forced by Seth Bickett.
In 12 quarters this season the Tommies have allowed six touchdowns -- two on special teams returns, and only four scored by opposing offenses.
Caruso improved his young FCS career record to 2-1 after building a 126-21 Division III record here over his first 12 seasons.
St. Thomas makes its first Pioneer Football League road trip next week as it plays at the University of San Diego on Saturday.
Team Stats
BUTLER
TOMMIES
Total Yards
237
424
Pass Yards
141
217
Rushing Yards
96
207
Penalty Yards
20
65
1st Downs
17
21
3rd Downs
4
8
4th Downs
0
1
TOP
23:18
35:15
1st Quarter
BUTLER 0, TOMMIES 7
TOMMIES - Tom Loeffler 2 yd run (Louis Hyde kick), 12 plays, 66 yards, TOP 6:08
2nd Quarter
BUTLER 0, TOMMIES 15
TOMMIES - Josh Komis 8 yd pass from Cade Sexauer (Kolby Gartner rush) 10 plays, 92 yards, TOP 5:50
BUTLER 0, TOMMIES 22
TOMMIES - Tom Loeffler 5 yd run (Louis Hyde kick), 11 plays, 80 yards, TOP 5:44
3rd Quarter
BUTLER 0, TOMMIES 29
TOMMIES - Max Zimmerman 9 yd pass from Cade Sexauer (Louis Hyde kick) 6 plays, 58 yards, TOP 4:02
4th Quarter
BUTLER 0, TOMMIES 36
TOMMIES - Hope Adebayo 34 yd run (Louis Hyde kick), 5 plays, 51 yards, TOP 2:13
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
Players Mentioned
RB
/ Football
DL
/ Football
DL
/ Football
TE
/ FootballRB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DB
/ FootballQB
/ FootballPress Conference: Tommie Football Postgame v Lindenwood 08/28/25
Friday, August 29
Tommie Football Intro Video 2025
Thursday, August 28
Press Conference: Tommie Football Postgame vs Dayton
Saturday, November 23
Press Conference: Tommie Football Postgame vs Drake 11.09.24
Tuesday, November 12
