University of St. Thomas Athletics
Drake
Game Notes - Football hosts Drake for the Tommies homecoming game
10/12/2022 3:04:00 PM | Football
Football will look to extend its 34-game regular-season home winning streak as they host Drake for the Tommies homecoming game.
The Tommies currently sit atop the Pioneer Football League standings and rank second in the conference in both scoring offense (30.6 ppg) and scoring defense (19.2 ppg allowed).
The Tommies are coming off a 27-16 home win against Davidson, it extended the Tommies current win-streak to four games.
St. Thomas has been successful running the ball in every game this season with several ball carriers totting the rock for the Purple. Three running backs, sophomores Shawn Shipman, and Hope Adebayo, and freshman Gabe Abel have rushed for a combined 795 yards with 5.9 yards per carry on 134 rushing attempts.
Senior QB Cade Sexauer has led the Tommie offense to an efficient start to the season. That hot-streak continued last week as Sexauer had an effective performance completing 11-of-19 passes for 136 yards and 3 passing touchdowns as well as running the ball 10 times for 52 yards. On the season, Sexauer has posted 837 passing yards and 10 passing touchdowns. The Tommies have had 16 different players catch passes so far this season with sophomore WR Andrew McElroy leading the team with 30 catches for 305 yards and three receiving touchdowns.
On the defensive side of the ball, senior DB Luke Glenna leads the team with 44 total tackles - half of his season total in tackles came against Davidson when Glenna posted 22 total tackles on 63 plays ran by the Wildcat offense. The Tommies have four interceptions on the season with four different players each intercepting an opponent's pass.
The contest can be heard live on AM-1500 Radio Skor North, with Corbu Stathes on the play-by-play call with Ayo Idowu as the color analyst.
Diving into Drake
Drake will enter Saturday with an 0-6 record including an 0-3 record in conference. Drake is coming off of a 22-10 loss to San Diego, at home. This extended Drake's losing streak against San Diego to 9 straight games dating back to 2012. This will be the second ever game between the Tommies and the Bulldogs, with St. Thomas having taken the 21-14 win last season in Des Moines. This will be Drake's first trip to St. Paul.
Drake relied on a variety of offensive players at this point in the season. RB Dorian Boyland has received a bulk of the teams carries, running 86 times for 293 yards. QB Ian Corwin has been the team's starting quarterback in every game passing for 1142 yards in 6 games while running 63 times for 135 yards.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
Drake has allowed an average of 333.5 yards per game and 17 total touchdowns which are both fairly average numbers. Drake's 0-6 record is a bit deceiving, they have lost mostly close games, and have had a few games that could have easily gone the other way. One player to watch for on the defensive side of the ball is Finn Claypool, the sophomore defensive lineman has had a sack in each of Drake's last 4 games.
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
Drake has struggled a bit on special teams so far this season. Their 62.5% make rate of field goals is last in the conference. Their .43 yards per punt return also ranks last in the conference. Drake has yet to score a touchdown on special teams this season.
Last Time Out
Entering the game, Davidson averaged 45.0 points per game and led the nation in rushing offense with 389.4 rushing yards per game. St. Thomas limited Davidson to 16 points and 288 rushing yards and only 93 passing yards in the Tommies 27-16 win.
With the win, St. Thomas extends its regular-season home winning streak to 34 games.
Davidson won the coin toss and elected to receive the first possession of the game looking to establish their run-game early. St. Thomas would have nothing to do with it, limiting the Wildcats to 30 yards on nine plays, which ended with a sack by senior LB Tommy Shelstad on fourth down.
For the fifth time in as many games this season, St. Thomas took their opening drive, marched down the field and scored a touchdown. The five-play 65-yard opening drive was capped off by a 23-yard touchdown strike from senior QB Cade Sexauer to sophomore WR Andrew McElroy opening a 7-0 lead for the Purple.
The Tommies scored twice in the second quarter with a touchdown strike from Sexauer to junior WR Jacob Wildermuth, and a second touchdown from Sexauer to McElroy to open a 21-0 lead with 2:49 to play in the opening half. Davidson scored its first points of the game by way of a 40-yard field goal making it a 21-3 St. Thomas lead heading into intermission.
In the first half, the St. Thomas defense limited a stout offensive rushing attack to only 80 rushing yards on 34 rushing attempts and in total, limited the Wildcats to 101 yards of offense in the opening half. The Tommies finished with 192 offensive yards in the first two quarters, including 115 passing yards. Sexauer completed 9-of-14 passing attempts with three touchdowns and no interceptions. McElroy posted 74 receiving yards in the first half.
The Wildcats started the second half with a 12-play 87-yard touchdown drive capped off by a 14-yard touchdown run to cut the St. Thomas lead to 21-10 with 8:01 remaining in the third quarter.
The Tommies answered with an 11-play 73-yard drive that chewed nearly six minutes off the clock opening a 17-point, 27-10 lead in the final minutes of the third quarter.
Davidson forced a St. Thomas punt with 5:31 to play in the game and added a touchdown with just over one minute to play, bringing the score to 27-16 in favor of the Purple. The Wildcats attempted the onside kick, but the Tommies recovered and finished the contest in the victory formation.
Senior QB Cade Sexauer finished the game completing 11-of-19 passing attempts for 136 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. The senior passer also led the team with 45 net yards rushing. Five different Tommies totted the rock at least four times, including freshman RB Gabe Abel, who averaged 6.3 yards per rush and finished with 28 yards.
Senior DB Luke Glenna had a monster game – he finished with 22 total tackles, including 11 solo stops and one tackle for loss, pushing the Wildcats back five yards. Shelstad finished the contest with 9 tackles, 1.0 sack, and one forced fumble.
I'm Honored
After his remarkable 22-tackle performance against Davidson, senior DB Luke Glenna earned FedEx Ground FCS National Defensive Player of the Week on top of being named Co-Defensive Player of the Week by the Pioneer Football League. Davidson, well known for their strong rushing attack seemed like it would be a major challenge for St. Thomas Football, but the team was able to stuff runs well, and Glenna certainly stepped up to the challenge.
All-Purpose Andrew
Sophomore WR Andrew McElroy leads the Pioneer Football League in all-purpose yards, averaging 120.4 all-purpose yards per game.
McElroy has posted 602 total yards including 305 receiving yards, 35 punt return yards, 252 kick return yards and 10 rushing yards.
Tough Tests
St. Thomas Football has a rare opportunity in 2022 to play two home games in the same month against returning conference co-champion teams.
Highlighting a six-game home schedule, the Toms are set to play the 2021 Pioneer Football co-champions Davidson (27, 16 win) and San Diego (Oct. 29) three weeks apart at O'Shaughnessy Stadium.
Davidson took the PFL's automatic bid into the NCAA playoffs in an 8-4 finish after it led all FCS and FBS teams in rushing at 336 yards a game.
San Diego averaged 235 passing yards a game to rank among the top third of 123 FCS teams.
Touchdown Talk
St. Thomas did something last season that only two other D-I football programs can claim for 2021: record a .700 or better win percentage despite scoring under 25 ppg.
The Toms finished 7-3 while scoring 24.4 ppg and allowing just 17.8 ppg. Iowa in FBS did it (10-4 record, 23.4 ppg on offense), as did FCS's Columbia (7-3, 24.9 ppg).
The Toms' success was helped as it ranked 13th among all 123 FCS teams in fewest points allowed per game at 17.8. Only 18 of the opponents' 22 TDs in 2021 were scored on the Tommie defense, too, as four TDs came via special teams and defensive scores. The Purple ranked first among all FCS and FBS teams in takeaways per game at 2.7.
St. Thomas averaged scoring nearly six touchdowns a game in Caruso's 12-season D-III chapter (446 TDs in all). Last year's Tommies scored 33 TDs in 10 games in season one of D-I competition.
The Toms are on pace as early as this season to score the program's 500th touchdown of the Caruso era.
Offensive Improvements
In 2021, St Thomas did their best in low scoring games with the team scoring an average of 24.4 points per game.
This season the Tommies have averaged 30.6 points per game. For some perspective, over ten games last season, St. Thomas Football had three games scoring 30 or more points, this season have they have done so in three of their first five games. St. Thomas ranks second in the PFL in scoring offense, trailing only Davidson.
This season, the Tommies have averaged four touchdowns per game which is also an improvement from the 3.3 touchdowns per game scored the previous year.
1-2-3 Punch?
St. Thomas has had an impressive three different hundred-yard rushing games by different players this season. Shawn Shipman ran for 157 yards against Michigan Tech, Gabriel Abel rushed for 106 yards against Lincoln, and Hope Adebayo ran for 132 yards against Marist. So far this season, it seems whoever totes the rock for the Tommies will have success.
Fresh Starts
Three Tommie opponents have new head coaches for 2022.
Southern Utah hired DeLane Fitzgerald from the NCAA Division II ranks at Frostburg State.
Butler's 16th-year head coach Jeff Voris resigned and was replaced by Temple offensive coordinator Mike Uremovich.
Presbyterian's first-year coach Kevin Kelley resigned and was replaced by former Florida Tech head coach Steve Engelhart.
A fourth foe, Lincoln University of Oakland, has a second-year head coach in Desmond Gumbs. Lincoln started its athletics program in 2021 and sponsors five men's sports and three women's sports. Its football team posted a 1-9 record last season and played all 10 games on the road over seven states.
Another PFL opponent, Stetson, also has a second-year head coach in Brian Young.
Tommie QB History
It's been 29 seasons since St. Thomas Football didn't feature a native Minnesotan or native NW Wisconsin athlete as its starting quarterback. The last Tommie starting QB whose hometown was 200 or more miles from campus was Tom Stallings (Chicago Heights, Ill.).
Stallings guided the Purple offense in 1991, sat all of 1992 with an injury, then returned in 1993 for his final year. Stallings had a "Mic Drop" performance on Senior Day in 1993 closing his playing career with a 602-yard passing day and six TD passes in leading a 42-41 victory over Bethel to cap an 8-2 season.
This summer, Coach Glenn Caruso started fall camp with only one Minnesotan among five QBs on his roster: fifth-year senior Cade Sexauer of South St. Paul, who shared the starting job in 2021 and played in all 10 games. The 6-4 Sexauer came into fall practice with the inside track to win the starting role for the Sept. 1 opener at Southern Utah and has shown he is one of the better passers and game managers in the conference through the team's first five games.
Two newcomers with promise are true freshmen: 6-1 Amari Powell of Valencia, Calif., and 6-5 Travis Plugge of Bakersfield, Calif.
Another talented athlete who played some QB last season, 6-3 sophomore Branden Smith of Las Vegas, Nev., has taken game reps at wide receiver and will lineup as a starting defensive back this week.
Opponent QB Talk
Five of the Toms' eight conference opponents graduated their starting QB last spring, including 2021 league co-champs Davidson and San Diego, and 2022 road foes Marist, Presbyterian and Valparaiso.
The Purple's other six opponents will bring back a starter at QB that's either a redshirt junior, senior or graduate student -- Southern Utah, Michigan Tech, Lincoln (Calif.), Drake, Stetson and Butler.
Lefty Leaders
Left-handed Senior QB Cade Sexauer has led an effective, high-scoring offensive attack through the first five games of the 2022 season. With the guidance of Sexauer, the Tommie offense ranks second in the PFL in scoring offense, posting over 30.0 points per game.
The Toms also have a lefty who could contribute on special teams with true freshman left-footed kicker Stephen Shagen. The Park City, Utah native is pushing returning starter Louis Hyde for the No. 1 kicking spot. Hyde won't be easy to unseat: In the 2021 season opener, he kicked a tie-breaking 32-yard field goal with 59 seconds left to give the Toms a 12-9 win at Michigan Tech. Hyde converted 5-of-8 field goals and 25-of-26 PAT kicks on the season.
Shagen has one of the more interesting bios on the roster. A soccer player through his junior season, he's only played one year of high school football (2021). But the inexperience didn't show as he nailed all 30 PATs and 8-of-10 field-goal attempts last season. He's one of the first few -- if not the first -- Utah natives to compete for St. Thomas Football.
Upper Echelon of the Conference
In just its first year as members of the Pioneer Football League, St. Thomas showed it belongs. The Tommies are continuing that trend in 2022, ranking in the upper echelon of the conference in a myriad of statistical categories.
Below are rankings and statistics for all games by the eight conference schools so far this season. These stats and rankings include totals from the Tommies' game against FCS opponent Southern Utah University.
Rank Category Stat
Defense
1st Rushing TD Allowed 3 total touchdowns
2nd Scoring Defense 19.2 points per game
2nd Total Defense 319.8 yards per game
Offense
2nd Scoring Offense 30.6 points per game
2nd Touchdowns Scored 21 total touchdowns
2nd Passing Touchdowns 10 total touchdowns
2nd Rushing Offense 190.6 yards per game
Team
1st Opponent Penalties Committed 47 penalties (9.4 per game)
1st Field Goal % 100% made
1st Punt Return TD 2 total touchdowns
Hope is on the Way
Sophomore running back Hope Adebayo raced out to a fast start in the 2022 season opener at Southern Utah - the sophomore took a handoff 60 yards on the first play from scrimmage in his second collegiate season. That drive was capped off one play later when fellow running back Shawn Shipman capped off the 2-play, 75-yard opening drive with a touchdown. After a two-game hiatus, Adebayo rushed back onto the scene when the Tommies opened conference play at Marist, the sophomore finished with 132 yards on 16 carries, averaging 8.3 yards per rush. On the season, Adebayo has posted 230 yards rushing on 27 attempts and averages 8.5 yards per carry.
Adebayo led the St. Thomas rushing attack with 699 rushing yards on 110 attempts in 2021. Adebayo averaged 6.0 yards per carry and scored 10 touchdowns on the ground a season ago.
Last 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.
Righting the Ship(man)
Sophomore running back Shawn Shipman rushed for 157 yards and two short touchdowns in his first collegiate start against Michigan Tech on Sept. 10 in the Tommies 2022 home opener.
In the first five games of the 2022 season, Shipman has rushed the ball 67 times amassing 369 yards on the ground and is averaging 5.5 yards per rushing attempt. The Brooklyn Park, Minn., native has scored five touchdowns on the year and is averaging 74 yards rushing per game this season.
Gabe is Able
In his third collegiate game, freshman RB Gabe Able posted his first 100-plus yard rushing outing with 104 rushing yards against Lincoln (Calif.). The New Jersey native has 205 rushing yards on 40 carries this season, but is still looking to score his first touchdown in Purple.
Notable Performances in First Career Starts by Tommie RBs
2022: Shawn Shipman, 23 carries, 157 yards, 2 TD vs. Michigan Tech
2021: Hope Adebayo, 20 carries,182 yards, 4 TD vs. Stetson
2016: Josh Parks, 14 carries, 74 yards, 1 TD vs. Gustavus
2016: Tucker Trettel, 6 carries, 70 yards, 1 TD vs. Carleton
2015: Jordan Roberts, 16 carries, 92 yards, 3 TD vs. UW-La Crosse
2014: Nick Waldvogel, 14 carries, 67 yards, 2 TD, vs. Hamline
2013: Jack Kaiser, 17 carries, 60 yards, 1 TD, vs. UW-River Falls
2012: Brenton Braddock, 13 carries, 79 yards, 0 TD vs. Augsburg
2010: Colin Tobin, 14 carries, 85 yards, 1 TD vs. St. Olaf
2008: Ben Wartman, 11 carries, 84yards, 2 TD vs. Macaleste
Pioneers in the Pioneer League
St. Thomas posted a 6-2 record against Pioneer Football League teams in its first year in the conference. The Tommies two losses came at the hands of the top-two ranked teams in the conference - Davidson (7-1 PFL) and San Diego (7-1 PFL).
Tommie D
St. Thomas' defense only allowed 19 touchdowns through their 10-game schedule a season ago. While it may seem that the defense has taken a small step back this year allowing 10 touchdowns in their first five games, it is important to remember that five of the 10 came in the Tommies' first game against Southern Utah. From the start of the Michigan Tech Game until halftime against Marist, a 10-quarter stretch, the Purple didn't allow their opponents to find the endzone in any form or fashion.
A season ago, St. Thomas' defense also only allowed an impressive 17.8 points per game. They have performed similarly this year allowing less than 20 points per game through five games this season, which includes a 44-point outing by Southern Utah and a 16-point effort from perennial PFL offensive powerhouse, Davidson.
Proud Program Builder
15-year Head Coach Glenn Caruso has an 11-4 record 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 143-37 career record (.794). 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.
A Balanced Offense
St. Thomas Football has put together a strong season so far, despite not having any superstar performances
The Tommies have won despite these totals by category leaders:
• The leading passer, Cade Sexauer, has averaged 167 yards per game.
• The leading receiver, Andrew McElroy, has averaged 61 yards per game.
• The leading rusher, Hope Adebayo, has averaged 74 yards per game.
• Their leading scorer, Shawn Shipman, has averaged 6 points per game.
Starting Strong
The Tommies are five-for-five on scoring touchdowns in their first offensive possession of the game, showing that Coach Caruso and his staff enter every game well prepared to put their team in the best position to win.
Home Sweet Home
St. Thomas has begun its Division I era with an 7-0 home record – which builds on its 39-1 record in its last 40 DIII games played on campus. The only loss in that span was to eventual NCAA Division III runner-up UW-Oshkosh 34-31 in the 2016 NCAA playoffs.
The Tommies are currently on a 34-game home-field regular-season win streak.
Halftime is Always Right
Across the Tommies last 14 games, the score at halftime has had nearly perfect correlation with the final result. In the 10 games that St. Thomas football has led at halftime, they have gone on to win. In the three games that they were behind at half and the one game that was tied at halftime, the Tommies ended up losing the game.
Did You Know?
• This fall St. Thomas will make program history by traveling to play its first games in the states of Utah, New York, South Carolina and Indiana.
• The Tommies' three dozen newcomers for 2022 come from 14 different states.
• The Purple have their first graduate students in program history in veteran LB Trent Meyer, LB Ty Barron (2022 Minnesota transfer) and DL Mark O'Reilly (2022 Concordia-St. Paul transfer).
• St. Thomas' 30 seniors include 13 who are 2018 high school grads and now starting their fifth season of eligibility. Besides the three graduate students, other fifth-years are 2021 transfer LB Kellan McKeag; offensive lineman Matt Weimann and Mark Schmitz; defensive linemen Seth Bickett, Noah Borgeson and Brent Robley; QB Cade Sexauer; TE Max Zimmerman; FB Joshua Komis; and DB Luke Glenna.
• The Toms just missed their magic scoring number in the 27-24 loss at San Diego. They are 92-0 in regular-season games in the Glenn Caruso era when they score 25 or more points.
• In 127 games last decade (2010-2019), St. Thomas defenders recorded 21 interception return touchdowns.
• Last season, Jonathan 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.
• Jr. K Louis Hyde, went 5-of-8 on field goal attempts a season ago. 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 15 of its last 16 conference games (MIAC, Pioneer). The only conference game in that span in which the Tommies didn't hold a second-half lead was at Davidson.
St. Thomas Returning Academic All-Conference honorees
Defense
• #91 – DL Seth Bickett, Actuarial Science major 4.00
• #90 -- DL Noah Borgeson, Political Science major 3.93
• #41 -- LB Jonathan Bunce, Business Admimistration 3.91
• #49 – DL Brent Robley, Biology major 3.87
Offense
• #14 – QB Cade Sexauer, Mechanical Engineering major, 3.63
Pioneer Football League by the Numbers
11: Members for 2022 season with the addition of Presbyterian and St. Thomas in 2021
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 Bulldogs as nickname (Drake, Butler)
1: Team 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
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. 214,133)
Distance to St. Paul: 246 miles
Founded: 1,881
Athletics Website: https://godrakebulldogs.com/
Undergrad Enrollment: 2,848
Nickname: Bulldogs
Colors: Blue and White
FB Stadium: Drake Stadium (14,557)
Surface: Artificial Turf
2022 FB Record: 0-6
FB Head Coach: Todd Stepsis (4th season)
