No ifs, ands or But's: Football is solo champ, closes 10-1

Indianapolis, Ind. - Another blocked-kick return touchdown and two clutch field goals helped St. Thomas close out an unbeaten Pioneer Football League season with Saturday's 27-13 road defeat of Butler.

Sophomore RB Shawn Shipman rushed for 99 yards and QB Cade Sexauer ran for two short touchdowns in his final college game for the No. 21-ranked Tommies (10-1 overall, 8-0 Pioneer).

Coach Glenn Caruso's team finished the season on a 10-game winning streak and ran its conference victory streak to 10 games.

The Toms aren't eligible for the 2022 FCS playoffs as a second-year Division I university in transition to full membership, thus Saturday's victory caps off a fun and rewarding season with an 8-0 record and undisputed conference crown.

This championship comes 100 years after the 1922 Tommies, in season three of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, won the program's first official conference football title. St. Thomas Football now has 22 conference championships starting in 1922 and continuing in 2022.

Davidson edged Dayton 24-23 to claim the Pioneer's automatic berth into the FCS playoffs. Those teams finished tied for second at 6-2, two behind St. Thomas.

Approximately 20 St. Thomas upperclassmen were members of both the Tommies' 2019 MIAC co-champion team in Division III and this 2022 Pioneer solo championship in FCS.

Of the two dozen programs to join FCS football since 2004, St. Thomas is the first to win a conference championship in its first or second season. Kennesaw State (5-0 in Big South Conference in 2017) and North Dakota State (4-0 in Great West Conference in 2006) won league crowns in their third seasons.

Big Plays

Clutch special teams plays helped propel St. Thomas again. Sophomore Yusef Leak scooped a blocked field goal and ran 66 yards for a first-quarter touchdown to put the Toms ahead 14-0. Tommie junior Kam In was credited with that blocked kick.

That was St. Thomas' NCAA-leading fourth touchdown this season with a return or a recovery off a blocked kick. It was also the team's eighth special teams or return TD in this 10-game winning streak, recorded by eight different players.

Despite swirling winds, Tommie freshman kicker Stephen Shagen drilled second-half field goals of 35 and 33 yards and made both of his PAT kicks.

Leak and Johnson Fallah added key third-quarter interceptions. The Toms picked off 11 passes in eight Pioneer contests in 2022. A native of Orlando, Fla., Leak recorded fifth interception in 16 Pioneer games over his first two seasons.

Sexauer's QB sneak on 4th-and-1 for a touchdown with 1:53 to go built a 27-7 lead.

Butler answered with a scoring march capped by a short TD pass with :06 remaining to close out the scoring. The ensuing two-point try was a pass intercepted by Grif Wirtz.

St. Thomas overcame nine penalties for 115 yards. In third-down conversions, the Tommies finished 10-of-16 and limited Butler to 3-of-11. The Toms closed with a 261-231 edge in total offense.

Butler (7-4, 5-3) came into the day unbeaten on its home field at 5-0 and averaging 39 points over five previous home contests.

Did You Know?

This was the first St. Thomas football team to lose its season opener and win its final 10 games.
This is the eighth conference championship of the 14-season Glenn Caruso era. St. Thomas won or shared 14 conference crowns from 1922-1990 and have claimed eight more over the last 12 seasons.
St. Thomas won its 100th game vs. a conference opponent in the Caruso era (100-14 record).
The Toms finished the season averaging 200 rushing yards and 178 passing yards a game. They allowed just 87 rushing yards a game.
St. Thomas was picked eighth in the Pioneer preseason coaches poll in 2021 and eventually tied for third place in its first season of FCS play. They were picked for third place in 2022 and won the championship.
St. Thomas graduates 21 seniors but its 24 starters included 14 freshmen- and sophomore-eligible players.

No ifs, ands or But's: Football is solo champ, closes 10-1

Team Stats

Cade Sexauer

Wesley Juszczak

Players Mentioned

Johnson Fallah

Kam In

Yusef Leak

Cade Sexauer

Shawn Shipman

University of St. Thomas Athletics