University of St. Thomas Athletics
Southern Utah
Game Notes - Football kicks off season at Southern Utah
8/31/2022 2:43:00 PM | Football
Cedar City, Utah - St. Thomas Football opens its 2022 campaign, its second year in Division I, on the road at Southern Utah. The trek to Cedar City, Utah will be the Tommies longest trip of the season at 1,492 miles.
Later trips are scheduled to New York to Marist College (1,213 miles); to South Carolina to Presbyterian College (1,151); and to Indiana to Valparaiso University (459 miles) and Butler University (583 miles).
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 and posted 22 total interceptions.
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 Purple bring back 20 starters from their 2021 team, including 10 defensive players, eight offensive athletes, and their top kicker and punter. Caruso's preseason roster has 110 players for camp, with 30 seniors among the approximately 75 returners. The roster also includes 30-plus freshmen and four new transfers.
Caruso's Tommie won-loss record is 133-24 (.847), including a 92-14 record in conference games.
The Southern Utah game will be the earliest on the calendar in program history, on Sept. 1.
That Utah trip will also mark St. Thomas' first football game played in the Mountain time zone in the program's 119-year history.
Southern Utah won two Big Sky Conference titles in football as recently as 2015 and 2017. The Thunderbirds make their debut in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in 2022.
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 ESPN+
Talking about the Thunderbirds
The Thunderbirds are coming into the season with a new head coach and a slew of new players. Coach DeLane Fitzgerald brought on Coach Blair Peterson to jump start the T-Bird Offense while Coach John Kelling will take the reins of the defense as Southern Utah football gets underway this fall.
The Southern Utah offense can count on returning quarterback Justin Miller, who is in his Redshirt Junior season with the T-Birds. Miller has the full confidence of Coach Fitzgerald who said of Miller, "He is a little bit like Tom Brady in how he works and studies the game." One of Miller's favorite targets from a year ago, Ethan Bolingbrook will be back on the field as well. Bolingbrook caught 54 passes last season for 523 yards and a couple of touchdowns and will look to improve on those numbers this season.
The Thunderbirds offense is also going to count on returning sophomore offensive lineman Lyle Santos who has stepped up as a leader this year. He will be joined by Leonidas Jacobsen who played in 6 games for the T-Birds last year. Together with a few newcomers, the big guys upfront will try to improve on the 20 sacks allowed last season and open up holes for the T-Birds running game.
On the defensive side of the ball, Coach Kelling will be able to rely on the leadership of the two defensive ends who are both veteran players. Francis Bemiy, a Preseason All-WAC player, will be joined by a powerful 5th year transfer Zach Strand who follows Coach Fitzgerald from Frostburg State. In four seasons with the Thunderbirds, Bemiy has appeared in 38 games, amassing 137 tackles, 25.5 tackles for loss, and 10 sacks. In his time at Frostburg State, Strand appeared in 40 games recording 150 tackles and 56 tackles for a loss.
The two bookends for the Thunderbirds will also be joined by returning linebacker Aubrey Nellems who played in 10 games last year and totaled 48 tackles including a few tackles for a loss.
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 (Oct. 8) 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.
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.
Pushing for playing time is a 6-4 sophomore transfer who hails from Raleigh, N.C., former South Carolina Gamecock QB Connor Jordan. Two newcomers with promise are true freshmen: 6-5 Travis Plugge of Bakersfield, Calif., and 6-1 Amari Powell of Valencia, Calif.
Another talented athlete who played some QB last season, 6-3 sophomore Brandon Smith of Las Vegas, Nev., has been taking practice reps at wide receiver.
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 helped produce 1,000-plus yards and seven TDs as a passer and rusher last season, and brings a solid command of the team's offense.
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 finished the 2021 campaign ranked 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 last season. These stats and rankings include totals from the Tommies' game against FCS power-house Northern Iowa, which was ranked in the top-25 for most of the season.
Rank - Category - Stat
2021 Defense
1st - Total Defense - 296 yards per game
1st - Scoring Defense - 17.8 points per game
1st - Pass Defense Efficiency - 100.4 efficiency rating
1st - Pass Defense - 174.4 yards per game
1st - Opponent 3rd Down Percentage - 31.0% (45/145)
1st - Opponent 4th Down Percentage - 28.6% (8/28)
1st - Opponent 1st Downs Allowed - 16.6 per game
t-1st - Interception Return TDs - 3 touchdowns
2nd - Rushing Defense - 121.6 yards per game
2021 Offense
2nd - Rushing Touchdowns - 25 touchdowns
3rd - Offensive Rushing Yards - 1,644 yards
3rd - Rushing Offense - 164.4 yards per game
2021 Team
2nd - fewest Penalties Committed - 46 penalties (4.6 per game)
2nd - Turnover Margin - +5
2nd - Time of Possession - 33:36 minutes per game
Hope is on the Way
Sophomore running back Hope 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.
Notable 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 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 Deigo (7-1 PFL).
Tommie D
St. Thomas' defense has only allowed 19 touchdowns through their 10-game schedule a season. That included 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 17.8 points per game to lead the PFL.
The Tommies held teams to just 30.6 percent (53-of-153) on third-and fourth-down conversions.
Proud Program Builder
15-year Head Coach Glenn Caruso has a 7-3 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 138-36 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 had no superstars but played well as a team with several guys sharing the load.
The Tommies won despite these unusually low totals by category leaders:
• The leading passer, Cade Sexauer, averaged just 86 yards per game.
• The leading available receiver, Wesley Juszczak, averaged 24 yards per game.
• The leading scorers were RB Hope Adebayo, 72 points, and K Louis Hyde, 36 points.
• Their defense had only one player (S Luke Glenna) with more than three solo tackles a game, with 13 different players recording an interception, a forced fumble or a fumble recovery.
Starting Strong in the Second Half
In eight of their 10 games in 2021, St. Thomas was in scoring position on its first drive of the second half. On six of those instances, the Tommies 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, touchdown vs. Presbyterian). 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 4-0 home record - building on its 37-1 record in its last 38 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 Purple are riding a 31-game home-field regular-season win streak.
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. 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.
2021 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 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 Southern Utah
Location: Cedar City, Utah (pop. 33,404)
Distance to St. Paul: 1,492 miles
Founded: 1897
Athletics Website: www.suutbirds.com
Undergrad Enrollment: 11,249
Nickname: Thunderbirds
Colors: Blue and Black
FB Stadium: Eccles Coliseum (10,000)
Surface: Turf
2022 Record: 1-10, 0-8 Big Sky
FB Head Coach: DeLane Fitzgerald (First season)
