University of St. Thomas Athletics
Lincoln (Calif.)
Game Notes - Football hosts Lincoln University in second-straight home game
9/22/2022 12:20:00 PM | Football
St. Thomas Football looks to continue one of the more impressive streaks - a 32-game regular-season home winning streak - as the Tommies host the Lincoln University Oaklanders at O'Shaughnessy Stadium on Saturday.
The Tommies are coming off an early-season bye week sandwiched between home games. St. Thomas opened its 2022 home-slate with an impressive 32-6 win over Michigan Tech, marking Head Coach Glenn Caruso's 14th-consecutive home opening win.
St. Thomas has made a habit of rushing out to early leads behind a stout run-game featuring a pair of sophomore running backs in Shawn Shipman and Hope Adebayo. Shipman was the feature back in the Purple's last game and posted a 58-yard rush in the team's opening offensive drive. Shipman is averaging 110 rushing yards per game through the team's first two games.
Senior QB Cade Sexauer is playing efficiently at the signal caller position, completing 50 percent of his passes with a 110.0 QB efficiency rating. Sophomore WR Andrew McElroy has emerged as the favorite receiving target, he leads the receiving efforts with 110 yards on seven receptions through the first two games.
Defensively, junior DB Grif Wurtz leads the team with 15 total tackles on the season. He is joined by sophomore LB Jonathan Bunce (12) and senior DB Luke Glenna as the leading tacklers on the squad. Sophomore DB Yusef Leak has snared the Tommies lone interception of the season.
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.
Learning about Lincoln
Lincoln University will make the trip from Oakland, Calif. to St. Paul, Minn. to take on the Tommies in the first ever matchup between the Tommies and the Oaklanders as Lincoln University enters its second season of football.
Last Week:
Lincoln University is currently 0-3 on the season, most recently suffering a 66-7 loss to the Grand Valley State Lakers in Allendale, Michigan. The Oaklanders were trailing at halftime of a game that was called off due to lightning earlier in the season, which isn't reflected in the win-loss record. WR William Anglen had the Oaklanders lone touchdown on a 98-yard kick return. Defensively, Treyvion Davies led the team with nine tackles.
Both Oaklander QBs, Rhett Riley and Bennie Barnes, have seen action in all of Lincoln's games with Riley taking the majority of snaps. Against Grand Valley, Riley went 5-of-21 for 54 yards and one interception, while Barnes went 1-of-2 for 2 yards and one interception. Lincoln had more success on the ground going a combined 32 carries for 102 yards across the team. Defensively, the Oaklander unit combined for 5.0 sacks on the day.
On the season, the Lincoln offense is averaging 8.0 points scored per game, and on defense allowing 53.3 points per game. The Oaklanders are averaging 159.3 yards per game, while allowing 468 yards per game.
Last Time Out
Sophomore RB Shawn Shipman rushed for 157 yards and two short touchdowns in his first collegiate start and the St. Thomas defense limited Michigan Tech to 150 yards of offense and no touchdowns in the 32-6 Tommie victory in non-conference play at O'Shaughnessy Stadium.
With the win, the Tommies remained perfect in home openers under Head Coach Glenn Caruso (14-0) and pushed their regular-season home winning streak to 32 games.
The Purple used two special teams touchdowns and a stout defensive effort to improve to 1-1 on the season. A blocked punt and a fake field goal helped propel the Tommies to the victory, while the St. Thomas defensive unit held Michigan Tech to a 1-of-15 showing on third downs, a 1-of-3 effort on fourth downs and kept the Huskies out of the end zone in the win.
The Tommies once again rushed out to an early lead with a long run on the opening possession as sophomore RB Shawn Shipman busted free for 58 yards on the second play from scrimmage. Shipman punched it in from one yard out for the game's first score, giving the Tommies a 6-0 lead early in the first quarter after a failed point after attempt.
With 10:44 to play in the second quarter, freshman linebacker Ryan Sever blocked a Huskies punt at the 36-yard line which bounced into the end zone and was recovered by freshman defensive back Mitchell Schares for a Purple touchdown, extending the Tommies lead to 13-3.
With 5:55 remaining in the first half, senior quarterback Cade Sexauer connected on a 33-yard touchdown strike to sophomore wide receiver Andrew McElroy to push the Tommies lead to 19-3. Shipman scored his second touchdown of the first half, once again on a one-yard rush to open a 26-3 lead heading into intermission.
The Tommies outgained the Huskies 208-89 on the offensive side of the ball. Shipman finished the first half with 120 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Sexauer finished the half completing 5-of-10 passing attempts for 72 yards with one touchdown and one interception. McElroy posted 62 yards receiving on three receptions with one touchdown catch.
The two teams exchanged turnovers to start the second half. The Tommies fumbling awy their first possession of the second half, but sophomore DB Yusef Leak intercepted a Michigan Tech pass in the end zone to deny the Huskies.
With 3:28 remaining in the third quarter, the St. Thomas special teams unit added another touchdown to its stat column, this time an 11-yard TD rush by junior P Kolby Gartner, who was serving as the holder on a field goal attempt pushing the Purple's lead to 32-3. The only score of the fourth quarter was a 40-yard field goal by the Huskies with under three minutes to play.
The Tommies, who won just 12-9 in the 2021 meeting at Michigan Tech, outgained the Huskies here Saturday 296 yards to 150 yards on offense.
Individually, Sexauer completed 8-of-17 passing attempts for 97 yards and a touchdown. Shipman finished with 157 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries. McElroy finished the contest with 70 yards on four receptions with one touchdown.
Defensively, sophomore OLB Jonathan Bunce led the Purple with seven tackles and 1.0 TFL. Senior S Luke Glenna added six tackles and two passes defensed.
St. Thomas had a bye week Sept. 17 and starts Pioneer Football League play Oct.1 at Marist.
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.
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 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 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 Year 1
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
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
Offense
2nd Rushing Touchdowns 25 touchdowns
3rd Offensive Rushing Yards 1,644 yards
3rd Rushing Offense 164.4 yards per game
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 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 scrimamge 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.
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 two games of the 2022 season, Shipman has rushed the ball 33 times amassing 229 yards on the ground and is averaging 6.7 yards per rushing attempt. The Brooklyn Park, Minn., native has scored three touchdowns on the year and is averaging 110.0 yards rushing per game this season.
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. 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 only allowed 19 touchdowns through their 10-game schedule a season ago. 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.
St. Thomas has allowed five touchdowns through the first two contests of its 2022 schedule, all five of which came in the team's opening game against FCS foe Southern Utah. The Tommies held the Huskies out of the endzone in the Purple's first home game of the 2022 campaign.
Additionally, the Tommie Defensive Unit is holding opposing offenses to a 23% showing (7-of-31) on third-down attempts.
Proud Program Builder
15-year Head Coach Glenn Caruso has an 8-4 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 140-37 career record (.791). 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.
The Tommies were unable to get into scoring position in their first second-half possesion of the first contest of the 2022 campaign and fumbled away their first possesion of the second half in the second contest of the season.
Home Sweet Home
St. Thomas has started its Division I era with a 5-0 home record - building on its 38-1 record in its last 39 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 32-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 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 Lincoln (Calif.)
Location: Oakland, Calif.
Distance to St. Paul: 1979 miles
Founded: 1919
Athletics Website: https://athletics.lincolnuca.edu/
Undergrad Enrollment: 573
Nickname: Oaklanders
Colors: Black, Red, and Yellow
2022 Record: 0-4
Head Coach: Desmond Gumbs (Second season)
