University of St. Thomas Athletics
Valparaiso
Tommies to celebrate seniors, host Valpo in final game of 2023
11/15/2023 12:38:00 PM | Football
St. Thomas coud clinch share of PFL title with win
ST. PAUL, MINN. – The season flies by so quickly when it's fun. It may seem hard to believe, but it is the final week of the 2023 season for the University of St. Thomas football team. After 10 grinding weeks, the Tommies will host Valparaiso University in their final game of the year and will try to win a share of the Pioneer Football League (PFL) title at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 18.
There's plenty on the line for St. Thomas in the 2023 season finale. Thanks to their win over San Diego last Saturday, and a loss by Davidson, the Tommies find themselves in the thick of the PFL title race. With a Drake loss and St. Thomas win, the Tommies would clinch a share of the conference title, their second consecutive after winning it outright in 2022. It would also extended St. Thomas' home field win streak to 31 consecutive games, as the Tommies have not lost at home since December 2016.
If that wasn't enough, St. Thomas will also honor 21 seniors prior to Saturday's contest: Shane Aberg (San Jose, Calif. / Archbishop Mitty), Hope Adebayo (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / Simley), Aaron Arnold (Minneapolis, Minn. / Minnehaha Academy), Jonathan Bunce (Edina, Minn. / Edina), Will Burke (St. Paul, Minn. / Cretin-Derham Hall), Jake Coleman (West Des Moines, Iowa / Valley), Dane Demuth (Hudson, Wis. / Hudson), Johnson Fallah (Brooklyn Park, Minn. / Osseo), Joey Fitzgerald (Chicago, Ill. / Brother Rice). Matthew Guggemos (Eden Prairie, Minn. / Benilde-St. Margaret's), Luke Herzog (Mendota Heights, Minn. / St. Thomas Academy), Kam In (Arlington, Minn. / Sibley East), Alex Kuntz (St. Paul, Minn. / St. Thomas Academy), Brandon Liston (Lombard, Ill. / Montini), Jack Mohler (Woodbury, Minn. / East Ridge), Nic Seifert (Glen Ellyn, Ill. / Glenbard West), Tommy Shelstad (Bloomington, Minn. / Holy Angels), Nick Stanger (Chaska, Minn. / Chaska), Andrew Thomas (Green Bay, Wis. / Bay Port), Lucas Torgerson (Turtle Lake, Wis. / Turtle Lake) and Colin Zinn (Woodstock, Ill. / Woodstock North). In five years with the program, these 21 individuals led the Tommies to new heights as the athletic department transitioned from Division III to Division I. They won the department's first ever Division I conference title, claiming the PFL in just the second season in the conference, and compiled an overall record of 40-11. Additionally, these seniors did not lose a single home game in their tenure with the program, including several against FCS opponents.
Kickoff for Saturday's game is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at O'Shaughnessy Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota. Tickets are still available and can be purchased at www.tommiesports.com/tickets. Fans who cannot attend in person can watch the game in a variety of ways, including broadcast TV. The game will also air on Fox 9+ in the Twin Cities and surrounding metro area, and the game will also be streamed on Midco Sports Plus. Fans can tune into the live radio call on 1500 ESPN and follow live stats as well.
Tommie Tidbits:
LAST TIME OUT: St. Thomas won its third consecutive game on Saturday in dramatic fashion, defeating San Diego in overtime by a final score of 20-14. The two teams remained deadlocked 14-14 at the end of regulation after the Toreros missed the potential game-winning field goal with mere seconds remaining on the clock. San Diego, then, had the first opportunity to score in overtime, but once again, the St. Thomas defense held firm, keeping the Toreros out of the end zone and forcing them to kick another field goal. This one, once again, missed wide, and the Tommies had their chance to win outright, either on the leg of Stephen Shagen or the arm of Amari Powell. In the end, it was the bullish running of Hope Adebayo that secured victory, as he rushed into the end zone to secure the 20-14 victory for St. Thomas.
TUNE IN: Football fans can follow the Tommies on their new streaming home, Midco Sports Plus and the Midco Sports Plus App. The subscription-based service will provide a digital streaming platform for regular season home St. Thomas football games along with exclusive Tommie and PFL content, including replays, highlights, interviews, and special feature stories. Subscriptions cost $9.99 per month or $79.99 for an annual plan. Fans can also listen to the call on 1500 ESPN and follow Live Stats on TommieSports.com. Additionally, the game will air on Fox9+ in the metro area.
THE OPPOSITION: Don't let the 3-7 record fool you. Valpo has been on a hot streak as of late, winning back-to-back games in the PFL to improve to 2-5 in conference play. The Beacons earned a 21-7 win over Dayton two weeks ago before earning a thrilling 23-20 OT victory over Stetson this past weekend. In fact, Valpo has played two overtime games this season, falling to Marist 36-30 in its first PFL game of the 2023 season. The Beacons, additionally, are not getting blown out in the majority of their games this season. Four of Valpo's seven losses have been by seven points or less, and two losses have been by three points or fewer.
TITLE PICTURE: Thanks to a loss by Davidson on Saturday, the Tommies are still in the hunt for their second consecutive PFL title. With a St. Thomas win and Drake loss, the Tommies would win at least a share of the conference title, as the two teams would be deadlocked at 7-1 in the conference standings. There's also a chance for a three-way tie at the top of the PFL if both St. Thomas and Davidson win and the Bulldogs lose. Either way, the Tommies cannot win the conference outright after Drake's two-point win over Presbyterian on Saturday.
GRAND FINALE: To say St. Thomas has found success in the final game of the regular season may be a gross understatement. Since head coach Glenn Caruso took over in 2008, the Tommies are 14-1 all-time in the regular season finale, with their one loss coming at the hands of Bethel University in 2018. The Royals upended nationally ranked St. Thomas 21-15 that day, handing the Tommies their first regular season finale loss of the Caruso era. St. Thomas avenged itself one year later, defeating Bethel 17-7 in its final game of the Division III era.
Of note: The Tommies are 2-0 in regular season finales since making the leap to Division I with wins over Presbyterian (2021) and Butler (2022)
HOME SWEET HOME: Thanks to home losses by Clemson and Cincinnati, the Tommies entered the 2023 season with the longest home field win streak at any level of college football. St. Thomas kept the streak alive in late October, winning its 30th consecutive game at O'Shaughnessy Stadium with a 49-14 win over Marist on October 28. The Tommies have not lost on their home field in over 2500 consecutive days, and their last loss came at the hands of UW-Oshkosh on December 3, 2016.
HALFTIME LEAD: The Tommies have won 19 consecutive games in the Division I era when leading at the half. In fact, St. Thomas' last loss when leading at the half occurred on October 19, 2019 when it was still a member of the MIAC. The Tommies led rival Saint John's 14-13 at halftime in a neutral site game at Allianz Field. The Johnnies outscored St. Thomas 25-6 in the second half of the game, beating the Tommies 38-20 in the final meeting between the teams in the Division III era. St. Thomas has yet to lose a game when leading at the half in the Division I era.
WHAT IS OVERTIME?: Prior to Saturday's overtime win over San Diego, the Tommies avoided the extra quarter for 149 games, opting to win or lose in regulation instead. In fact, St. Thomas' last overtime game occurred on October 2, 2010, when the team defeated rival Saint John's 27-26 in Collegeville, Minnesota. Since then, the Tommies won every single game in regulation until Saturday, when they needed a little extra time to defeat the Toreros 20-14.
NEED A LITTLE HOPE: Running back Hope Adebayo has been a force to be reckoned with in recent weeks. The junior running back has scored two rushing touchdowns in three consecutive games, becoming the first running back in the Division I era to reach the historic milestone. Additionally, Adebayo has scored two rushing touchdowns in four of the last five games, leading the Tommies to victories over Butler, Stetson, Marist and San Diego. St. Thomas is 5-1 this season when Adebayo scores at least one touchdown and 4-0 when he scores two.
TOMMIE 150 CLUB: Head coach Glenn Caruso won the 150th game of his career in the Tommies season opening game against Black Hills State. On Saturday, he won his 150th game with the Tommies, becoming the first coach in program history to win 150 games with the program, according to available records. Entering the final game of the season, Caruso holds the program records for career wins, single season wins and career winning percentage.
CARDIAC CATS: Saturday's win over San Diego was thrilling to say the least, and the fourth game St. Thomas was won in either the final minute of regulation or overtime this season. The Tommies 35-28 win over Morehead State was clinched in the final seconds of regulation, courtesy of a touchdown by Jacob Wildermuth, while defensive stands led to victories over Dayton and Butler. This past weekend was the first overtime victory for St. Thomas this season, though the Tommies would not have made it to overtime if not for two big plays for the St. Thomas defense in the closing minutes of regulation against the Toreros.
SPECIAL BATTLE: Saturday will be a battle of special teams, as the Tommies and Beacons possess two of the best special teams units in the Pioneer Football League. On Sunday, Valpo's Max Samuel was named the PFL Special Teams Player of the Week after blocking two punts in the Beacons' 23-20 OT win over Stetson. Valpo's special teams unit has blocked five kicks/punts this season, led by Samuel's three. In turn, St. Thomas also has blocked five kicks/punts this season, though no Tommie has blocked more than one this season.
FIRST HALF DOMINANCE: St. Thomas has outscored its opponents 139-103 in the first half of games and has been particularly dominant in the first quarter. The Tommies have scored 66 first quarter points and held their opponents to just 35. The second quarter has been much closer, with St. Thomas holding a slim 73-68 advantage over its opponents. However, the second half has not been as kind to the Tommies. St. Thomas has been outscored 130-104 in the second half of games and 71-59 in the fourth quarter alone.
