University of St. Thomas Athletics
8-3 , 7-1
Valparaiso
3-8 , 2-6
Team Stats
VAL 0, UST 3
UST - Shagen,Stephen 29 yd field goal 6 plays, 62 yards, TOP 02:21
VAL 0, UST 10
UST - Wagner,Patrick 30 yd pass from Powell,Amari (Shagen,Stephen kick) 8 plays, 93 yards, TOP 03:45
VAL 3, UST 10
VAL - Hawk,Ryan 38 yd field goal 10 plays, 54 yards, TOP 04:21
VAL 10, UST 10
VAL - Davis,Solomon 22 yd pass from Keefe,Rowan (Hawk,Ryan kick) 8 plays, 70 yards, TOP 04:18
VAL 10, UST 16
UST - Reed,Landon 9 yd run (), 7 plays, 73 yards, TOP 03:37
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Seniors rally in 16-10 win over Valpo
11/18/2023 5:22:00 PM | Football
St. Thomas closes season with 7-1 PFL record
ST. PAUL, MINN. – It was almost a picture perfect ending to the University of St. Thomas football team's 2023 season. The Tommies did what they have done all season long and came up big in the fourth quarter to claim a 16-10 win over Valparaiso in the final game of the season. Fueled by clutch plays on both offense and defense, St. Thomas closes the season with an 8-3 record, including a 7-1 mark in Pioneer Football League (PFL) play. The Tommies also finish second in the final conference standings, as Drake University won the conference title outright with a win over Butler University Saturday afternoon.
RECAP:
The first half proved to be extremely eventful despite St. Thomas and Valpo only scoring a combined 13 points in the first 30 minutes of play. However, it did look like it might be a blowout in favor of the Tommies, as they marched right into Beacon territory on their first offensive drive of the game. After outstanding defense by Valpo, though, St. Thomas had to settle for the early field goal, as Stephen Shagen (Park City, Utah / Park City) converted the 29 yard attempt to give the Tommies a 3-0 lead.
That single field goal was all anyone would score in the first quarter, as the defenses for both St. Thomas and the Beacons were completely dominant in the opening 15 minutes of play. Neither Hope Adebayo (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / Simley), Shawn Shipman (Brooklyn Center, Minn. / Champlin Park) nor Gabe Abel (Trenton, N.J. / Salisbury) could penetrate Valpo's stingy defense, but the Tommies were equally as dominant. St. Thomas held the Beacons to just 38 rush yards in the first and second quarter, as leading rusher Ryan Mann managed just 24 total yards through 30 minutes of play.
However, the receiving game was strong for the Tommies in the first half. With a 3-0 lead after the first quarter, Amari Powell (Valencia, Calif. / Chaminade College Prep) found Andrew McElroy (Bolingbrook, Ill. / Bolingbrook) for some huge games, putting St. Thomas within striking distance of the Valpo end zone. It was Powell's arm that eventually gave the Tommies a 10-0 cushion. No stranger to trick plays, head coach Glenn Caruso called for one in the second quarter, as Powell flipped it to McElroy and seemingly ran down the field for a reception. At the last second, Powell came back, catching McElroy's pass and launching to Patrick Wagner (Baltimore, Maryland / Archbishop Spalding), who was waiting with open arms in the end zone.
The Beacons managed to score three points in the final minutes of the second quarter, but St. Thomas still walked into the locer room as the half with a 10-3 lead. Valpo quickly erased it in the third, tying the game 10-10 midway through the quarter. That merely motivated the Tommies offense, specifically Adebayo. The junior running back simply could not be stopped, as he broke four tackles en route to a 23-yard rush for St. Thomas, putting them in Beacon territory. In fact, Adebayo rushed for 56 yards on that drive alone, bring St. Thomas to the Valpo nine yard line at the start of the fourth quarter. Landon Reed (Naples, Florida / Community) finished the drive off, rushing for a nine yard touchdown to secure a 16-10 lead for the Tommies.
For the final 13 minutes, it was up to the St. Thomas defense to preserve the lead. Multiple times, the Tommies came up big with multiple plays and tackles for loss. However, the Beacons may have been able to control their own destiny. After coming up with a huge stop on third and seven, Valpo earned possession with two minutes remaining on the clock. The Tommies forced an incomplete pass on first down before holding Mann to just one yard on the second down rush. After outstanding coverage by Yusef Leak (Orlando, Fla. / Master's Academy) resulted in 4th-and-nine, Valpo opted to go for it on fourth down. Leak, once again, came up big, securing the 16-10 victory for St. Thomas with his second consecutive pass break up.
TOP TOMMIES
- Amari Powell (Valencia, Calif. / Chaminade College Prep) threw for 179 yards in Saturday's victory, completing nine of 17 pass attempts, including a 50-yarder in the first quarter. He also rushed for 16 net yards in the win. His top receiver was Andrew McElroy (Bolingbrook, Ill. / Bolingbrook) who closed the game with 90 receiving yards.
- Hope Adebayo (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / Simley) was the top rusher for St. Thomas on Saturday, closing the game with 88 yards, while Landon Reed (Naples, Florida / Community) scored the lone rushing touchdown of the game).
- Defensively, the Tommies were led by Jonanthan Bunce (Edina, Minn. / Edina), who closed the game with a team-leading nine tackles, five solo and four assists. He additionally tallied 1.5 tackles for loss and one sack in the win.
NOTABLES
St. Thomas extended its NCAA-leading home field winning streak to 31 consecutive games on Saturday, posting a perfect 6-0 record at home in 2023. The Tommies have not lost at O'Shaughnessy Stadium since December 3, 2016, when they fell to UW-Oshkosh 34-31 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
RUSHDOWN
Thanks to Reed's touchdown in the fourth quarter, St. Thomas closed the season scoring at least one rushing touchdown in nine consecutive games. In fact, the Tommie running backs and fullbacks were kept out of the end zone in just one game all season, and that was a 24-0 loss at now top-10 ranked South Dakota. Since the shutout, St. Thomas has scored at least one rushing touchdown in every single game, including a season-high five in a win over Marist three weekends ago.
FINAL STANDINGS
The Tommies finished in a tie for second in the PFL standings with a 7-1 record in conference play. Drake University won the PFL outright with a win over Butler Saturday afternoon.
