University of St. Thomas Athletics
2-2 , 1-0
Morehead State
1-2 , 0-1
Team Stats
MSU 7, UST 0
MSU - Daly,Kyle 24 yd pass from Cravens,Carter (Hazlett,Nathan kick) 9 plays, 82 yards, TOP 02:47
MSU 7, UST 7
UST - Shipman,Shawn 61 yd run (Shagen,Stephen kick), 4 plays, 72 yards, TOP 02:07
MSU 7, UST 14
UST - Rink,Matthew 2 yd punt return (Shagen,Stephen kick)
MSU 14, UST 14
MSU - Tillman,Caleb 9 yd pass from Cravens,Carter (Hazlett,Nathan kick) 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 04:17
MSU 14, UST 21
UST - Shipman,Shawn 71 yd run (Shagen,Stephen kick), 3 plays, 80 yards, TOP 00:53
MSU 21, UST 21
MSU - Ramseur,Caleb 3 yd run (Hazlett,Nathan kick), 10 plays, 84 yards, TOP 04:11
MSU 21, UST 28
UST - Wagner,Patrick 2 yd pass from Tateoka,Tak (Shagen,Stephen kick) 6 plays, 70 yards, TOP 03:14
MSU 28, UST 28
MSU - Ramseur,Caleb 16 yd run (Hazlett,Nathan kick), 10 plays, 79 yards, TOP 05:00
MSU 28, UST 35
UST - Wildermuth,Jacob 26 yd pass from Tateoka,Tak (Shagen,Stephen kick) 5 plays, 73 yards, TOP 01:36
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Football soars to 35-28 victory over Eagles
9/23/2023 6:56:00 PM | Football
Tak Tateoka leads 73-yard drive in closing minute to win
ST. PAUL, MINN. – It is, perhaps, one of the most certain things in the unpredictable world of college football: the University of St. Thomas is really hard to beat at O'Shaughnessy. The Tommies once again proved that as fact Saturday afternoon. Using a huge offensive second half surge, St. Thomas upended Morehead State 35-28, winning its 28th consecutive game on its home field. Shawn Shipman (Brooklyn Park, Minn. / Champlin Park) became the first running back in the DI era to rush for over 200 yards, while freshman quarterback Tak Tateoka (Waukesha, Wis. / South) closed with 137 yards and two touchdowns.
RECAP:
It was a tale of two halves for the Tommies and Eagles, as both teams struggled to generate any offense in the opening half. It took nearly the full 30 minutes of the first half for either team to break the 0-0 tie, and it was, unfortunately, not St. Thomas that scored the first touchdown of the game. With 1:04 remaining in the second quarter, Eagles quarterback connected with Kyle Daly in the Tommie end zone, giving Morehead State a 6-0 lead. An extra point and minute later, the Eagles walked into halftime with a 7-0 advantage.
An inspired St. Thomas team came out of the locker room after halftime. Whether it was head coach Glenn Caruso's words, the magic of O'Shaughnessy, or a combination of many forces, the Tommies played inspired football in the third quarter, tying the game 7-7 before taking a 14-7 in under five minutes. Shipman provided the initial spark, as his 61-yard touchdown run would lead to the game-tying extra point at 12:46. Then, two minutes later, after the St. Thomas defense forced a key three-and-out, Matthew Rink (Lincoln, Neb. / Southwest) came up with the biggest block of the game. Not on offense, mind you, as a tight end, but as a member of the punt return unit. Rink blocked Morehead State kicker Kip Warren's punt and returned it for a two-yard touchdown, putting the Tommies up 14-7 with 10 minutes remaining in the third.
From there, the back and forth scoring efforts ensued by both teams. While touchdowns were hard to come by in the first half, they were the catch of the day in the second. After the blocked punt turned touchdown by Rink, the Eagles marched right down the field, scoring their second touchdown of the game to make it 14-14. That tie lasted all of 60 seconds, as Shipman once again went the distance, this time rushing for a 71-yard touchdown to put St. Thomas ahead 21-14.
Naturally, Morehead State tied the game in the waning minutes of the third, and the Tommies and Eagles opened an intense fourth quarter deadlocked 21-21. While the run game was the star of the show in the third, Tateoka and the St. Thomas air game soared in the fourth. The first year quarterback capped off a 70-yard drive by connecting with Patrick Wagner (Crofton, Md. / Archbishop Spalding) in the end zone for the Tommies first receiving touchdown of the 2023 season. He then waiting while the St. Thomas defense went to work keeping the Eagles off the board for the final 13 minutes. Unfortunately, after a drive plagued by penalties, Morehead State found the end zone, tying the game 28-28 with 1:52 remaining in the game.
With storms on the horizon, Tateoka and the Tommie offense took the field looking for a little of that O'Shaughnessy magic to lead them to victory. After securing the first down on three consecutive run plays, Caruso called St. Thomas' second time out of the half, sending Tateoka back out to the Tommie 43 yard line with 21 seconds left on the clock. Off the snap, the quarterback found Andrew McElroy (Bolingbrook, Ill. / Bolingbrook) for a huge 31-yard gain, putting St. Thomas in field goal range at the Morehead Stat 26. Rather than go for a field goal, the Tommies put the ball in Tateoka's hands, opting to go for the touchdown rather than the easy three points. The first year delivered, finding Jacob Wildermuth (Plymouth, Minn. / Wayzata) in the end zone to secure the 35-28 victory for the Tommies.
TOP TOMMIES:
· Shawn Shipman (Brooklyn Park, Minn. / Champlin Park) established himself as one of the top running backs in the Pioneer Football League on Saturday, becoming the first St. Thomas running back to rush for over 200 yards in the Division I era. Thanks to two 60+ yard runs, Shipman closed the game with 204 rushing yards on 16 carries, surpassing the 200 yard milestone for the first time in his career. He additionally led a run game that closed Saturday's contest with 285 rushing yards compared to the Eagles 66.
· Tak Tateoka (Waukesha, Wis. / South) led the Tommies to a dramatic victory Saturday afternoon, completing 10-16 passes and closing with 137 passing yards. Additionally, the first year quarterback guided St. Thomas' offense to its first comeback victory of 2023 and the first receiving touchdowns of the season.
· Andrew McElroy (Bolingbrook, Ill. / Bolingbrook) was Tateoka's top target, closing with 92 yards on five receptions, including the 31 yarder in the fourth quarter. Jacob Wildermuth (Plymouth, Minn. / Wayzata) and Patrick Wagner (Baltimore, Md. / Archbishop Spalding) each caught a touchdown pass Saturday.
· Jack Mohler (Woodbury, Minn. / East Ridge) led St. Thomas' defensive efforts, tallying nine tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss. Additionally, eight different defenseman recorded quarterback hurries Saturday afternoon, led by Tommy Shelstad's (Bloomington, Minn. / Holy Angels) three.
NOTABLES
The Tommies scored two receiving touchdowns Saturday afternoon, breaking their streak of seven consecutive rushing touchdowns scored. Entering Saturday's game, the longest St. Thomas had gone in the Caruso era without scoring a receiving touchdown was one game, and it happened three times since 2008. The nearly four game streak was brought to a close Saturday afternoon thanks to Wagner's touchdown reception in the third quarter.
QUOTEABLES
Hear from head coach Glenn Caruso, Shawn Shipman and Jacob Wildermuth following Saturday's game:
UP NEXT
St. Thomas will look to keep the good times rolling next weekend, as it faces Dayton College in PFL play. It will be the fifth consecutive weekend the Tommies will face a "new" opponent, as they have yet to face the Flyers since making the jump to Division I in 2021. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. CT in Dayton, Ohio.
