University of St. Thomas Athletics
Dayton
Football continues PFL play at Dayton
9/27/2023 8:00:00 AM | Football
Tommies, Flyers voted preseason favorites in August
| St. Thomas Game Notes |
ST. PAUL, MINN. – Nothing has been easy for the University of St. Thomas football team to open the 2023 season. The Tommies played their toughest schedule yet in the Division I era, squaring off with Black Hill State, South Dakota and Harvard before opening Pioneer League Football (PFL) play this past weekend. While St. Thomas was able to squeak by with a win, the team may receive its toughest test to date as it squares off against the University of Dayton on Saturday, September 30.
The Tommies and Flyers were the preseason favorites to win the PFL, with Dayton stealing two first place votes in the Preseason Coaches Poll. St. Thomas was still selected as the overwhelming favorite to win the conference and opened its title defense with a 35-28 win over Morehead State on Saturday. The Flyers, however, did not get off to a hot start in PFL play, falling 40-25 to powerhouse San Diego.
Tickets are still available for Saturday's game and can be purchased at www.daytonflyers.com. Fan can also watch the game through Facebook Live, tune into the live radio call on 1500 ESPN and follow live stats if they can't make the trek to Dayton, Ohio.
Tommie Tidbits:
St. Thomas rebounded from back-to-back losses in a big way, coming from behind to defeat Morehead State 35-28 in its first Pioneer Football League contest of 2023. After falling behind 7-0 in the first half, the Tommies scored 14 unanswered points not even five minutes into the third quarter, taking a 14-7 lead over the Eagles on a 60 yard touchdown run by Shawn Shipman and a blocked punt return TD by Matthew Rink. However, three ties later, St. Thomas found itself and Morehead State deadlocked at 28-28. With one minute on the clock, storms looming, and the ball in freshman quarterback Tak Tateoka's (Waukesha, Wis. / South) hand, the Tommies marched in Eagles territory and won the game on a beautiful touchdown reception by senior Jacob Wildermuth (Plymouth, Minn. / Wayzata).
NOT SO WELCOMING STADIUM:
Like St. Thomas, the Flyers are virtually unbeatable at home. While it doesn't hold a 28 game home field winning streak, Dayton is 11-1 at Welcome Stadium over the last three seasons and 2-0 in 2023. Additionally, the Flyers are averaging 57.0 points per game at their home field and holding opponents to 22 points per game.
NEW FRIENDS:
For the third consecutive week, the Tommies will face a new opponent in Dayton and will play at Welcome Stadium for the first time in program history. Head coach Glenn Caruso is 25-9 all-time in historic first meetings with teams, including a 10-5 mark since the program made the leap to Division I in 2021. Caruso is also 15-2 in PFL play and 7-2 in the first ever meeting between St. Thomas and PFL opponents.
BUCKEYE STATE:
The Tommies have only played one team from the state of Ohio in the history of the program: Mount Union. St. Thomas squared off against the DIII perennial power twice in the 2012 and 2015 Stagg Bowl. The Tommies lost both games, falling to 0-2 against teams from the state.
SHIP SHIP HOORAY!
Running back Shawn Shipman (Brooklyn Park, Minn. / Champlin Park) has made quite a name for himself through the first four weeks of the regular season. The junior became the first Tommie running back in the Division I era to rush for over 200 yards in a game, tallying 204 total in St. Thomas' win over Morehead State on Saturday. He currently ranks 16th in the FCS in single-game rushing yard (204), and his 71-yard touchdown run on Saturday ranks just outside the top-15 in the nation this season.
HE IS SPEED
Shipman posted two 60+ touchdown runs on Saturday, becoming the first St. Thomas running back to post two 60+ yard rushes in a single game. According to the Tommies Strength and Conditioning staff, Shipman reached a top speed of 21.3 MPH in his first touchdown run of 61 yards. He was just as fast during his 71-yard run, which is the longest touchdown run in the Division I era. The junior running back clocked in at 21.2 MPH on that particular rush.
DON'T RUN ON US
St. Thomas' run defense has been stalwart this season. The Tommies run defense ranks No. 8 in the FCS, holding opponents to 117.0 rushing yards per game. If you take out the team's performance against Harvard, the St. Thomas run defense has held opponents to an average of 71.0 yards per game, which includes two sub-100 rush yard performances. The Tommies held Black Hills State to just 41 rushing yards in the season opener before allowing just 66 against the Eagles this past Saturday.
"TAK"TFULLY BRILLIANT
True freshman Tak Tateoka (Waukesha, Wis. / South) made his second career start on Saturday and led St. Thomas to a dramatic 35-28 win over Morehead State. When he made his first collegiate start against South Dakota on September 9, he became the first true freshman to start at quarterback for the Tommies since at least 2013, according to available records. He additionally is the first true freshman quarterback to win his first ever career home start in that same time span, again according to available records.
AIR RAID
Taking out Johnson Fallah's (Brooklyn Park, Minn. / Osseo) pick-six and Matthew Rink's (Lincoln, Neb. / Southwest) blocked punt touchdown return, St. Thomas scored eight consecutive rushing touchdowns before recording its first receiving touchdown of the 2023 season. However, it was not household names Andrew McElroy (Bolingbrook, Ill. / Bolingbrook) or Wildermuth who nabbed the pass in the end zone of 2023. Sophomore Patrick Wagner (Baltimore, Md. / Archbishop Spalding) caught the Tommies first touchdown pass of 2023, becoming the first tight end to record the first touchdown reception of a season since Grant Slavic in 2019.
BLOCK PARTY
Sophomore tight end Rink ended a seven game streak for St. Thomas thanks to his blocked punt in the third quarter of Saturday's game. As one of the most aggressive Special Teams units in the PFL, the Tommies went eight games without a blocked punt or field goal/point after attempt after recording several in the first four games of 2022. In fact, before Rink's highlight play on Saturday, Ryan Sever (Edina, Minn. / Benilde-St. Margaret's) recorded the last blocked punt for the Tommies on October 22, 2022.
NO OT PLEASE
The smell of overtime was thick in the air Saturday when St. Thomas and Morehead State were deadlocked at a score of 28-28 with one minute remaining in regulation before the Tommies went on to win 35-28. Thanks to the victory, St. Thomas has now avoided overtime for 144 consecutive games, opting instead to win or lose in regulation. The last time the Tommies played in overtime was on October 2, 2010 when they defeated Saint John's 27-26.
LAST MINUTE DEALING
St. Thomas very rarely finds itself tied in the final minute of regulation. The last time it occurred was on September 11, 2021. After a low scoring first half, the Tommies found themselves in a 9-3 deficit against Michigan Tech entering the fourth and final quarter. St. Thomas went on to win the game 12-9, scoring nine points in the final five minutes of regulation. After a fumble recovery in the end zone tied the game at 9-9, the Tommies won in the final minute of regulation on a 32-yard field goal by Louis Hyde.
