University of St. Thomas Athletics
3-2 , 2-0
Dayton
2-3 , 0-2
Team Stats
STT 7, DAY 0
STT - McElroy,Andrew 18 yd pass from Tateoka,Tak (Shagen,Stephen kick) 6 plays, 32 yards, TOP 03:18
STT 14, DAY 0
STT - Abel,Gabriel 7 yd run (Shagen,Stephen kick), 7 plays, 69 yards, TOP 03:47
STT 20, DAY 0
STT - Wildermuth,Jacob 1 yd pass from Tateoka,Tak () 14 plays, 44 yards, TOP 07:41
STT 20, DAY 7
DAY - Casciola,Dante 10 yd run (Webster,Sam kick), 3 plays, 8 yards, TOP 00:52
STT 20, DAY 14
DAY - Lochow,Gavin 5 yd pass from Dow,Cole (Webster,Sam kick) 14 plays, 80 yards, TOP 07:14
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Tommies hang on for 20-14 win at Dayton
9/30/2023 3:10:00 PM | Football
Defense comes up with goal line stand in closing seconds
DAYTON, OHIO – The game was perhaps a little more dramatic than the University of St. Thomas football team intended. After a blistering offensive performance in the first half, the Tommies held a 20-7 lead over the University of Dayton and looked as though they would cruise to an easy victory over the Flyers. In the end, the victory was anything but easy. Thanks to a huge goal line stand by the defense, St. Thomas held on for a 20-14 lead over Dayton, improving to 2-0 in Pioneer Football League (PFL) play.
RECAP:
It was all Tommies in the first quarter of Saturday's game, as the offense and defense were firing on all cylinders early in the opening 15 minutes. It looked like it might be a low scoring affair, though, after St. Thomas' first offensive possession of the game. Dayton's defense was stifling and forced the Tommies to punt mere minutes into the game. However, Elliot Huether's (Minnetonka, Minn. / Minnetonka) punt bounced off the foot of a Fllyer and into the hands of Caden Nelson (Waunakee, Wis. / Waunakee), giving St. Thomas possession in its own territory. Tak Tateoka (Waukesha, Wis. / South) made the home team pay for its mistake, as he found Andrew McElroy (Bolingbrook, Ill. / Bolingbrook) in the end zone to give St. Thomas a 7-0 lead 10 minutes into the game.
The Tommies defense held Dayton's potent offense at bay in the first quarter, shutting out their opponent in theopening 15 minutes of the game for the first time since the season opener against Black Hills State. Their performance, which included sacks by Jonathan Bunce (Edina, Minn. / Edina) and Nick Hand (Rogers, Minn. / Totino-Grace) and a turnover on downs, allowed St. Thomas' offense to score 20 unanswered points, as touchdowns by Gabe Abel (Trenton, N.J. / Salisbury School) and Jacob Wildermuth (Plymouth, Minn. / Wayzata) bolstered the Tommies lead to 20-0 with under five minutes remaining in the first half.
The Flyers managed to squeeze in a touchdown in the closing minutes of the second quarter, cutting St. Thomas' halftime lead to 20-7. That score would hold through the third quarter, which was defined by defense. Combined, the Tommies and Dayton allowed just one first down in 15 minutes of play, as six of seven drives ended in a punt. The one drive that didn't end in a punt ended on a Grif Wurtz (Chaska, Minn. / Chaska) interception, though St. Thomas' offense was unable to capitalize on the Flyers turnover.
As the Tommies struggled to generate offense and extend their lead, Dayton struggled as well until the four minute mark of the fourth quarter. After 30+ minutes of scoreless football, the Flyers finally found the back of the end zone after a 14 play, seven minute drive that started near the 10 minute mark. The drive not only cut the St. Thomas lead to six with under five minutes to play, but also whittled nearly seven minutes off the clock, giving the Tommies just four minutes to try and bolster their lead back to two touchdowns. However, the St. Thomas offense was unable to come up with a key first down, as penalties cost them a potential first down run by Hope Adebayo (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / Simley) and put the ball right back in the Flyers' hands.
That was when chaos broke loose in Ohio. With under two minutes left in the ball game, Kam In (Arlington, Minn. / Sibley East) seemingly came up with the play of the game, catching a Dante Casciola pass in St. Thomas territory for his first interception of the season. However, the Tommies offense was once agaion unable to earn a first down, giving Dayton the ball with 1:55 remaining in regulation. Despite big plays from the St. Thomas interior linemen, the Flyers were able to move down the field quickly and found themselves on the Tommies four-yard line with 10 seconds on the clock. It looked like the game was lost for St. Thomas, as Casciola looked to Joey Swanson on fourth and four, who appeared wide open in the end zone. Thanks to perfect timing, though, Johnson Fallah (Brooklyn Park, Minn. / Osseo) snuck up behind Swanson and batted the ball away at the last second, preventing the game-tying touchdown from being scored and securing the 20-14 victory for the Tommies.
TOP TOMMIES
- Tak Tateoka (Waukesha, Wis. / South) threw for 100 yards Saturday afternoon, completing 15 of 23 passes with two touchdowns and no interceptions. His top targets, Andrew McElroy (Bolingbrook, Ill. / Bolingbrook) and Jacob Wildermuth (Plymouth, Minn. / Wayzata) combined for 54 receiving yards and two interceptions on nine catches.
- St. Thomas' defense stole the show in the second half thanks to its three sacks, 13 tackles for loss and two interceptions. Nick Hand (Rogers, Minn. / Totino-Grace) and Jonathan Bunce (Edina, Minn. / Edina) led with 13 and 12 tackles each, while Grif Wurtz (Chaska, Minn. / Chaska) and Kam In (Arlington, Minn. / Sibley East) recorded interceptions Saturday afternoon.
NOTABLES
Since the start of the 2022 season, the Tommies are now 11-0 when leading by double-digits at halftime and 2-0 this season. In fact, since making the move to Division I in 2021, St. Thomas is 14-0 when leading by 10+ points at the half, including Saturday's 20-14 win over Dayton.
BATTING 1.000
Tommie head football coach Glenn Caruso has officially defeated every team in the PFL at least once in his tenure at St. Thomas. The head coach is now 16-2 all-time against conference opponents since the Tommies joined the PFL in 2021. Additionally, St. Thomas extended its conference game win streak to 12 consecutive games, having last lost to a PFL opponent on November 6, 2021.
UP NEXT
The Tommies will continue their trek through a tough PFL schedule at home next weekend when they host Butler on Saturday, October 7. The Homecoming kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. at O'Shaughnessy Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota.
