University of St. Thomas Athletics
1-2 , 0-0
Black Hills State (S.D.)
1-1 , 0-0
Team Stats
BHS 0, UST 3
UST - Shagen,Stephen 45 yd field goal 6 plays, 13 yards, TOP 02:43
BHS 7, UST 3
BHS - Goods,Cameron 63 yd pass from Duby,Luke (Chapman,Coleman kick) 4 plays, 80 yards, TOP 01:52
BHS 7, UST 10
UST - Rostberg,Micahel 1 yd run (Shagen,Stephen kick), 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:40
BHS 7, UST 17
UST - Rostberg,Micahel 1 yd run (Shagen,Stephen kick), 1 plays, 1 yards, TOP 00:03
BHS 14, UST 17
BHS - Chukwurah,TJ 9 yd pass from Duby,Luke (Chapman,Coleman kick) 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:34
BHS 14, UST 24
UST - Rostberg,Micahel 23 yd run (Shagen,Stephen kick), 10 plays, 59 yards, TOP 04:36
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
St. Thomas hangs on for 24-14 win over Black Hills State
9/14/2024 5:38:00 PM | Football
ST. PAUL, MINN. – The University of St. Thomas football is back in the win collum. The Tommies upended Black Hills State University 24-14 Saturday afternoon, improving to 1-2 on the season and securing their first win at O'Shaughnessy Stadium of 2024. Additionally, the St. Thomas defense was back to top form, holding the Yellowjackets to just three third down conversions and 69 total rush yards, while the offense went 2-2 on red zone chances.
RECAP:
For the third consecutive week, the Tommies were the first team to score Saturday afternoon, taking a 3-0 first quarter lead on a 45-yard field goal by Stephen Shagen (Park City, Utah / Park City). However, that was the only scoring opportunity for either team in the first 15 minutes of play, as both Elliot Huether (Minnetonka, Minn. / Minnetonka) and Derek Webster spent a lot of time on the first for St. Thomas and Black Hills State. In fact, Huether set a DI era record for single-game punts, recording nine punts for 388 yards Saturday afternoon.
The Yellowjackets struck first in the second quarter, going up 7-3 on a 63-yard pass from Luke Duby to Cameron Goods. However, the Tommies had the perfect answer. With eight minutes left in the second quarter, Michael Rostberg (West Fargo, N.D. / Shanley) used his legs to score St. Thomas' first touchdown of the game, rushing into the end zone to give the Tommies a 10-7 lead. Seven minutes later, Rostberg again found the end zone, boosting the St. Thomas lead to 17-7.
Black Hills State made things interesting in the closing seconds of the first half, scoring another touchdown to make it 17-14 after two quarters of play. That score held through the entire third quarter and well into the fourth, as neither team was able to generate much offense. First year running back Joseph Koch (Menomonee Falls, Wis. / Menomonee Falls) rushed for nearly 100 yards in his collegiate debut, generating some much needed offense for the Tommies; however, they were never able to find the back of the end zone. That is, St. Thomas wasn't able to find the back of the end zone until the final minute of the fourth quarter. It was once again Rostberg who scored for the Tommies, becoming the first quarterback in the DI era to rush for three touchdowns in the game.
However, after St. Thomas went ahead 24-14, there was still time for the Yellowjackets to attempt a comeback. Their final push was dominated by the Tommies defense, as Nick Hand (Rogers, Minn. / Totino-Grace) secured the 24-14 victory for St. Thomas with his first interception of 2024.
TOP TOMMIES
- Joseph Koch (Menomonee Falls, Wis. / Menomonee) led the Tommies offensive efforts, tallying 95 rushing yards on 18 carries. Michael Rostberg (West Fargo, N.D. / Shanley) scored all of St. Thomas' touchdowns Saturday afternoon.
- Defensively, the team was led by Ryan Sever (Edina, Minn. / Edina), who recorded 10 tackles, including .5 sack.
- Stephen Shagen (Park City, Utah / Park City) and Elliot Huether (Minnetonka, Minn. / Minnetonka) were quite the kicking duo Saturday afternoon. They kicked for a combined 692 yards, including a record 388 for Huether. Huether previously set the record in 2023 thanks to his 328-punt yard performance against Dayton in late September.
MR. 2000
Hope Adebayo (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / Simley) became the first running back in the Division I era to rush for 2000 career yards in the first quarter of Saturday's ball game. On his second rush of the game, Adebayo eclipsed the 2000 yard threshold and is now credited is 2019 rushing yards in his career.
UP NEXT
St. Thomas will hit the road for the first time in 2024 next weekend, as the team travels to St. Louis, Missouri to take on Lindenwood. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
