University of St. Thomas Athletics
Idaho
Tommies challenge #11 Idaho in 37-30 loss
9/6/2025 7:06:00 PM | Football
MOSCOW, IDAHO – It was an impressive display of football for the University of St. Thomas Saturday afternoon. The Tommies traveled to Moscow, Idaho to take on the #11 University of Idaho Vandals, or Fighting Taters, as they were called Saturday. St. Thomas held its own against the nationally ranked opponent, scoring 30 points while leading at the conclusion of the first quarter. However, the Tommies were unable to leave Moscow with a victory, eventually falling by a final score of 37-30.
QUICK HITS:
St. Thomas led #11 Idaho 7-3 after the first quarter thanks to a 65-yard touchdown drive, led by Andy Peters (Boise, Idaho / Timberline). The Idaho native found Quentin Cobb-Butler (Woodbury, Minn. / Woodbury) in the back of the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown reception to cap the drive. The Tommies also led 13-10 midway through the second quarter thanks to another touchdown from Peters, this time to Mariano Birdno (Flagstaff, Arizona / Flagstaff).
St. Thomas mounted a comeback in the second half, outscoring the Vandals 17-14 in the final 30 minutes of the game. Patrick Bowen Jr. (Fort Lauderdale, Fla. / Dillard) and Patrick Wagner (Crofton, Maryland / Archbishop Spaulding) scored touchdowns for the Tommies in the second half, while Elliot Heuther (Minnetonka, Minn. / Benilde-St. Margaret) converted a 48-yard field goal in the third quarter.
SCORING SUMMARY:
First Quarter: Nick Hand (Rogers, Minn. / Totino-Grace) set St. Thomas up for success on the first play of the game, tallying the first Tommie interception of 2025 to give his team the ball at their own 22 yard line. St. Thomas then proceeded to march downfield into the red zone, but the Tommies were unable to capitalize. That allowed the Vandals to take a 3-0 lead on their next offensive drive with 5:13 remaining in the quarter.
Two minutes later, St. Thomas had a 7-3 lead. Andy Peters (Boise, Idaho / Timberline) found Quentin Cobb-Butler (Woodbury, Minn. / Woodbury) for a 17-yard touchdown reception, fiving the Tommies a 7-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Second Quarter: Idaho regained the advantage early in the second quarter, taking a 10-7 lead with 11:40 remaining in the first half. St. Thomas, though, was quick to answer, as Peters found Mariano Birdno (Flagstaff, Arizona / Flagstaff) in the end zone to give the Tommies a 13-10 lead. However, the Vandals outscored St. Thomas 13-0 in the final half of the second quarter to give Idaho a 23-13 halftime lead.
Third Quarter: The Tommies held Idaho's offense scoreless in the third quarter, which allowed the visitors to cut the lead to 23-16 on a 48-yard field goal by Elliot Huether (Minnetonka, Minn. / Benilde-St. Margaret).
Fourth Quarter: St. Thomas made things interesting in the fourth quarter. After Idaho extended its lead to 30-16, Peters and the Tommies marched right down to the Vandals end zone. The 81-yard drive was capped by a 38-yard touchdown by Patrick Bowen Jr. (Fort Lauderdale, Florida / Dillard), cutting the Idaho lead to 29-23 with just 10:05 remaining in regulation. Idaho scored with 2:19 on the clock to make it 37-23, and the Tommies managed to whittle the lead to 37-30 on a six yard touchdown reception by Patrick Wagner (Crofton, Md. / Archbishop Spauling).
TOMMIE TIDBITS
- Joseph Koch (Menominee Falls, Wis. / Menominee Falls) became the first running back in the DI era to record at one rush of over 50 yards in back-to-back games in the first quarter of Saturday's contest. He joins former standout Hope Adebayo as the only running backs to record at least one 40+ rush in back-to-back games, a feat Adebayo accomplished in 2024. He would close the game with 72 yards rushing.
- Andy Peters (Boise, Idaho / Timberline) became the third quarterback in the DI era to throw for over 200 yards in a game. His 264 yard performance ranks second since 2021, as he completed 21 of 29 passes with three touchdowns and zero interceptions
- The Tommie offenswe was 1-2 on fourth down conversions but just 3-10 on third down Saturday afternoon.
UP NEXT
St. Thomas will look to improve to 2-1 next Saturday, as the team travels to Marquette, Michigan to take on Northern Michigan University. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. CT at the Superior Dome.
