University of St. Thomas Athletics
5-2 , 2-1
Stetson
1-5 , 0-2
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stetson | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
| St. Thomas (MN) | 14 | 22 | 21 | 7 | 64 |
Football clips Hatters, makes history in 64-21 win
10/10/2026 5:31:00 PM | Football
ST. PAUL, MINN. — The University of St. Thomas football team is accustomed to making history. The Tommies did that and more on Saturday, defeated the Stetson Hatters 64-21 at O'Shaughnessy Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota. St. Thomas set the DI era record for points scored in a game, eclipsing the 60+ point mark for the first time since making the jump in 2021. Head coach Glenn Caruso also won his 175th game Saturday afternoon, improving to 175-35 all-time as a head football coach. Of those 175 wins, 169 occurred with the Tommies.
Thanks to the win, St. Thomas is now 5-2 overall and 2-1 in Pioneer Football League (PFL) play.
QUICK HITS:
- Nick Peipert (Barrington, Ill. / Barrington) returned to form on Saturday, completing 14 of 16 passes for 247 yards. He also rushed for 146 yards on 10 carries and accounted for six touchdowns in the win, four in the air, two on the ground.
- Quentin Cobb-Butler (Woodbury, Minn. / Woodbury) and Pierce McCrary (Cedar Rapids, Minn. / Kennedy) remained Peipert's favorite targets, combining for 126 receiving yards on eight receptions. Cobb-Butler closed the game with two touchdowns as well.
- Malachi Boadi-Aboagye (Mound, Minn. / Minnetonka) recorded seven tackles in Saturday's win.
SCORING SUMMARY:
First Quarter: Peipert found Joseph Koch (Menomonee Falls, Wis. / Menomonee Falls) for a 26-yard touchdown to finish an 80-yard opening possession for St. Thomas. Peipert's 52-yard run started the Tommies' answer to the Hatters' tying touchdown, and he capped the five-play, 61-yard drive with a 2-yard score at 2:41. St. Thomas finished the first quarter ahead 14-7.
Second Quarter: The Tommies scored all 22 points in the second quarter, turning defensive stops into three touchdowns and taking a 36-7 lead into halftime. Gabriel Abel (Trenton, N.J. / Salisbury) capped the first drive of the quarter with a 2-yard rushing touchdown after Will Seymour (St. Louis Park, Minn. / Benilde-St. Margaret) and Walker Owens (Wheaton, Ill. / North) combined on a fourth-down sack, and Peipert later hit Cobb-Butler for a 30-yard score. After Evan Tyler (Hudson, Wis. / Hudson) stopped the Hatters on fourth-and-1 at the St. Thomas 34-yard line, Peipert drove the Tommies into range and found Stefano Giovannelli (St. Louis Park, Minn. / St. Louis Park) for a 38-yard touchdown on the final play of the half.
Third Quarter: St. Thomas scored three third-quarter touchdowns and held the Hatters scoreless, with the quarter ending at 57-7. Peipert finished the opening drive with a 1-yard touchdown run after a 58-yard completion to McCrary, and later hit Cobb-Butler for a 12-yard touchdown. Elijah Johnson (Fairmont, Minn. /Fairmont) blocked a Hatters punt that Owen Lyons (Evergreen Park, Ill. / Brother Rice) returned 6 yards for a touchdown, and the defense stopped the Hatters on fourth down at the Tommies' 5-yard line.
Fourth Quarter: In the fourth quarter, St. Thomas answered the Hatters' touchdown with a five-play, 75-yard drive, with Anthony Policare (Maine, N.Y. / Maine-Endwell) hitting Maverick Inman (Waukee, Iowa / Waukee) for 12 yards and Ben Buesgens (Farmington, Minn. / Farmington) for 55 before Javaris Morgan's (Ankeny, Iowa / Ankeny Centennial) 3-yard touchdown made it 64-14. Earlier, Rocco DiLeonardi (Geneva, Ill. / Geneva Community) hurried a fourth-down incompletion to give the Tommies the ball at their 45-yard line. After the Hatters added a 48-yard rushing touchdown, St. Thomas held possession for the final 6:36 and closed out a 64-21 win.
TOMMIE TIDBITS
- The Tommies scored 60 or more points for the first time in the Division I era and set the program's Division I-era record for points in a game Saturday afternoon. The last time St. Thomas scored 60 or more was Oct. 26, 2018, in a 63-15 victory over Carleton College.
- Peipert accounted for nearly 400 yards of total offense Saturday afternoon, throwing for 247 yards with 146 on the ground. He closed the game with a QBR of 287.2, the highest QBR in the Division I era, according to available records. Peipert also accounted for six touchdowns and completed 14 of 16 passes.
- Head coach Glenn Caruso won his 175th game as a head football coach Saturday afternoon, becoming the first coach in Tommie football history to reach the milestone. Caruso owns an all-time record of 175-35, including a 6-0 mark against the Hatters.
UP NEXT:
Up next, St. Thomas travels to Poughkeepsie, New York to face Marist on Saturday, October 24. Kickoff is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. CT.
Players Mentioned
Team Stats
STE 0, UST 7
UST - Koch,Joseph 26 yd pass from Peipert,Nicholas (Hoiland,Ben kick) 6 plays, 80 yards, TOP 02:38
STE 7, UST 7
STE - Rogers,Wyatt 3 yd pass from von Grote,Thomas (Hess,Trey kick) 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:53
STE 7, UST 14
UST - Peipert,Nicholas 2 yd run (Hoiland,Ben kick), 5 plays, 61 yards, TOP 03:01
STE 7, UST 22
UST - Abel,Gabriel 2 yd run (White,Calvin rush), 4 plays, 52 yards, TOP 01:46
STE 7, UST 29
UST - Cobb-Butler,Quentin 30 yd pass from Peipert,Nicholas (Hoiland,Ben kick) 7 plays, 65 yards, TOP 03:48
STE 7, UST 36
UST - Giovannelli,Stefano 38 yd pass from Peipert,Nicholas (Hoiland,Ben kick) 5 plays, 66 yards, TOP 01:24
STE 7, UST 43
UST - Peipert,Nicholas 1 yd run (Hoiland,Ben kick), 5 plays, 73 yards, TOP 01:41
STE 7, UST 50
UST - Lyons,Owen 6 yd punt return (Hoiland,Ben kick)
STE 7, UST 57
UST - Cobb-Butler,Quentin 12 yd pass from Peipert,Nicholas (Hoiland,Ben kick) 4 plays, 70 yards, TOP 02:06
STE 14, UST 57
STE - Jones,Shawne 25 yd pass from von Grote,Thomas (Hess,Trey kick) 5 plays, 86 yards, TOP 01:53
STE 14, UST 64
UST - Morgan,Javaris 3 yd run (Macke,Aidan kick), 5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:31
STE 21, UST 64
STE - Stephenson,Chris 48 yd run (Hess,Trey kick), 4 plays, 67 yards, TOP 01:58
