University of St. Thomas Athletics
3-1 , 0-0
Southern Utah
1-3 , 0-1
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Utah | 10 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 26 |
| St. Thomas (MN) | 7 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 28 |
Tommies stun (RV) Southern Utah 28-26
9/19/2026 6:42:00 PM | Football
ST. PAUL, MINN. – ST. PAUL, Minn. — Just call them the Avengers. The University of St. Thomas defeated Southern Utah University 28-26 on Saturday, avenging the team's only loss of the 2022 season. After falling 44-13 back in September 2022, the Tommies defeated the Thunderbirds 28-26 at O'Shaughnessy Stadium, improving to 3-1 on the year. St. Thomas will open Pioneer Football League (PFL) play next weekend when it hosts San Diego for Homecoming on Saturday.
QUICK HITS:
- Sophomore quarterback Nick Peipert (Barrington, Ill. / Barrington) threw for over 200 yards for the second consecutive game, throwing for 231 with a touchdown.
- Gabe Abel (Trenton, N.J. / Salisbury), the lone current Tommie to play in that 2022 beat down, closed the game with 120 rushing yards, including a 78 yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
- Quentin Cobb-Butler (Woodbury, Minn. / Woodbury) surpassed 100 receiving yards for the first time this season, closing Saturday's contest with 108 total and a touchdown.
- Will Seymour (St. Louis Park, Minn. / Benilde-St. Margaret) closed the game with a career-high 12 tackles, including one sack, and one forced fumble.
SCORING SUMMARY:
First Quarter: St. Thomas broke through early with an 80-yard drive, capped by Peipert's 63-yard touchdown pass to Cobb-Butler for a 7-0 lead. Southern Utah answered with a field goal, then returned an interception 29 yards for a touchdown and extra point to move in front 10-7. St. Thomas drove 54 yards on its next possession, but Ben Hoiland's (North Oaks, Minn. / Mounds View) 31-yard field goal attempt was no good, and the first quarter ended with Southern Utah ahead 10-7.
Second Quarter: After Southern Utah had moved ahead 17-14, St. Thomas closed the second quarter with an 11-play, 77-yard response, using Peipert's 36-yard completion to Cobb-Butler to put the Tommies in the red zone. Eventually, Peipert found the end zone as time expired, and Hoiland's PAT sent St. Thomas into halftime ahead 21-17. Earlier, Seymour sacked Will Burns and Malachi Boadi-Aboagye (Mound, Minn. / Minnetonka) recovered the fumble at the Tommies 49. St. Thomas followed with a 51-yard drive capped by Joseph Koch's (Menomonee Falls, Wis. / Menomonee Falls) 1-yard touchdown run and Hoiland's PAT for a 14-10 lead.
Third Quarter: In the third quarter, Abel broke a 78-yard run at 9:37, and Hoiland's extra point made it 28-17. The defense forced punts on Southern Utah's first three possessions and held the visitors 0-for-4 on third down, though the Thunderbirds later used a blocked punt to set up a 22-yard field goal. The Tommies finished the third quarter ahead 28-20.
Fourth Quarter: In the fourth quarter, St. Thomas leaned on its defense, stopping Southern Utah on fourth down at the St. Thomas 38 on Ty Nielsen's pass breakup and again at the St. Thomas 2 with 1:51 left while leading 28-20. The Thunderbirds later scored on Burns' 18-yard pass to Mark Bails Jr. with 24 seconds left. However, Southern Utah's two-point conversion attempt was stopped, and Peipert knelt out the final snap to close a 28-26 win.
TOMMIE TIDBITS
- St. Thomas defeated a DI scholarship program for the second time in program history on Saturday. The Tommies also avenged a 44-13 loss that occurred back in 2022. Last season, St. Thomas defeated (RV) Lindenwood 35-13 to open the 2025 season. That was the Tommies lone win over a scholarship DI program entering Saturday's contest.
UP NEXT:
St. Thomas will return to O'Shaughnessy Stadium to host San Diego in its PFL opener. Kickoff against the Toreros is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. CT. in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Players Mentioned
Team Stats
SUU 0, UST 7
UST - Cobb-Butler,Quentin 63 yd pass from Peipert,Nicholas (Hoiland,Ben kick) 4 plays, 80 yards, TOP 02:05
SUU 3, UST 7
SUU - Rogers,Jayden 20 yd field goal 10 plays, 65 yards, TOP 04:14
SUU 10, UST 7
SUU - Vance,Parker 29 yd interception (Rogers,Jayden kick)
SUU 10, UST 14
UST - Koch,Joseph 1 yd run (Hoiland,Ben kick), 5 plays, 51 yards, TOP 02:00
SUU 17, UST 14
SUU - Burns,Will 9 yd run (Rogers,Jayden kick), 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 05:05
SUU 17, UST 21
UST - Peipert,Nicholas 1 yd run (Hoiland,Ben kick), 11 plays, 77 yards, TOP 02:51
SUU 17, UST 28
UST - Abel,Gabriel 78 yd run (Hoiland,Ben kick), 2 plays, 80 yards, TOP 00:48
SUU 20, UST 28
SUU - Rogers,Jayden 22 yd field goal 4 plays, 8 yards, TOP 01:42
SUU 26, UST 28
SUU - Bails Jr.,Mark 18 yd pass from Burns,Will () 4 plays, 45 yards, TOP 00:22
