Tommies Blog: St. Thomas Looks For Improvement Against UW-La Crosse
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – It certainly wasn't the prettiest of games, but the St. Thomas football team is off to a 1-0 start after holding off UW-Eau Claire 22-17 on Saturday.
The Tommies had a 22-3 lead in the third quarter at one point, but they needed a late interception from Sean Hamlin to seal their first victory of the season. The Blugolds actually outgained St. Thomas, 393-376, in total offense for the game. Matt O'Connell appears to be fully healthy from a broken leg last year, leading St. Thomas with 13 carries for 97 yards and a touchdown. He also threw for 186 yards, but threw an interception and lost a fumble.
Jack Kaiser was also instrumental in the victory, rushing for 63 yards and two touchdowns.
UW-Eau Claire scored with 2:11 left in regulation to get within 22-17, then put the St. Thomas defense back on the field after recovering an onside kick. Hamlin's interception with 36 seconds left in regulation deep in St. Thomas territory let the Tommies and their fans breathe a sigh of relief.
Kyle Coyne led St. Thomas's defensive attack with 14 tackles and an interception. Ruttger Heffelfinger also had 11 tackles.
The focus shifts this week to learning from their opening game mistakes as the Tommies prepare to host UW-La Crosse Saturday in their final non-conference match-up. The Eagles won their season-opener at 24-8 last week at the University of Dubuque. St. Thomas has not faced UW-La Crosse in the Glenn Caruso era.
St. Thomas has had issues with turnovers dating back to last season, and it will definitely need to protect the ball this week. UW-La Crosse forced six turnovers, three fumbles and interceptions, in its win last week.
The Eagles are led by quarterback Trent Cummings, accounted for all three of their touchdowns last week. He passed for 139 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for another score. Both of his passing touchdowns went to Tony Bilderback, who had three catches for 103 yards.
UW-La Crosse also has depth in the run game as Ben Hertrampf had 21 carries for 130 yards last week. Jude Williams added 17 carries for 70 yards.
On defense, Shane Rockweiler led UW-La Crosse with 12 tackles.
The Eagles are coming off a 3-7 season in 2013 where they got off to an 0-5 start.
Football teams generally show their greatest improvement in a season between the first and second games. The first game gives players a chance to see themselves in film and correct mistakes in practice. St. Thomas will be looking to make that improvement with rival St. John's looming on Sept. 27 to open the MIAC season. The Johnnies opened their season with a 27-8 win over UW-River Falls and travel to UW-Eau Claire this week.
Kickoff is set for about 1:10 p.m. Saturday at O'Shaughnessy Stadium. Tune into WCCO Radio at about 1 p.m. as Dave Lee will have the play-by-play and Eric Nelson will provide color commentary.
