Tommies Blog: St. Thomas Looks To Stay On Track At Hamline
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – We're about halfway through the MIAC football schedule, and the conference race is already starting to take shape. While many of the usual suspects are near the top, there's one name that's in unfamiliar territory.
Bethel, picked to win the MIAC in the preseason poll by coaches, is tied for the league lead at 4-0. It's who they're tied with that has the conference surprised. Not only is Gustavus 4-0 in league play, but the Gusties are also 6-0 overall on the season. They also have their toughest two-game stretch coming, hosting St. John's this week and then Bethel on Nov. 1 after a bye. We'll know then if the Gusties are for real.
St. Thomas had what appeared to be a tough test on Saturday, hosting Augsburg for its homecoming game. The Tommies were facing quarterback Ayrton Scott, one of the best in the league and the country. But he did a lot of his damage when the game was already out of hand as St. Thomas scored the first 35 points in a 45-27 win over the Auggies.
The Tommies held a 38-7 lead at the half and led 45-7 in the third quarter before Scott connected with Joey Sonnenfeld for three consecutive touchdowns. Scott finished the day 16-of-31 passing for 181 yards, the three scores and an interception.
The St. Thomas offense, meanwhile, got rolling early on the way to piling up 477 yards in total offense. Nick Waldvogel had a big game with nine carries for 106 yards and three touchdowns. Matt O'Connell threw for 150 yards and a touchdown, and also had a rushing touchdown. The Tommies ran for 283 yards in the victory.
St. Thomas also took advantage of three Augsburg turnovers on the day. They recovered two fumbles and intercepted Scott once. Waldvogel's second touchdown of the day in the first quarter came off an Augsburg fumble and gave the Tommies a 21-0 lead.
Jack Gilliland got a touchdown off a halfback pass from Pete Fitzsimmons to give St. Thomas a 28-0 lead in the first quarter, and Cole Kelly caught pass for a touchdown from O'Connell to give the Tommies a 45-7 lead in the third quarter.
The win was great for the homecoming crowd, but coach Glenn Caruso had a sour taste in his mouth after St. Thomas allowed the game's final 20 points. It's something to focus on as St. Thomas travels to Hamline this week in what should be a very winnable game. It also could be considered a classic "trap game" with the Tommies traveling to Bethel on Oct. 25.
But playing Bethel doesn't matter unless St. Thomas beats Hamline to stay a game back in the MIAC title race.
The Pipers are 2-3 on the season and have lost three straight to open the MIAC slate after beating the University of Minnesota-Morris and Macalester in non-conference action. Their three losses are all to teams ahead of St. Thomas in the MIAC.
Hamline lost 48-19 at Gustavus, 49-28 at St. John's and most recently at home against Bethel 38-14 last weekend. The Pipers are scoring about 24 points per game on the season and averaging about 387 yards in total offense. That number includes about 191 rushing yards, which should give the St. Thomas defense a test. Austin Duncan leads that rushing attack, averaging 149 yards per game with five scores on the season.
Quarterback Tim Bona throws for about 200 yards per game on average and has eight passing touchdowns on the season. It's a balanced attack that should test the Tommies. St. Thomas is allowing on average about 267 yards in total offense, with just more than 100 yards rushing.
On defense, the Pipers are allowing about 30 points per game and 332 yards in total offense. That includes about 159 yards on the ground. Anthony Hill leads Hamline with 50 tackles on the season, while Corey Touchette has 29 tackles, including three sacks.
Last year, St. Thomas took control early and got out to a 29-0 lead on the way to a 43-7 victory.
With Bethel and Concordia (Moorhead) following on the schedule, St. Thomas can't afford to look ahead. If the Tommies get tripped up by the Pipers, their postseason hopes are all but over. It sounds cliché, but the focus is one week and even one day at a time as St. Thomas navigates the rest of its regular season schedule.
Tune into WCCO Radio 830 AM at about 1 p.m. Saturday as Dave Lee will have the play-by-play. Eric Nelson and Fritz Waldvogel will provide color commentary.
