Tommies Blog: St. Thomas Announces 2016 Football Schedule
For the second time in four seasons, the St. Thomas football program finished its one victory away from the Division III national championship.
Glenn Caruso led his team to the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl in 2015 with a power run game and a dominant defense. The Tommies had an early 14-0 lead on Mount Union in the national title game before the Purple Raiders claimed a 49-35 victory. The end result was a 14-1 season and the fourth MIAC title for Caruso in his eight seasons leading the program.
The Tommies will go for MIAC title No. 5 in the fall, and their football schedule was released late last week. They'll be on the road to start the regular season, and their bye week is finally a little later in the fall.
St. Thomas opens its regular season with non-conference action at UW-Eau Claire on Sept. 3. It's a 6:10 p.m. kickoff. It's the same as last year's opener, where the Tommies claimed a 62-7 victory.
The Tommies will face UW-Stout for their home opener in St. Paul on Sept. 10, a 1:10 p.m. kickoff. Last year's home opener was a 51-7 win over UW-La Crosse.
The MIAC schedule is a little different for the upcoming season. The Tommies have faced rival St. John's to open the league slate in previous years, but they'll host Carleton in 2016. The following week, they'll travel to Collegeville to take on the rival Johnnies.
St. Thomas will host Augsburg for Homecoming on Oct. 1, then head to Concordia (Moorhead) before its bye week. The Tommies will have a tough test at Bethel on Oct. 29 and close out the regular season at home against St. Olaf on Nov. 12.
In eight full years at St. Thomas, Caruso now has an 87-15 career mark. That includes a 15-7 mark in the postseason. With the league crown this past season, the Tommies have been a playoff team in six of Caruso's eight seasons. From 1985 to 2007, St. Thomas made one playoff appearance.
A new season will bring new personnel for St. Thomas, so it will be interesting to see how it all comes together. Alex Fenske had been projected to be the 2016 quarterback with John Gould graduating, but former Roseville standout Jacques Perra left the Gophers program and enrolled at St. Thomas. The two will compete for the starting job this fall.
St. Thomas will also bring back Jordan Roberts, one of the top running backs in the country last year. They'll also return one of their top wide receivers in Nick Waldvogel, who finished the year with 68 catches for 876 yards and four touchdowns.
St. Thomas should feature another strong defensive attack next season. The Tommies will bring back six of their top seven tacklers in the fall. That list includes Steve Harrell, Bennett Celichowski, Isaac Seering, Jesse Addo, Ryan Winter and Anthony King-Foreman.
Once again, WCCO Radio 830 AM will be broadcasting St. Thomas football games in the fall. Here is a week-by-week look at the 2016 schedule.
September 3 - at UW-Eau Claire
September 10 - UW-Stout
September 17 - Carleton
September 24 - at St. John's
October 1 - Augsburg (Homecoming)
October 8 - at Concordia-Moorhead
October 15 - BYE
October 22 - Hamline
October 29 - at Bethel
November 5 - at Gustavus
November 12 - St. Olaf