Tommies Blog: St. Thomas Faces Huge Test At Bethel Saturday
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Football coaches are full of clichés, and one of the most over-used ones is that every game, every week is the biggest game of the year.
But many times they are clichés because it's true. That couldn't be more the case this week as the St. Thomas football team prepares for undoubtedly its biggest game of the year so far. The No. 22-ranked Tommies can stay in contention for a MIAC title with a win at No. 11-ranked Bethel, but they'll need a virtually perfect game to do it. St. Thomas also needs a victory to keep its playoff hopes alive.
St. Thomas has won three straight games since losing to St. John's to stay in the league title conversation. The Royals are the only league unbeaten left at 4-0. Concordia (Moorhead) and Gustavus are in second at 4-1, followed by the Johnnies and the Tommies at 3-1. St. Thomas has yet to play Concordia and Gustavus.
The Tommies cruised last Saturday to a 62-24 win at Hamline as eight different players scored a touchdown on the day. St. Thomas used a 27-0 second quarter to take a 48-14 lead at the half to pull away for the win. Matt O'Connell passed for 305 yards and two touchdowns. Receivers Charlie Dowdle and Pete Fitzsimmons combined for 10 catches, totaling 229 yards. The Tommies piled up 526 yards of total offense.
Kyle Coyne also returned a second quarter interception for a touchdown.
It was the 70th career victory for coach Glenn Caruso at St. Thomas. His career record with the Tommies is now 70-11. He would love nothing more than to get No. 71 at Bethel this Saturday.
The Royals have won five straight games since a season opening loss at Wartburg College in Iowa, then the No. 15-ranked team in the nation. In MIAC play, Bethel has beaten St. Olaf 40-0, Carleton 38-7, Concordia 27-17 and Hamline 38-14. In a non-conference game last week, the Royals beat the University of Chicago 52-21.
When the two teams met last year in Arden Hills, Bethel had a 14-0 lead at the half. St. Thomas rallied to take a 21-14 lead, but the Royals scored 14 points in the last seven minutes to claim a 28-21 victory. They reached the NCAA quarterfinals last season before falling to North Central College.
Bethel is outscoring its opponents on average by a 35-15 margin this year, and they're doing it with plenty of balance. Quarterback Erik Peterson is averaging about 210 yards passing per game and has 15 touchdowns on the season. He's also completing nearly 67 percent of his passes. The Royals also feature three running backs who are combining to average nearly 140 yards per game. They're led by Marshall Klitzke's 70 yards per game and four touchdowns as well as Brandon Marquardt's 62 yards per game. South Dakota State transfer Bridgeport Tusler has six rushing touchdowns on the year.
Tusler is also the team's second leading receiver at about 50 yards per game and two touchdowns. Bryce Marquardt leads the Royals at 74 yards per game and eight scores.
Bethel has a strong defensive unit as well. The Royals allow less than 300 yards per game in total offense and only about 100 on the ground. That should give St. Thomas a big test, as the Tommies have put up big numbers on offense over the last three games. Bethel's defense is led by Landon Mathis, who has 50 tackles on the season. The Royals also have nine quarterback sacks and five interceptions on the season.
Bethel controls its own destiny for another league title if it beats St. Thomas Saturday. But the Royals have a tough finishing stretch at Gustavus, at St. John's and a home finale against Augsburg. If the Tommies get the victory, they're in the thick of the league title race and finish the season hosting Concordia, traveling to Carleton and hosting Gustavus.
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 the color commentary.