Tommies Blog: St. Thomas Takes 4-0 Record To Augsburg
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- There are two unbeaten teams left after three weeks of MIAC play and if your choices were St. Thomas and Gustavus, there is a bet to be won somewhere.
St. Thomas shouldn't be a huge surprise at 2-0 in league play, but the Gusties have been piling up points as they've gotten league victories over Hamline, Augsburg and Carleton. Gustavus hasn't scored less than 42 points in a game yet this season on the way to a 5-0 start, but it will be interesting to see what transpires when the Gusties face St. John's, Bethel, Concordia and St. Thomas in their last four games.
Over in St. Paul, the Tommies moved up to No. 9 in the D3football.com national poll and were on an emotional high after running over rival St. John's 35-14. That was in Collegeville two weeks ago in front of more than 17,000 fans on a national stage.
St. Thomas returned to St. Paul last Saturday to face St. Olaf in its first MIAC home game. The match-up ended up being as one-sided on the field as it looked to be on paper. There would be no trap game and no looking past the Oles after such a big win at St. John's.
The Tommies limited St. Olaf to just 47 yards in total offense and led 33-0 at half on the way to a 54-0 win at O'Shaughnessy Stadium. John Gould was 8-of-10 passing for 171 yards and four touchdowns. After rushing for more than 200 yards and four touchdowns in the win over the Johnnies, Jordan Roberts had 12 carries for 126 yards and two scores in Saturday's win over the Oles.
St. Thomas collected 650 yards of total offense in the victory. It's the second time this season they've piled up more than 600 yards of offense. The Tommies put up 654 yards in a 51-7 Week 2 win over UW-La Crosse. For the season, the Tommies are averaging 547 yards on offense per game and scoring more than 50 points. That's a great combination when you look at their defense, which averages 175 yards allowed and seven points per game.
This week, St. Thomas travels across the Mississippi River to face Augsburg. The Auggies are 2-2 overall and 1-1 in league play with a 54-28 win over Carleton and a 59-42 loss at Gustavus. Augsburg's other loss came at No. 6-ranked Wartburg, 35-27, in the season opener. Augsburg features a high-octane offensive attack with dual-threat quarterback Ayrton Scott.
When the two teams met last year, the Tommies got out to a 35-0 lead and eventually cruised to a 45-27 victory. Scott passed for 181 yards and three touchdowns in the game, but the scores came with the game's result largely decided.
It feels like Scott has been at Augsburg forever, but he's finally a senior. He's leading an offense this year that is averaging more than 500 yards per game and 44 points. The Auggies are having to score a lot, because they're also giving up plenty on defense.
That unit is allowing 423 yards per game and 35 points. You're taking a gamble when you rely on your offense to outscore opponents to win games.
Scott is a true dual-threat quarterback, leading Augsburg in both rushing and passing. He's passing for 230 yards per game with 10 touchdowns through four games. He's also running for 132 yards per game and five scores.
The Tommies kept him in check last year when it mattered. He's the type of player that scrambles to get receivers open and isn't afraid to take off the moment he senses pressure. And just like last year, his favorite receiver is Joey Sonnenfeld, who is averaging 120 yards receiving per game and has three touchdowns. Another threat in the run game is Tyrell Martin, who is rushing for 109 yards per game with eight touchdowns.
With all the weapons Augsburg features on offense, the St. Thomas defense will need to play its most disciplined game of the season to get the road victory. The Tommies will need big games out of their defensive front seven and their top tacklers, including Steve Harrell, Tim McClanahan and Bennet Celichowski. Anthony King-Foreman and Jesse Addo also lead the St. Thomas defense with four sacks each.
On offense, the Tommies will look to their top two weapons so far, John Gould and Jordan Roberts. Gould is passing for nearly 215 yards per game and has eight touchdowns with just two interceptions. Roberts is averaging 128 yards on the ground and has 11 touchdowns. There should be opportunities for the Tommies to put up points on the Auggies. Augsburg averages allowing 257 passing yards per game on the season.
St. Thomas will need balance from its offense to keep the chains moving, chew up some clock and keep Scott and his athletic offense standing on the sideline.
Tune into Newsradio 830 WCCO AM at about 1 p.m. Saturday as Dave Lee will have the play-by-play and Eric Nelson will provide color commentary along with Fritz Waldvogel on the sidelines.
