The third-ranked St. Thomas football team easily handled Northwestern of St. Paul 43-0 in the first round of the NCAA Division III football playoffs at Palmer Field on Saturday.
NCAA DIII PLAYOFFS
St. Thomas bracket
- No. 3 St. Thomas 43, Northwestern 0
- No. 16 Coe 21, No. 21 Monmouth 14
- No. 9 St. John’s 32, No. 12 Wis.-Platteville 31
- No. 4 Wis.-Oshkosh 49, Washington (Mo.) 13
Wis.-Whitewater bracket
- No. 6 John Carroll 37, Olivet 12
- No. 18 Wesley 38, No. 20 Stevenson 17
- No. 17 Wittenberg 33, No. 15 Thomas More 30 (4 OTs)
- No. 2 Wis.-Whitewater 45, Lakeland 27
Mary Hardin-Baylor bracket
- No. 1 Mary Hardin-Baylor 50, Redlands 28
- No. 8 Linfield 24, No. 11 Hardin-Simmons 10
- No. 13 Wheaton 45,No. 25 Huntingdon 10
- North Central 41, Rose-Hulman 7
Alfred bracket
- No. 14 Alfred 33, Bridgewater State 27 (OT)
- Western New England 44, Husson 27
- No. 7 Mount Union 38, No. 19 Hobart 21
- No. 10 Johns Hopkins 42, Randolph-Macon 21
St. Thomas (11-0) defeated the unranked Eagles (9-2) on a cold, windy day with snow flurries falling in the first half. The game was the first-ever NCAA playoff appearance for Northwestern, the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference champion.
The Tommies will play No. 16 Coe, a 21-14 winner over No. 21 Monmouth, next week in the second round of the NCAA tournament at home.
The Tommies had little trouble scoring, leading 30-0 at halftime. Running back Tucker Trettel bulled past Northwestern’s defense for the game’s first touchdown on a one-yard run on the team’s first possession. Dylan Andrew ran in the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead. Quarterback Alex Fenske hit receiver Joe Reed on a 25-yard scoring strike at the end of the quarter and the rout was on.
Andrew later marked his first interception of the season.
“You know, the play’s not over when the possession changes hands. The play is over when the whistle blows,” Andrew said about the play. “I had a ton of guys, a ton of purple around me. So that made my job really easy. I got a great block from Luke Swenson, and the rest was really easy after that. It was a fun play.”
Cornerback Michael Alada tied a St. Thomas school record with his 10th interception of the season, one of three interceptions by the Tommie defense.
“We wrote down goals as corners about what we wanted for the season,” Alada said. “I didn’t write down any interceptions. The main goal I had was to not give up any touchdowns. That was the main goal I had, I’m happy for these interceptions, though.”
Alada’s interception led to the second of two short touchdown runs by fullback Jeremy Molina. St. Thomas took a 23-0 lead on Molina’s one-yard run in the second quarter and Andrew’s two-point PAT run. Andrew scored a touchdown on a 42-yard interception return in the second half.
Fenske was replaced after halftime by backup Jacques Perra and several other reserves came in at the same time.
“I’m happy about the fact that we’re able to do our work and be up at halftime, 30-0, and then be able to pull our starters” Caruso said. “You know, at this time of year, any rep that you’re able to take off of a guy and save that rep off of him is a winning edge, and we were able to do that.”
Northwestern took the opening kickoff and marched down the field, only to have its drive stall inside the 12 and a field goal attempt blocked by Anthony King-Foreman. That was as close as the Eagles came to the end zone in the game. One other trip inside the 20 ended in an interception by St. Thomas.
The Northwestern game was the seventh NCAA playoff appearance for St. Thomas in the last eight years.
St. Thomas will take on Coe College in the second round of playoffs next Saturday. Coe defeated Monmouth (Ill.) 21-14 Saturday to qualify for the second round.