On what could be the last home game this season for the St. Thomas football team, the Tommies did what they do best: dominate their opponent.
The No. 7 Tommies (5-1 MIAC, 7-1 overall) celebrated Senior Day with their fourth shutout of the season Saturday at O’Shaughnessy Stadium, cruising to a 60-0 win over the St. Olaf Oles (3-3 MIAC, 5-3 overall).
“It was awesome,” coach Glenn Caruso said. “And at some point, no matter how many weeks you have left, it’s going to end, and today, being able to honor these 19 guys … they’ve all really melded together to be a great leadership group.”
Halfback Josh Parks led the running game with 74 yards and two touchdowns on nine attempts before being pulled at halftime. Parks leads the MIAC with 1,119 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns this season.
“It was good,” Parks said. “We built off last week’s win and we put up (27) points in the first quarter, so we came out firing on offense and defense.”
Parks also mentioned what this game meant to him as a senior.
“Time is limited. Who knows if I’m going to be back on this field again,” he said. “I’ve been here for three years, and I’ve had a great experience every single home game. The fans, the crowd, the environment, take that in and being appreciative of it.”
Quarterback Jacques Perra completed 14 of 20 pass attempts for 180 yards and two touchdowns. His longest pass was a 77-yard connection with wide receiver Vinny Pallini, which went for a touchdown. Perra was pulled at halftime, with the Tommies sitting at a comfortable 40-0 lead.
Quarterback Jacques Perra connects with tight end Jackson Finn for an 8-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter against St. Olaf. (Brady Halbmaier/TommieMedia)
The Tommie defense played just as strong as the offense, not allowing a third down conversion for the second consecutive week and giving up only 55 total yards on offense. Defensive back Chris Fondakowski recorded one of three Tommie interceptions in the game.
Defensive back Sam Gerrety pulls down an interception in the second quarter against St. Olaf. (Brady Halbmaier/TommieMedia)
“I thought we did really well,” Fondakowski said. “It was fun to see a lot of guys play, it was fun to see them in their roles and doing the best version of themselves that they could be.”
Fondakowski’s pick came after it bounced off the chest of defensive back Sam Gerrety. He returned it for 32 yards.
“I thought it was really funny,” he said. “It hit off Sam’s chest, I caught it up high and I blacked out and just ran to the sideline.”
The most eventful series happened near the end of the third quarter, when the Tommies were only a few feet from the goal line. Senior halfback Tucker Trettel took his first touches of the season after being sidelined for the first seven games with a knee injury. On his third carry, he punched in to the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown.
Halfback Tucker Trettel carries the ball for a 1-yard touchdown in his first game back from injury. (Brady Halbmaier/TommieMedia)
“It was awesome,” Trettel said. “I was so happy, to the coaches for allowing me to have a chance to go in and just scoring and turning around and seeing all the guys. It was pretty cool.”
Caruso said Trettel is all too familiar with the end zone in which he scored.
“That northwest corner is a spot where he has scored a lot of important touchdowns for this university,” Caruso said. “For us to see him in (our home uniform) one more time felt really good.”
Entering the final two weeks of the season, the Tommies are starting to find their stride on both sides of the ball.
“I think we’ve taken huge steps in the last two weeks,” Caruso said. “(I’m) really happy the way we’re playing on the defensive side of the ball and the balance that we’re playing with on offense.”
After securing a perfect home record this season with the win, St. Thomas will have to finish the final two games of the season on the road, starting with Gustavus next Saturday. The Tommies are 10-0 against the Gusties (4-2 MIAC, 5-3 overall) during Caruso’s tenure.
Matthew Curry can be reached at curr1523@stthomas.edu.