The St. Thomas football team beat Dayton 20-14 on Saturday at Welcome Stadium in Dayton, Ohio, marking both the Tommies’ first away game win of the season and their first competition against the Flyers since entering Division I.

After three straight games with no score in the first half, a botched punt by the Flyers (2-3, 1-1 PFL) early in the first quarter set the stage for the Tommies (3-2, 2-0 PFL) to build momentum. An 18-yard touchdown pass by first-year quarterback Tak Tateoka to junior wide receiver Andrew McElroy gave St. Thomas a 7-0 lead during the fifth minute of the game.

The Tommies added two more touchdowns in the first half to jump to a 20-0 lead after a fake extra-point attempt failed. The Tommies added no more touchdowns in the second half.

“We’re just allowing the opponent to set the bar for us, and in my opinion, it’s unacceptable. We’ve been who we are because we set our own standards,” said coach Glenn Caruso, in a post-game interview with ESPN Radio. “Right now, we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

The Flyers’ first-year wide receiver Gavin Lochow returned a kickoff 92 yards, setting up sophomore quarterback Dante Casciola to strike back with an 8-yard touchdown run at the end of the second quarter.

The Flyers attempted a comeback with another touchdown from Lochow but ultimately fell short on their final drive with a turnover on downs near the goal line, icing the game for the Tommies.

St. Thomas is now tied for first in the Pioneer Football League with Butler and Davidson.

The Tommies will face off against Butler (4-1, 2-0 PFL) at noon on Saturday, Oct. 7, at home for St. Thomas’ Homecoming weekend.

Owen Larson can be reached at lars6521@stthomas.edu.
Miles Schiffer can be reached at schi9629@stthomas.edu.
Marty Fischer can be reached at fisc6793@stthomas.edu.
Kevin Lynch can be reached at lync1832@stthomas.edu.
Eli Bieker can be reached at biek1966@stthomas.edu.