Tommie football battles back for halftime lead

St. Thomas holder Dylan Andrew and offensive lineman Damon Longstreet celebrate after a touchdown. After a slow start, St. Thomas took the lead over UW-Eau Claire with a half-time score of 21-6 (Carlee Hackl/TommieMedia).
St. Thomas holder Dylan Andrew and offensive lineman Damon Longstreet celebrate after a touchdown. After a slow start, St. Thomas took the lead over UW-Eau Claire with a half-time score of 21-6 (Carlee Hackl/TommieMedia). 

EAU CLAIRE, Wisc. — St. Thomas recovered from a slow start and an unproductive first quarter to lead the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Blugolds at halftime 21-6 in the opening game of the 2016 season Saturday night at Carson Field.

The Blugolds opened the scoring with a 63-yard touchdown pass to Brody Diggins in the first quarter, but Ryan Winter blocked the extra point.

MIAC SCOREBOARD

  • St. Thomas at Wis.–Eau Claire
  • Jamestown 30, Concordia-Moorhead 14
  • Gustavus 35, Westminster (Mo.) 6
  • Hamline 29, Crown 9
  • Dubuque 70, Bethel 53
  • Macalester 30, Carleton 23
  • St. Olaf 69, Grinnell 14
  • St. John’s 49, St. Scholastica 7
  • Augsburg vs. Northwestern (Minn.)

St. Thomas took the lead on a 1-yard run by Jordan Roberts and a successful PAT by Carter Schmitz.

A 31-yard touchdown pass to Nick Waldvogel from Alex Fenske and a two-point conversion run extended the Tommies’ lead to 15-6. The margin was extended to 21-6 on a Fenske 20-yard TD pass to tight end Jackson Hull.

Carolyn Meyer can be reached at cameyer@stthomas.edu