Playing without injured first-year quarterback Tak Tateoka, St. Thomas football secured a 38-6 victory against Stetson University on Saturday afternoon in DeLand, Florida.

The Tommies (5-3, 4-1 Pioneer Football League) were jump-started in the first quarter with a 66-yard touchdown by junior running back Hope Adebayo.

Adebayo ended the game with two touchdowns and 197 net rushing yards against the Hatters (3-4, 1-3 PFL). Sophomore tight end Patrick Wagner caught two touchdown passes from sophomore quarterback Amari Powell in the second half to give the Tommies a solid lead.

It was the first time the Tommies rushed for over 300 combined yards in the team’s Division I era. In a post-game interview with ESPN Radio, coach Glenn Caruso expressed his approval of the team’s performance.

“We really played well,” Caruso said. “At halftime, you’re in there, 17-0, and you’re happy with what you’ve done, but you’re also looking forward to seeing if we can accelerate from where we are.”

It was a relief for the Tommies, who lost last week’s game against Drake 52-21, which broke St. Thomas’ 13-game conference winning streak.

With Tateoka out with a leg injury, Powell started for the first time since the Tommies lost to Harvard on Sept. 16.

Stetson was able to score a touchdown in the fourth quarter, from a rush by Hatters’ graduate student running back Devon Brewer. The Tommies responded as sophomore quarterback Travis Plugge nabbed his first collegiate touchdown with a 22-yard run with three minutes left in the quarter.

In the third quarter, sophomore linebacker Ryan Sever was helped off the field with an undisclosed injury.

St. Thomas will play against Marist (4-3, 4-1 PFL) at 1:04 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28, in St. Paul.

Owen Larson can be reached at lars6521@stthomas.edu.