Wide receiver Nick Waldvogel’s first quarter touchdown reception proved to be all the scoring the Tommies needed in a 46-0 thrashing of Wisconsin-La Crosse Saturday at O’Shaughnessy Stadium.

The Tommies outgained the Eagles 519-133 in total yardage and scored on the game’s first possession with Waldvogel’s 32-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Matt O’Connell. The score came on a double reverse in which the ball changed hands three times in the backfield. Waldvogel said he was happy with his performance but was quick to point out that the game was a team effort.

“I thought I played well,” Waldvogel said. “I definitely credit everything to the offensive linemen and the quarterbacks delivering the ball.”

After their first touchdown and a La Crosse punt, the Tommies scored again on the ensuing possession with a 40-yard touchdown run by wide receiver Jack Gilliland. O’Connell pitched the ball to running back Jack Kaiser who handed it to Gilliland on the reverse. Ducking and dodging his way through the Eagles defense, Gilliland tiptoed down the sideline near the end of the run before diving into the end zone for the touchdown. Kicker Paul Graupner added the extra point to make the St. Thomas lead 14-0.

Coach Glenn Caruso said the reverses have always been in the team’s offensive arsenal.

“I don’t believe in trickery … There’s good football and there’s bad football, and what happened today was good football,” Caruso said. “That’s always been a component of our offense. The reverses and the throwbacks and those things, I don’t see them as special; I just see them as offense.”

Late in the first half, with the Tommies marching toward another score, O’Connell suffered a minor lower-body injury. He required assistance to leave the field, but Caruso said the Tommie signal-caller will be OK.

“We would have been able to have him in the second half,” Caruso said.

Quarterback John Gould took over with about two minutes left in the first half; he wasted no time tossing a 10-yard touchdown pass to Waldvogel with 1:58 remaining. Graupner added the extra point to make the score 21-0 in favor of the Tommies.

With the three-touchdown lead, Caruso decided to stick with Gould rather than bring O’Connell back in the game.

“We just felt with where the game was … that we would be OK without playing him,” Caruso said.

Gould completed 11 of 13 passes in the game, and Waldvogel said the Tommies’ backup played with confidence.

“Gould played really well,” Waldvogel said. “If we get a guy out there – regardless of who it is – if he plays with confidence, we’re going to be in good shape.”

The Tommies were able to hold La Crosse to 43 yards in the first half, including only 9 rushing yards. Defensive lineman Josh Corbin said the defense as a whole buckled down and committed to playing technically sound football.

“Discipline … it’s the essence of football,” Corbin said. “All 11 guys playing to the best of their abilities and filling their gaps.”

Gould threw his second touchdown pass midway through the third quarter. Tight end Charlie Dowdle made a diving catch for the 7-yard score with 10:15 remaining. Instead of kicking the extra point, fullback Dominic Truoccolo took the direct snap and charged into the end zone for the two-point conversion to extend the St. Thomas lead to 29 points.

The Tommies added to their lead when running back Jack Kaiser capped off a 13-play, 53-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge. Graupner added the extra point to make the score 36-0 with 3:07 left in the third quarter.

Restating his belief that the biggest change for a football team occurs between the first and second games in a season, Caruso said one aspect of the game impressed him most.

“Our rhythm and urgency on offense,” Caruso said. “Just the overall urgency of understanding practice is practice, but game day is a little bit different tempo.”

The defense added points of its own when linebacker Cavan Metzler recovered La Crosse running back Ben Hertrampf’s fumble and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown.

Echoing the team’s mantra about improving week to week, Corbin said the defense focused on playing a better all-around game and added that he thought the defense accomplished that.

“Coming back from last week, we felt like we wanted to put together a more solid game, and I think we did that today,” Corbin said. “It felt like more of a rhythm.”

The Tommies added one last score with 8:20 left in the game with Graupner’s 36-yard field goal to cement the final score at 46-0.

St. Thomas has a bye next week but hosts St. John’s Sept. 27 at home in the latest chapter of the Tommie-Johnnie rivalry.

Tom Pitzen can be reached at pitz2014@stthomas.edu.