The Tommies move to the third round of the NCAA Division III playoffs after defeating the Monmouth Fighting Scots 38-10 at home Saturday. Senior running back Colin Tobin’s career-high 258 rushing yards were too much for Monmouth.

St. Thomas will make its third straight appearance in the NCAA playoff quarterfinals. With Delaware Valley’s loss, the Tommies are likely to host the quarterfinal playoff game next Saturday.

Misty rain fell during the game, but coach Glenn Caruso believes weather does not phase his hard-nosed team.

“This is our ninth game in bad weather,” Caruso said. “We are now 9-0.”

Uncharacteristic turnovers and a missed field goal lagged St. Thomas during the first half against Monmouth, and for the second week in a row, the Tommies’ opponent scored first at Palmer Field.

Monmouth freshman defensive back Jacob Wilson picked off senior quarterback Dakota Tracy and ran the pass back to the St. Thomas 12-yard line. Wilson’s play set up a 23-yard field goal by junior kicker Matt Batton guiding Monmouth to a 3-0 lead over St. Thomas in the first quarter.

The Tommies battled down to Monmouth’s seven-yard line with key plays from Tobin and senior wide receiver Fritz Waldvogel but fumbled the ball. The fumble was recovered by senior linebacker Adam Hoste.

After two disastrous offensive series, Tobin broke several tackles while rushing 39 yards to a St. Thomas first-and-goal opportunity. Junior kicker Tim Albright nailed the 23-yard field goal, evening the score 3-3.

The Tommies started the second quarter strong with Tracy tossing a long ball to Waldvogel for a 48-yard gain. The play set up an Albright field goal attempt, but he missed wide right.

Sophomore linebacker Tremayne Williams sacked quarterback Alex Tanney for an eight-yard loss on the next Monmouth series, forcing a punt.

A key Tobin fourth down conversion on the Tommies next drive set up the game’s first touchdown. Tracy battled his way through Monmouth defenders to reach the goal line. Albright’s extra point was good, and the Tommies took the lead 10-3.

Their lead was short-lived. After a Tobin fumble, Tanney threw a 37-yard strike to senior wide receiver Mike Blodgett in the end zone. Batton kicked the extra point and evened the score at 10-10 to head into halftime.

While the score was tied, St. Thomas was the better team statistically. The Tommies had 14 first downs in the first half while the Fighting Scots only had two. St. Thomas had 312 total offensive yards compared to Monmouth’s 71.

‘’We were in the red zone a bunch in the first half,” Waldvogel said. “We just couldn’t finish.”

Caruso thinks the fumbles played a role in the Tommies’ sloppy first half performance.

“The reason why it didn’t feel great in the first half is because of those turnovers,” Caruso said.

The Tommies started strong in the second half thanks to a key play by Waldvogel, who kick-started the half with a 101-yard to score on the kickoff return. It was his 10th touchdown scored on a punt or kickoff return in his career.

Caruso said Waldvogel’s return “sparked” the team.

Waldvogel said the blocking by his teammates helped.

“I was joking on the sidelines that anyone could have done it because the lane was there,” Waldvogel said.

After being held to just one touchdown and one field goal in the first half, St. Thomas put on a scoring clinic highlighted by Tobin.

“What made us go today was our running game,” Caruso said.

Tobin attributes his success to his teammates’ solid play.

“It’s a lot easier when you have nice holes created by your [offensive] linemen, fantastic effort by your fullbacks and receivers blocking down field,” Tobin said.

The Tommie defense stepped up its intensity in the second half as well. It held the Fighting Scots scoreless in the last two quarters, which is rare for a team that averages 47 points per game.

St. Thomas also limited sophomore running back Trey Yocum to 23 total rushing yards, which is lower than his season average of 128 rushing yards per game.

The defense was highlighted by sophomore linebacker Tremayne Williams. He sacked Tanney three times for losses.

“We had good coverage and I was able to get three off the edge,” Williams said.

The Tommies put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter when Tracy and Waldvogel connected for a 48-yard touchdown. Tracy had 159 passing yards for the game and one touchdown. Waldvogel had 319 all-purpose yards and 148 receiving yards in the game.

The Tommies’ next game will be against St. John Fisher of New York (10-2), a team St. Thomas has never faced before.

“To be honest, I know nothing about St. John Fisher,” Waldvogel said. “At this time in the season, we’re just fighting to spend another week together.”

Caruso knows turnovers are costly this late in the playoffs, and his team will work to limit them this week in practice.

“Anytime you’re not ball-secure, it causes a huge concern,” Caruso said.

Hayley Schnell can be reached at schn3912@stthomas.edu.