St. Thomas’ standout defense held strong once again with three takeaways and three fourth-down conversion stops in a 27-7 victory over Marist College Saturday at O’Shaughnessy Stadium.

The matchup marks the first meeting between St. Thomas (5-2, 4-1 Pioneer Football League) and Marist College (3-4, 3-2 PFL) in a battle that broke the fourth place conference tie between the two schools.

Senior defensive back Luke Glenna had two takeaways for the Tommies in the first half. Glenna intercepted a pass from Marist senior quarterback Austin Day and recovered a fumble as well to keep the majority of first half possession with the Tommies as they led 13-7.

The Tommies opened the second half scoring with a 1-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Cade Sexauer, extending the lead to 20-7. The touchdown marked the fifth of seven second half opening drive scores for the Tommies on the season.

St. Thomas’ defense allowed only 11 Red Fox first downs and 162 total yards. The Tommies had 22 first downs and 392 total yards.

The Tommies’ third defensive takeaway came late in the fourth quarter when first-year cornerback Yusuf Leak intercepted a pass, stopping any hope of a late comeback by the Red Foxes.

St. Thomas’ defense stopped all three Marist fourth-down conversion attempts during the game, two of them coming within the 5-yard line. The St. Thomas’ defense ranks within the top 20 of 128 FCS teams in points allowed.

Senior tight end Max Zimmerman started the scoring for the Tommies after a 51-yard touchdown catch and run gave the Tommies a 6-0 lead.

A high snap by St. Thomas on a fourth down punt attempt led to the Red Foxes getting the ball two yards away from the endzone where senior quarterback Austin Day ran it in, making the score 13-7 at halftime.

Sophomore running back Hope Adebayo added another two touchdowns to his season statistics. Adebayo ran for a 30-yard score in the first half and another 28-yard score in the fourth quarter.

Adebayo totaled 192 yards on 27 attempts, averaging 7.1 yards per carry. Adebayo is also coming off of a four touchdown, 182-yard performance two weeks prior, earning him a Pioneer Football League Offensive Player of the Week award.

The Tommies take on conference leader Davidson College Saturday, Nov. 6 at noon Central Time in Davidson, North Carolina.

Cam Kauffman can be reached at kauf8536@stthomas.edu.