Fourth-ranked St. Thomas used a stifling defense and five touchdown passes from three players to defeat Augsburg 55-7 Saturday in the homecoming game at Palmer Field.
One week after beating archrival St. John’s on the road, the Tommies showed no signs of letdown against Augsburg, which has not beaten St. Thomas in St. Paul since 1970. St. Thomas is 5-0 on the season and 3-0 in the MIAC. Augsburg fell to 1-4 and 1-2.
“Every game’s a little bit different, and neither is more important, less important, more exciting, less exciting,” coach Glenn Caruso said. “It’s really just figuring out what you need to do in that specific game.”
MIAC SCOREBOARD
- St. Thomas 55, Augsburg 7
- Concordia 46, Gustavus 21
- St. John’s 42, Bethel 27
- Carleton 34, Hamline 31
In this specific game, Augsburg had gained only three first downs and 67 yards in total offense by the end of the third quarter as the Tommie defense dominated. By the start of the fourth quarter, the Auggies had a minus-five yards rushing on 15 attempts, been sacked twice and thrown an interception that defensive back Michael Alada returned for a touchdown.
The Tommies’ racked up touchdowns from multiple players. Running backs Josh Parks and Tucker Trettel and tight end Jackson Finn scored in the first half, and wide receivers Joe Reed and Vinny Pallini and defensive back Alada scored in the second. Kicker Bryan Stensapir made five of his six point-after kicks.
“We always try to be balanced,” Caruso said. “Certainly, a lot of our guys scored today but scores also came in unconventional ways … I think it’s mostly a function of our depth.”
Pallini agreed that this particular team has the depth and drive to achieve wins like Saturday afternoon’s.
“We’re trying to make ourselves better, and it doesn’t really matter who the opponent is,” Pallini said.
Augsburg managed to score a touchdown with 38 seconds left in the second quarter when quarterback Raymond Guyton, Jr. completed a 33-yard pass from fellow quarterback Sam Keis. Auggie kicker Tyler Hanson made the extra point.
The Tommies also emptied their bench in the fourth quarter as several back-ups saw extensive action.
Looking ahead, the St. Thomas will face Concordia-Moorhead (3-1 overall, 2-0 MIAC) at 1:10 p.m. Saturday in Moorhead.
Elena Neuzil can be reached at neuz3833@stthomas.edu.