A hard-fought first half by the St. Thomas football team was not enough to keep the Drake University Bulldogs from handing the Tommies their first conference loss this season, ending the game 52-21 at Drake Stadium on Saturday.

The loss broke the Tommies’ (4-3, 3-1 PFL) 13-game conference winning streak, carrying over from last season. The Bulldogs’ (3-3, 3-0 PFL) win was the first time the Tommies have given up more than 50 points in a game in head coach Glenn Caruso and defensive coordinator Wallie Kuchinski’s time with the Tommies.

Senior wide receiver Jacob Wildermuth scored a touchdown for the Tommies in the first quarter, tying the game 7-7. But after Drake added 17 points in the second quarter — and the Tommies could only muster 14 — St. Thomas’s offense crumbled in the second half.

Drake scored 28 uncontested points in the second half. In a post-game interview with ESPN Radio, Caruso said the second half “wasn’t even close.”

“(Drake was) able to find a lot of spots that they were able to get the ball to,” Caruso said, “Look, we made some mistakes, but they also made some plays.”

The Tommies also were plagued with injuries. First-year quarterback Tak Tateoka was helped off the field in the second quarter with a leg injury. Tateoka returned to the sidelines later in the day with crutches and a boot. Then, in the third quarter, sophomore quarterback Amari Powell left the field with a nosebleed.

Caruso said that the loss should be a “motivating factor” for the team going forward.

“It’s not sustainable to think that you’re going to pull something out at the end. Not in Division I, not against a really good football team,” Caruso said.

St. Thomas will play against Stetson at 12 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 21 in DeLand, Florida, at the Spec Martin Memorial Stadium.

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