EAU CLAIRE, Wisc. – St. Thomas’ suffocating defense and a pair of receiving touchdowns from tight end Charlie Dowdle brought the St. Thomas football team to a 38-0 halftime lead against Wisconsin-Eau Claire Saturday night at Carson Park.

2014 All-MIAC honoree Dowdle broke the scoring seal on the Tommies’ first possession of the 2015 campaign. When quarterback John Gould rolled right, Dowdle was wide open about 20 yards down field, and the pair connected. The score put St. Thomas ahead 7-0 with 9:42 left in the first quarter.

Dowdle’s second score was a 38-yard receiving touchdown at the 8:05 mark of the second quarter. A Blugold defender hit Gould as he threw, but the Tommie signal caller still managed to connect with Dowdle. This increased the lead to 28-0 in the second quarter.

A pair of short rushing touchdowns from running backs Jordan Roberts and Jack Kaiser, as well as a successful two-point conversion by Dowdle also played a part in the Tommies’ lead.

Kicker Paul Graupner booted a 51-yard field goal with 3:17 left in the second quarter to give the Tommies a 31-0 lead.

The Tommies topped off the first-half scoring frenzy with a 2-yard rushing touchdown from Kaiser with 23 seconds left in the second quarter.

St. Thomas’ defense denied Eau Claire’s offense a trip past midfield for the whole first quarter. Along with three sacks, the Tommies defense also caused and recovered a fumble.

Jesse Krull can be reached at krul7386@stthomas.edu.