Senior quarterback Cade Sexauer threw two touchdown passes, senior running back Tom Loeffler ran for two more scores and St. Thomas forced two turnovers in its 36-0 rout of Pioneer League foe Butler on Saturday at O’Shaughnessy Stadium.
St. Thomas, playing its first Division I home game, extended its regular-season home win streak to 28 before an announced crowd of 5,051 in its first-ever meeting with Butler.
It was a stunning turnaround from a week earlier, when the Tommies (2-1, 1-0 Pioneer) suffered a 44-3 drubbing by Northern Iowa and the Bulldogs overwhelmed NAIA opponent Taylor 77-24.
In their previous two games, the Bulldogs (2-2, 0-1 Pioneer) had outscored their opponents 126-48, but on Saturday they had no answer for the Tommies, who dominated on both sides of the ball. The Tommies’ defense held the Bulldogs to 101 yards rushing and the offense scored on all four chances they had in the red zone.
The Tommies converted 8 of 14 third-down attempts compared with the Bulldogs’ 4 of 12 and outgained Butler 424-278 in total offense in their first home game since Nov. 16, 2019.
“When you’re away from something that you love … for 97 weeks, you’re going to want to fight real hard for it, and that’s what I think our guys did today,” said St. Thomas coach Glenn Caruso.
After giving up five turnovers at Northern Iowa on Sept. 18, the Tommies minimized their mistakes against Butler. The Tommies’ lone turnover was a harmless interception by Sexauer in the final seconds of the second quarter.
“It’s not just a fluke, it’s not just one game. We’re building week by week and we’re starting to get there,” Caruso said.
Sexauer threw for 194 yards, completing 17 of 24 passes in his first DI start Saturday.
“I felt really confident going in that I had a lot of guys supporting me, and that was going to help me in this outcome,” Sexauer said. “The way they set the tone today really led to my success.”
After taking a commanding 22-0 lead at the half, the Tommies scored on their opening possession of the third quarter on a 9-yard pass from Sexauer to senior tight end Max Zimmerman.
The Bulldogs had their best scoring chance when they drove to the Tommies 10-yard line midway through the fourth quarter before senior defensive lineman Seth Bickett forced a fumble.
In the first half, Loeffler and senior running back Joshua Komis combined for three touchdowns for the Tommies. Loeffler scored the first and third touchdowns of the game on 2-yard and 5-yard runs, and Komis notched the second on a 9-yard reception from Sexauer.
“These seniors … have given part of their heart, mind and, in some cases, part of their body to the University of St. Thomas,” Caruso said.
After seniors dominated in the first three quarters, sophomore running back Hope Adebayo stepped up. He broke two tackles during a 34-yard sprint to the goal line to put his team up 36-0, accounting for the Tommies’ longest TD of the season.
“Anyone who knows anything about the move (to DI) knows that it takes a whole lot of people in order to do this,” Caruso said.
The Tommies face the University of San Diego in a Pioneer League road match at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 2.
“We know we’re entering into a good league, and we know that we have to raise our level even higher,” Sexauer said.
Cam Kauffman can be reached at kauf8536@stthomas.edu.