WAVERLY, Iowa – Running back Brenton Braddock’s 11-yard touchdown run gave the St. Thomas football team the lead midway through the second quarter, but Wartburg answered right back with a touchdown of its own to give the Knights a 20-14 lead at halftime Saturday at Walston-Hoover Stadium.
On its opening drive, Wartburg faced a third-and-long when quarterback Logan Schrader found wide receiver Taylor Jacobsmeier along the sideline for the first down. Wartburg capitalized on the conversion and opened the scoring later in the drive with a short touchdown run by running back Brandon Domeyer with 9:10 left in the first quarter.
St. Thomas was marching down the field on the ensuing drive when a costly turnover ended its possession. Wartburg defensive back James Garlock intercepted quarterback John Gould’s pass at the Knights’ 20-yard line, ending the Tommies’ drive.
Wartburg took advantage of the turnover and found the end zone again to cap off a 10-play, 64-yard drive. Schrader rolled out to his right and beat several St. Thomas defenders to the pylon for the score. Kicker Michael Bohlke missed the extra point, leaving the score at 13-0 in favor of the Knights.
The Tommies were able to answer right back on the ensuing drive. Running back Nick Waldvogel leapt over the pile for a 1-yard touchdown that cut Wartburg’s lead to 13-7.
St. Thomas forced Wartburg to punt and got the ball right back, gaining momentum to start the second quarter. The Tommies vaulted into the lead and scored their second touchdown minutes later to make it 14-13, St. Thomas’ first lead of the game. Running back Brenton Braddock found the end zone from 11 yards out for his sixth rushing touchdown in the last two games.
In a common theme for the game, Wartburg answered right back with a score of its own. Schrader directed the Knights’ offense down the field and completed several key passes before the team punched it in on the ground. Domeyer scored his second touchdown of the half, this one from 3 yards out, to make the score 20-14 Wartburg with just over five minutes left before halftime.
Tom Pitzen can be reached at pitz2014@stthomas.edu.