Running back Nick Waldvogel’s two first-half rushing touchdowns helped propel the St. Thomas football team to a 48-14 halftime lead over Hamline Saturday at Klas Field.
The Tommies racked up 357 total yards – 233 through the air and 124 on the ground – in the first half while the defense held the Pipers to just 22 rushing yards.
The Tommies received the kickoff and quickly opened the scoring. After a 56-yard completion from quarterback Matt O’Connell to wide receiver Pete Fitzsimmons, Waldvogel capped off the 4-play, 72-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown plunge. Kicker Paul Graupner added the extra point to make the score 7-0 in favor of the Tommies 51 seconds into the game.
Linebacker Rutger Heffelfinger recovered a fumble on the ensuing Hamline drive, and the St. Thomas offense capitalized. Running back Jack Kaiser finished off a 5-play, 56-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run. Graupner added the extra point to make the score 14-0 with 9:42 remaining in the first quarter.
The Pipers got on the scoreboard later in the first quarter thanks to a Tommie miscue. Hamline defensive back Jack Swanberg intercepted O’Connell and returned it 40 yards to the St. Thomas 33-yard line. The Pipers took advantage of the mistake and scored on a 8-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tim Bona to tight end Ray Culp, which cut the St. Thomas lead to 14-7 with 5:14 left in the first quarter.
The Tommies answered with a touchdown just one minute later when O’Connell hit tight end Charlie Dowdle over the middle for a 36-yard touchdown to put St. Thomas back up by 14 points.
But Hamline answered right back when running back Austin Duncan bulldozed through St. Thomas’ defense for a 7-yard touchdown to cap off a 6-play, 76-yard drive to make the score 21-14 in favor of the Tommies with 1:57 remaining in the first half.
St. Thomas opened second quarter scoring on a 5-yard touchdown scamper from Waldvogel for his second touchdown of the first half. Graupner added the extra point to extend the Tommies’ lead to 28-14 with 11:59 remaining.
Fullback Dominic Truoccolo became the third Tommie to record a rushing touchdown in the first half when he jumped over the pile and into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown with just over 7 minutes left before the half.
O’Connell added to the St. Thomas lead with a 14-yard touchdown scramble with 3:25 remaining in the half. Graupner missed the extra point to keep the Tommie lead at 41-14.
St. Thomas pushed the game further out of reach when defensive back Kyle Coyne picked off Bona’s pass and returned it 28 yards for a touchdown. Graupner nailed the extra point to extend the Tommies’ lead to 48-14 at halftime.
Tom Pitzen can be reached at pitz2014@stthomas.edu.