Coach Glenn Caruso said steady improvement remains the focus for the remainder of the season as the No. 6-ranked St. Thomas football team prepares to take on Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn. at 1:10 p.m. Saturday.
“We’ve got to keep a steady and gradual progression … so that when we need to be at our best, we will be at our best. That’s what we’re going to look for this week in practice,” Caruso said.
Six weeks into the regular season, the Tommies (3-1 overall, 1-1 MIAC) are preparing for their first Saturday road game this year. While Caruso acknowledged that it was strange to be playing their first “traditional” road game this late in the season, he said it won’t affect preparation.
“We’ve traditionally played extremely well on the road, and we like that … I think sometimes there’s a lot less to think about when you’re on the road because you don’t have all the … distractions of a home game,” Caruso said. “We’ve always met road games with a lot of excitement, and we’re pretty excited to get on the road, believe it or not.”
Linebacker Tremayne Williams said the Tommies will have to come together especially well to play on the the Gusties’ turf.
“We will face the normal challenges any team faces when on the road. We will be on a different field other than our own, and we also won’t have the support of our home crowd,” Williams said. “It’s always tougher going into someone else’s place to play, so we will try to come together even more as a family.”
After racking up nearly 700 yards of total offense last week, St. Thomas hopes to keep the offense rolling against a strong Gustavus team (3-1 overall, 2-1 MIAC) that defeated Hamline 52-7 last week. Running back Jack Kaiser said the Tommies took a step in the right direction last week against Carleton, but will face a tougher test this week against a Gustie defense that has allowed a combined 224 yards rushing in their last two games.
“I think they place their personnel very, very well. They have some really neat skill guys on offense that you have to keep an eye on … and they have a new quarterback who transferred in from another school in the league,” Caruso said.
The quarterback is Mitch Hendricks, a sophomore who transferred from St. John’s. He threw for almost 200 yards without an interception last week, and threw for over 300 yards two weeks ago against St. Olaf.
“(Hendricks is) a very good athlete and kind of a jack-of-all-trades. He can throw the ball, can run the ball, can get out of the pocket and do some good things,” Caruso said. “(Gustavus coach Peter Haugen) is in year five of a program, so you would expect that things are in line.”
After sitting out last week’s game due to pneumonia, Caruso said quarterback Matt O’Connell will play Saturday. Without O’Connell and moving through three quarterbacks Saturday, Kaiser said the Tommies were still able to move the ball with confidence.
“Ball security was obviously a big issue for us in the previous weeks, so it was nice that we cleaned that up, but we still need to run with ferocity and hustle to the ball,” Kaiser said. “(The Gustavus defense) is probably in the top half of our conference.”
Caruso said the Tommies will also be prepared for a formidable Gustie defense– which returns 10 of 11 starters from last year– and that he is excited to compete against a team that brings a lot of energy into every game.
“I love the way they’re playing, I love the way they fit together, and I appreciate the way they hustle to the ball,” Caruso said. “I see a lot of similarities to their schemes as last year, but I see a little bit more energy… whether you’re their coach or the opposing coach, it’s always good to see that.”
On the defensive side of the ball, the Tommies are looking to build on their strong performance against Carleton, in which they allowed less than 200 yards. Both Caruso and Williams said limiting Gustavus’ explosive offensive threats will be key.
“We will look to exploit any weaknesses we find, but we will definitely try to limit their explosive plays,” Williams said.
Jacob Sevening can be reached at seve8586@stthomas.edu.