ST. PETER, Minn. – After three quarters Saturday at Hollingsworth field, the No. 7 St. Thomas football team was on the verge of a two-loss season for the first time in four years.
Down 13-0 entering the final frame, the Tommies (6-1 MIAC, 8-1 overall) had mustered 157 yards of total offense against Gustavus (4-3 MIAC, 5-4 overall). Josh Parks, the MIAC’s leading rushing, was limited to 79.
Over it’s final two possessions, however, St. Thomas almost doubled its yardage, ran nearly 10 minutes off the game clock and, most importantly, scored two touchdowns to secure a 14-13 victory over the Gusties.
“First and foremost, I’m real proud of the guys,” coach Glenn Caruso said. “We made a conscious effort, with about five minutes left in the game, to say, ‘we’re not going to try and make this a two possession game, we’re going to do what we do and give our guys the best shot to win.’”
The Tommies were able to do what they do best; on fourth down, trailing 13-7 with just under 2:30 left, quarterback Ronnie Jones found wide receiver Gabe Green for a 25-yard touchdown pass.
“There’s never a moment in time where we lost to confidence in this victory,” Jones said. “There was never a time where we dropped our heads on the sideline, we were as confident as we always are until the last second.”
Jones had replaced starting quarterback Jacques Perra after the first drive of the third quarter. Perra had completed 10 of 17 passes for 54 yards and two interceptions.
Despite locking down the Gusties rushing game with a total of minus-27 yards and snagging two interceptions, the Tommie defense yielded 335 yards to Gusties quarterback Michael Veldman and two touchdowns. Veldman ended the first half with 239 yards and the two touchdowns.
When it mattered most, though, the Tommie defense held. On Gustavus’ final drive of the game, after marching his team 47 yards to the Tommie 29-yard line, Veldman threw his second interception of the game to linebacker Adam Brant.
“We were saying that all game long, ‘we just need that one big play to turn this around,’” Brant said. “It just so happened that I got put in that position, I saw it coming, and stepped in front of it. I’m glad I held onto it.”
Halfback Josh Parks, usually the focal point of this year’s squad, was kept out of the endzone for the first time this season. He led the Tommies’ ground game with 114 yards on 25 attempts. Caruso said the team’s ability to win without a score from Parks will be a learning point moving forward.
“A dynamic team is one that finds different ways to win,” Caruso said. “We’re built for this time of year, and our guys are going to be able to draw from that in the future.”
With the win, the Tommies remained tied with Bethel (6-1 MIAC, 8-1 overall), who they face next week in the final game of the regular season.
Bethel is always the one our (players) circle on their calendars,” Caruso said. “We can’t wait.”
Noah Brown can be reached at brow7736@stthomas.edu.
Matthew Curry can be reached at curr1523@stthomas.edu.