Propelled by three touchdowns by senior quarterback Cade Sexauer, the St. Thomas football team went off for four total TDs in a 27-16 win over Pioneer Football League-leading Davidson Saturday at O’Shaughnessy Stadium.
The win extended the Tommies’ home regular-season win streak to 34 games. Last season, the PFL co-champions, Davidson (4-2, 2-1 PFL), handily defeated St. Thomas 42-15 in Davidson, North Carolina.
Once again, the St. Thomas (4-1, 2-0 PFL) offense started off quickly as Sexauer connected with sophomore wide receiver Andrew McElroy on a 19-yard pass. This marks the Tommies’ fifth time in five games that they have scored on their opening drive.
Despite Davidson having one of the top scoring offenses in the country, St. Thomas held it to just three points in the first half as the Wildcats hit a 40-yard field goal to get them on the board with 32 seconds remaining.
Sexauer also hit junior wide receiver Jacob Wildermuth for a 6-yard score and threw a 19-yard dart to McElroy in the first half. McElroy broke a tackle and sprinted to the end zone after the catch.
Trailing by 18 at the start of the third quarter, the Wildcats came out of the locker room looking to cut the Tommies’ lead as senior running back Coy Williams rushed 25 yards to cut the Tommies’ lead to 11.
However, Sexauer and the Tommies had a quick answer as they marched the ball steadily toward Davidson’s end of the field. Senior running back Josh Komis rushed for two yards and his first Division I touchdown at the end of the drive.
Komis’ TD was the only St. Thomas score of the second half. As the Tommies’ offense stalled, the defense stepped up, holding Davidson to 0-of-5 on third down conversion attempts.
During the remainder of the game, neither team could get going on offense until Davidson made one final push as senior quarterback Jayden Waddell threw a 7-yard TD pass to junior receiver Mark McCurdy with 1:05 remaining.
Still down by two scores, the Wildcats did not have enough time to attempt a comeback win as the Tommies knelt the ball in victory formation to run out the clock.
The Tommies take on Drake at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15 at O’Shaughnessy Stadium during homecoming weekend.
Cam Kauffman can be reached at kauf8536@stthomas.edu.