An interception by senior wide receiver Isaiah Hall with 4:47 remaining thwarted a fourth-quarter rally by Valparaiso, sealing the Tommies’ 20-13 victory Saturday at O’Shaughnessy Stadium.
In their first homecoming game at the Division I level, the Tommies (3-2, 2-1 Pioneer Football League) extended their regular-season home winning streak to 29 games.
“It’s a lot of excitement with homecoming and not just being homecoming but parents’ weekend,” said Hall. “So for me, it was an awesome experience … I loved every moment of it.”
With many players’ families in attendance, the Tommies’ defense came up big for a second straight game, holding the Beacons (1-5, 1-2 PFL) to their lowest score in their past four contests.
St. Thomas had two interceptions, the first by junior defensive back Johnson Fallah with 9:06 left in the first half.
Fallah’s interception and 20-yard return set up a 7-yard touchdown run by senior running back Tom Loeffler that put the Tommies up 7-3.
Loeffler scored his fourth TD of the season on a 2-yard run with 25 seconds left in the third quarter to extend the Tommies’ lead 20-3 heading into the fourth quarter. That score was set up by a successful fake punt and 33-yard throw by senior running back Joshua Komis to senior wide receiver Wesley Juszczak, who hauled the ball down at the 2.
“The defense right now is playing lights out,” coach Glenn Caruso said. “Obviously, we had a huge bust on their one touchdown … that was bad.”
Valparaiso’s only touchdown Saturday came on a 35-yard pass by senior quarterback Ben Nimz to sophomore wide receiver Braden Contreras with 6:34 left, bringing the Beacons within 20-13.
That capped a 10-0 Beacons rally in the last 15:25 of the game, before the Tommies’ defense came up with one more big play in Hall’s interception.
“Coach always tells us to go stronger, and that’s what we did,” said Hall. “He’ll always say ‘let’s go get that victory,’ so that’s all that matters to us.”
The Tommies allowed the Beacons to convert only 3 of 12 third-down opportunities and forced six punts Saturday.
“We knew our defense was going to make plays regardless,” senior offensive lineman Mike Ruggeri said. “Just need to control the ball and get first down after first down—that’s all we needed to do.”
After managing only four first downs in the first half, the Tommies’ offense finished with 17. They also managed 3 of 3 conversions on fourth down chances.
St. Thomas took a 14-3 lead on its opening drive of the second half when Sexauer ran for a 4-yard score. Sexauer completed 11 of 21 passes for 98 yards in the game.
The Tommies finished with 290 yards of offense to Valparaiso’s 226. The Tommies ran for 159 yards while their defense held Valparaiso to 49 rushing yards.
The Tommies face PFL opponent Stetson University Saturday, Oct. 16 at noon in DeLand, Florida.
“They will be talented and it will be hot and we’ll have to find ways to figure things out quicker than we did today,” Caruso said.
Cam Kauffman can be reached at kauf8536@stthomas.edu.