Senior running back Josh Parks scored four times in the first half Saturday to help No. 6 St. Thomas defeat the Hamline Pipers 74-14 at Klas Field.

Parks rushed for 160 yards on nine carries, including a 63-yard run late in the second quarter. Junior running back Tom Loeffler rushed eight times for 161 yards as the Tommies (1-0 MIAC, 2-0 overall,) racked up 500 total yards on the ground.

Josh Parks runs for a Tommie touchdown. (Jack Stanek/TommieMedia)

“When you look at St. Thomas as a whole, we pride ourselves on running,” Parks said. “If we can establish a run, that’s when the pass opens up, and we can do different things on offense and be more versatile.”

Parks has 45 career touchdowns and is just five away from the school record of 50.

Parks catches a ball from Tommie quarterback Tommy Dolan for a touchdown. (Jack Stanek/TommieMedia)

Tommies coach Glenn Caruso called his team’s offensive line “the star of the day.”

“It was impeccable,” Caruso said. “It’s about as good as our offense has been playing in the 12 years we’ve been playing here.”

St. Thomas took an early 6-0 lead before Tommie quarterback Tommy Dolan was intercepted by Piper middle linebacker Monty Stenroos. Quarterback Connor Leavens finished off the drive with a 25-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tanner Lunceford to put Hamline ahead 7-6.

Tommie defensive back Logan Petersmeyer intercepts a ball from Piper quarterback Connor Leavens. (Jack Stanek/TommieMedia)

However, the first-quarter scare did not last long. St. Thomas scored 35 unanswered points after that.

Dolan connected with Max Zimmerman for a 24-yard touchdown that gave the Tommies the lead for good. The following two scores were both by Parks, with Tom Loeffler adding another two touchdowns.

Leavens connected with wide receiver Triston Thomas for a 30-yard touchdown late in the second quarter, bringing the Pipers within 40-14. The Tommies then closed out the first half with 14 unanswered points. Loeffler’s 38-yard run set up Dolan for a 1-yard quarterback sneak as the Tommies took a 54-14 lead with 25 seconds remaining in the first half.

The Pipers (0-1 MIAC, 1-2 overall) were held scoreless in the second half as the Tommie offense, powered by running backs Stephen Wagner and Josh Komis, continued to dominate.

“When you look at a full season, you need more than one guy,” Parks said. “It’s going to take all of us to get to where we want to go. We have a lot more depth, so you’ll see a lot of different people coming in and out of the games for us.”

Coach Caruso believes his team grew from the first game two weeks ago, and that was the No. 1 goal.

St. Thomas travels to non-conference opponent UW-Eau Claire on Sept. 28 for Saturday night lights. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:10 p.m at Carson Park.

The Tommies are looking forward to getting out of their element and adjusting to the night game, but it’s extra special for Caruso, whose former player is the Blugolds’ new head coach.

“Wesley Beschorner is one of those guys I’ve been blessed to coach and is in an elite group as a player and a man,” Caruso said. “I just love playing against teams that are unapologetically fighting to be the best they can be. … Eau Claire is that team, and Wesley is that coach.”

Carly Noble can be reached at nobl1781@stthomas.edu.