For the first 15 minutes of play against Augsburg Saturday at O’Shaughnessy Stadium, the St. Thomas football team found itself in a shootout against a team that was winless in the MIAC.

Due in part to a blown coverage assignment that allowed a 65-yard touchdown and a penalty-ridden drive , the Tommies (3-0 MIAC, 5-0 overall) had yielded 14 points to the Auggies (0-4 MIAC, 2-4 overall). Before then, they had allowed only 14 points all season.

“There was a feeling of urgency,” coach Glenn Caruso said, “where you feel like you need to trade punches.”

In front of a homecoming crowd of over 6,000, running back Josh Parks provided the biggest of those punches for the Tommies in a 73-14 win against Augsburg. On the first play from scrimmage, the senior took a weak-side handoff 61 yards for his eighth touchdown of the season.

“We do our job,” Parks said. “When we … run the ball, we help set everything else up. Everyone did a great job today.”

Parks rumbled through the Augsburg defense for 194 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. He currently leads the MIAC in rushing touchdowns with nine and total yards with 591.

“He’s really starting to develop a patience,” Caruso said. “When you can take a guy like Josh and have his speed and agility paired up with his toughness … good things happen.”

Parks is quick to share the credit for his breakout season.

“It’s the (offensive line). If you look at a lot of my runs, I’m not getting touched for the first 5 yards,” Parks said. “If you can have that happen, you can put any running back back there and they’re going to have a good game.”

The Tommies played 11 running backs behind that line and amassed 344 yards on the ground. Five of the backs found the end zone at least once.

“We know who we are and what we’re good at,” Caruso said. “We were moving guys around well.”

With the Tommies’ run game playing at a high level, Jacques Perra and his receivers were able to continue a statistically efficient passing attack. The senior quarterback completed 12 of his 14 pass attempts for 151 yards and two touchdowns.

“As a coach, what’s most impressive is his ability to mitigate failure,” Caruso said. “You look at a half (like Jacques had) … that’s a pretty good day.”

Usually the team’s most consistent unit, the defense got off to its worst start of the season. The unit allowed a season-high 192 yards through the air. Both of Augsburg’s touchdowns came via the pass.

“It’s not as tight as we want it to be,” Caruso said. “Credit (Augsburg). They’ve got a receiver who’s one of the great receivers in our league.”

That receiver, Nick Heenie, tallied 148 yards and both of the Auggies’ touchdowns on nine receptions.

“We got a lot of things to work on,” linebacker Mark Dowdle said. “Anytime we allow a score … we’re going to see where our (coverage) was off and we’ll get better from there.”

Despite sloppy coverage through the first quarter, the Tommies’ front seven were able to record seven sacks. Dowdle led the unit with 2.5.

“It’s not just me out there,” Dowdle said. “We play really well together.”

Defensive back Luke Glenna recorded two interceptions against Augsburg, one of which was returned 73 yards for a touchdown.

The Tommies start the second half of the season on the road, traveling to Collegeville to take on conference archrival St. John’s. The Johnnies (4-0 MIAC, 5-0 overall) sit atop the conference standings and boast the MIAC’s second-best total offense and defense.

“Everyone’s excited for that one,” Parks said. “Every year, there are a couple of games that you circle on the calendar. We love it. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

St. Thomas is undefeated in its last four meetings with St. John’s.

Noah Brown can be reached at brow7736@stthomas.edu.