Following an impressive 38-14 victory over Concordia-Moorhead, the No. 5-ranked St. Thomas football team hopes to continue its MIAC dominance over Carleton this Saturday at O’Shaughnessy Stadium.
The Knights (1-7 overall, 0-6 MIAC) are winless against the Tommies (8-0 overall, 6-0 MIAC) this century and fell in a 83-7 thumping last season in Northfield. If St. Thomas’ starters meet expectations, coach Glenn Caruso said this game presents opportunities to non-starters.
“We’ve faced this situation before in other games this year, where we’ve been able to get over 100 guys in,” Caruso said. “But that doesn’t happen, regardless of who the team you’re playing is, unless the guys go out and play well.”
So far this season, the Tommies have outscored their opponents 418 to 69 and held opponents to seven or fewer points five times. The offense has eclipsed 500 total yards five times this year.
Carleton, last place in the MIAC, is facing the conference’s toughest opponents in back-to-back contests. Last Saturday, the Knights were dismantled 56-0 at home by No. 13-ranked St. John’s. The Johnnies mustered 497 total yards, including 290 passing yards, and quarterback Nick Martin threw three touchdowns. Carleton was held to 198 total yards with just 58 rushing yards.
The abundance of offensive yards against the Knights’ defense is the result of some crucial losses to graduation. All-MIAC honorable mention safety Alex Polk led the team with 83 tackles, which was third in the MIAC last year. Linebacker Zach Heinrich tied for the MIAC lead with 9.5 tackles per game.
This season, defensive back Dylan Saline leads the team with 59 tackles and one interception, while fellow defensive back Eric McGregor is second on the squad with 56 tackles. Linebackers Merrick Ducharme and Kwaku Bodom have 54 and 53 tackles, respectively.
The Tommies face another dual-threat quarterback in Zach Creighton. He is second on the team in rushing behind running back Andy Gustafson, who has just two more yards than Creighton’s total of 553. Creighton has thrown for 1,271 yards with eight touchdowns so far this season. In the Knights’ lone victory this season, a 27-12 triumph over Macalester in the first game of the year, the junior threw for 246 yards and one touchdown along with 95 rushing yards on 17 attempts.
Pairing with Creighton and Gustafson as offensive weapons, wide receiver Chris Madden is Creighton’s top passing target. This season, Madden leads the Knights with 525 yards and five touchdowns. He was an All-MIAC honorable mention last year with his average of 130.4 all-purpose yards, a good chunk of which came from punts and kickoff returns.
This Saturday marks the seniors’ last regular season game at O’Shaughnessy Stadium. The roster is filled with 26 seniors whose individual accolades include two first-team, one second-team two honorable mention All-MIAC honorees. Outside the classroom, tight end Greg Kriege and offensive tackle Dave Simmet were part of the 2014 Academic All-MIAC team.
A Stagg Bowl appearance in 2012 is the brightest spot on this class’ resume, which also includes a 38-6 overall record entering Saturday, an NCAA playoff appearance in 2014 and a conference championship in 2012. Coach Caruso is proud of this year’s senior class.
“The commitment they’ve made to each other is impeccable,” Caruso said. “(They) have really allowed this program to be taken to a new level, and Saturday allows us the opportunity to honor them, not just with our pre-game ceremonies to them, but more importantly with our play.”
Jesse Krull can be reached at krul7386@stthomas.edu.