St. Thomas entered its game against the Presbyterian Blue Hose on Saturday at O’Shaughnessy Stadium knowing they would need some help in order to keep their hopes alive for a Pioneer Football League title and an automatic bid to the FCS playoffs.
It became a moot point when the Tommies failed to help themselves.
On a day when they struggled on both sides of the ball, but more so on offense, St. Thomas ended the league portion of their schedule with a 23-9 loss to the Blue Hose on Senior Day to drop to 5-3 (8-3 overall).
They end their season next week with a non-conference game at North Dakota State, the nation’s top-ranked team.
“Certainly it was an off day,” said St. Thomas head coach Glenn Caruso. “There are a lot of days when we’re ‘on’ or at our A-plus game — that’s football. You’ve got to find ways to win differently against really good opponents. I thought Presbyterian found more ways. No. It wasn’t a good day for us. Presbyterian had something to do with that.”
The performance was surprising due to how much was at stake.
“It was a huge game for a lot of different reasons,” said senior linebacker Jordan Pendleton. “Mainly for our seniors, the people who have bled and lost sleep over this team. That’s who we wanted to play for.”
While the defense had its moments, the Tommies’ offense never got untracked.
After piling up the points during a five-game winning streak, the offense failed to get into the end zone. Quarterback Andy Peters, who has been a standout this season, had a rough day. Peters completed 16 of 31 passes for 144 yards. He threw two interceptions and was sacked four times.
“It was just about getting a rhythm,” said senior receiver JaShawn Todd. “I feel like we just didn’t get into a groove that we normally get in. At the end of the day, the ball just didn’t roll our way.”
The focus and effort was there, Caruso said. His team simply didn’t make enough plays.
“We have to make sure that when we get the opportunities we capitalize on them,” Caruso said. “Dropped interceptions. A mistake on special teams by your opponent and you don’t capitalize on it. Four dropped balls on the offensive side and taking a sack in the red zone.”
The Blue Hose led 10-0 at halftime, with St. Thomas managing only 62 yards of offense — including 7 rushing yards. Despite a poor first half, the Tommies were still in the game.
“There were so many things that we could have done better,” Caruso said. “I have a list of them, and there were a half dozen of really clear things. So the message (at halftime) was to just try to rein them back in and realize we don’t have do anything magical, we just have to play better.”
St. Thomas got on the the board with a field goal in their first possession of the second half. When Branden Smith followed with an interception returned for a touchdown, the Tommies were poised to tie the game. But Caruso elected to go for a two-point conversion, but the rush following a fake kick came up short. Caruso said the offense’s inability to move the football led to the decision.
The Blue Hose took a 17-9 lead in the third quarter on a 31-yard touchdown pass. St. Thomas responded with a drive, but on fourth-and-3 from the Presbyterian 25 yard line, Peters was sacked. Presbyterian added a final touchdown with less than two minutes to play.
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