The St. Thomas Tommies begin their fourth season of Division I football on Thursday night at O’Shaughnessy Stadium in a matchup with Division II University of Sioux Falls.

The Tommies are expected to contend for the Pioneer Football League title, and, as usual, any talk of team strengths begins with the offensive line. But head coach Glenn Caruso believes his defensive line is playing as well as any he has had as he enters his 17th season leading the Tommies.

“We’re still going to have to see if the game reps display that,” Caruso said. “Last year we played very well; we weren’t very deep. The difference this year is that we’re tremendously deep. We’re only a three-man front, but we have seven guys who can play winning football for us.”

Graduate student C.J. Warren (6-foot-3, 275 pounds), graduate student Seth Hopkins (6-0, 271) and senior Noah Friedt (6-1, 280) are the starters, with Hopkins manning the nose tackle position.

“Emmanuel Olagbaju (6-2, 301) is playing like a legitimate starter (on the nose),” Caruso said. “It just so happens there’s another guy at the position.”

Evan Tyler (6-4, 252) and Kole Sneed (6-2, 246), who has been converted from outside linebacker, also are expected to see considerable playing time.

“There’s very little, if any, falloff when we put the other guys in,” Caruso said.

Defensive linemen in a 3-4 defense typically are not asked to make a lot of tackles. Instead, they often take on double-teams, freeing up linebackers and defensive backs to make the tackle. The fact that the group features technically sound, disciplined players, Caruso said, allows them to be difference-makers.

“They can move and they play with great base,” Caruso said. “They not only can accelerate, but they can decelerate really well, and that’s a quality a lot of people don’t pay attention to.

“I can make a strong case that a technically sound disruptor on the defensive line is more valuable than a defense lineman that has stats. Our track record proves that.”

The group, as a whole, is not blessed with great size, and there will be times this season when they will going up against offensive linemen who outweigh them by as much as 50 pounds or more. Caruso does not see that as an issue.

“Inherently, defensive linemen are not as big as offensive linemen in this scheme,” he said, “but they’re asked to do more athletic movements. Our guys are getting bigger. The weights may be similar, but the length is not.

“I’m happy that as transition from the old division to Division I that we have been able to retain those core beliefs and qualities, but we’ve gotten longer.”

And if things play out the way Caruso hopes they will, better. The answer to just how good this group can be begins to take shape Thursday night.

“A lot of things have to happen for you to say you have the best of anything,” Caruso said. “If I’m going to say this has the chance to be the best defensive line in our 17 years at St. Thomas, yes, it has to have to do with experience, but it also has to do with depth, it also has to do with coaching.

“It also has to do with each person getting a little bit better. If each person can get a little bit better than they were last year, that’s how culture raises the level of talent in your program.”

As for the offensive line, it will feature a pair of new starters at guard in James Morrison (6-6, 341), a junior from Cretin-Derham Hall, and sophomore Marcus Johnson (6-6, 311). Last year’s starters, seniors Shea Albrecht and Brock Stanek, are slated to see playing time at both guard and tackle.

Morrison and Johnson join tackles Jason Laliberte (6-8, 301) and Alec Rasmussen (6-7, 319) and center Langston Robinson (6-2, 301) as part of the Tommies’ massive offensive line.

With the offensive and defensive lines leading the way, Caruso likes the vibe of this team as the season unfolds.

“Last year was so patchy,” he said. “There were games we had to win 35-32, and then there were games you had to win 20-13 or 16-10. Last year what I did not see was the offense and the defense jibing and playing off one another.

“It doesn’t mean we weren’t able to find ways to win games, but we weren’t playing complementary football. This team seems to be a little more together. They seem to appreciate what the other side of the ball does a little bit better.”

Every year, Saint Agnes football does live hitting on Fridays after the acclimation period. The first day in full pads features a 3-on-3 hitting drill featuring two offensive linemen, two defensive linemen, a ball carrier and a linebacker/defensive back.

The first two players in line for the drill are always the Plamann brothers, Danny and Evonson.

The two cannot resist the opportunity to go toe to toe.

“Danny won one year, Evons won the other. Then this year, pretty sure Danny won,” Aggies coach Sam Thompson said. “They love competing against each other.”

He sees that firsthand at practice, as well as in his team sports gym class to kick off each school day. It’s common for the teacher/coach to have to remind the brothers to tone it down a notch.

“We don’t want anybody getting hurt in gym class, but they’re going 100 percent at each other trying to be the best in anything,” Thompson said. “Whether that’s badminton or pickleball or ultimate frisbee.”

That’s how it has been since the boys were little. Danny is a senior this fall at Saint Agnes, and a receiver for the football team, which opens its season at 7 p.m. Friday against Twin Cities Charter at Concordia-St. Paul’s Sea Foam Stadium. Evonson, a junior, is the running back.

Undated courtesy photo of Evonson Plamann (left) and Danny Plamann being thrown into the air as little boys. (Courtesy of Danny Plamann)

The two are separated by almost exactly one year in age. When Danny was 3 years old, Evonson was adopted from Haiti.

They’ve been attached at the hip — and at each other’s throats — ever since.

“They are true brothers,” said their mom, Carol.

EVONSON’S ADOPTION

Danny and Evonson are the youngest of eight siblings.

Dan and Carol Plamann adopted two children from Haiti before Danny was born.

“We just wanted to open our home to somebody who needed it,” Carol said.

At that time, Dan went to Haiti with his parents to visit the orphanage while Carol stayed home with the couple’s four other children.

Years later, Carol wanted to see the orphanage for herself to see where two of her children were from and have that experience. So she visited Haiti on a mission trip along with two of her older children. She walked into Sister of Charity orphanage in Port au Prince.

On the first floor of the facility, ill and malnourished children are nursed back to health. On the second floor were kids waiting to be adopted.

When Carol reached that level, most of the kids quickly approached in search of a hug and a little attention. And then there was Evons.

“He was just kind of sitting off in the distance,” Carol recalled, “and I knew that kid was checking out.”

A sister approached Carol and asked if she’d ever thought about adopting again. While that wasn’t the plan of the trip, Carol admitted she had.

“And she says, ‘I think I know the one you’re supposed to have,’ ” Carol recalled.

Carol pointed at Evons.

“That’s the one,” the sister said.

Carol visited Evons every day throughout the trip and the adoption process was underway. The paperwork was well on its way when disaster struck in Haiti — the massive earthquake of 2010 that rocked the nation.

For a brief period, the Plamanns didn’t know if Evons was OK. Finally, they received news the children at the orphanage were all alive. But conditions were far from ideal. The kids were sleeping outside, with concrete-dust from crumbled buildings infesting the air they were breathing on a daily basis.

A string of fortunate events, combined with diligence from the Plamanns, got Evonson on the final humanitarian flight out of Haiti to Florida, where he was met by Carol.

He had giardia, pneumonia and a number of environmental allergies. Evonson was sick, but he was smiling.

“For me,” Carol said, “the miracle is that he can run.”

ATHLETIC BROTHERS

And, boy, can Evons run. So, too, can Danny. Danny noticed how athletically dominant he and his brother were in second-grade soccer.

“When we were scoring every goal on our team,” he said.

Last fall, Evon ran for 799 yards, gaining 8.2 yards per carry while scoring seven touchdowns. Danny caught in 24 passes for 543 yards and five scores and added nine interceptions on defense for the Aggies, who went 9-1 last season.

Thompson said Danny is “just a super smart, savvy football player.” He chalked up those nine interceptions to the defensive back’s ability to use his instincts to put himself in the perfect positions to make plays.

And Evons has “some lightning-quick speed.”

“For him, he hits a hole, hits a seam and he can turn any type of run into a big play,” Thompson said, “which we certainly love.”

Carol witnessed that speed up close and personal when Evons was in second grade and his mother tried to give her little boy a timeout.

“I did something bad,” Evons said. “But I don’t remember what I did.”

They never do.

You can witness the moment when Carol realized Evons, despite what he endured as an infant, was far from fragile playing out in a video taken by Evons’ then-teenaged older sister Carol chasing Evons around the yard, to no avail.

“I couldn’t catch him,” Carol said. “My husband came home and I was like, ‘Dan, Evons is outside, he’s supposed to be taking a timeout — can you get him?’ ”

“Then I was running away from my dad, running away from every person that was chasing me,” Evons said. “And then I just hid outside for like three hours and came back late at night.”

Did he get out of the timeout?

“No,” Evons said.

They never do.

Eight kids created what Danny said could often be a “real chaotic” scene at the Plamann household. Everyone was in sports and activities, and Danny and Evons followed suit. Danny believes that environment is a big reason why the boys are so athletic.

The two grew up outside. Carol said they preferred that versus watching TV.

“Most kids nowadays will be inside playing video games or just sitting around,” Danny said. “We were never like that.”

No video games?

“We used to play,” Danny said, “until our mom took aways our console.”

“And after that, we haven’t had anything,” Evonson said.

So outside it was — a far more enjoyable reality when you have a constant running mate.

RIVALS, BROTHERS, BEST FRIENDS

Carol jokes she never had to sign her youngest sons up for AAU. There was plenty of competition to be found in the driveway.

“They just played 1 on 1, whatever it was,” she said. “They’d play basketball in the driveway a million times, then they’d throw the football back and forth a million times, and then they’d pitch to each other and see who could strike out the other guy more. It worked out really well for their sports, I’ll tell ya that.”

Thompson is sure that bred the competitive edge present in both boys. Carol noted even when they were on separate basketball teams as kids, they would compete to see who could score the most points.

“It definitely pushes you to be better when you’re always striving to be better than the next kid,” Danny said. “If I do something better than Evons, he’s always going to do better than me. And then if I do better than him, it just stacks levels.”

Now, as teammates, they’re competing alongside one another. Danny is happy when Evons succeeds, because that’s his team’s running back, but he’s usually reminded that a key block was thrown to make the play work.

Evons said if he played receiver, he’d fare well. But if Danny was a running back, it may not go as great. It never ends.

The two cultivated a perfect “love-hate” relationship. Danny noted the competitiveness produced a few fights over the years, but they rarely lasted longer than five minutes. Then it was back outside to play more.

Rivals, but also best friends. They share so many of the same interests and friends. If Danny and his senior friends go out for a meal, Evons is invited. Danny drives everywhere, with Evons riding shotgun.

“They prefer to do things together,” Carol said. “They’re always Dan and Evons. You always put the two together.”

For one more year, anyway. They’ll share the football and basketball seasons together as teammates, before Danny does baseball in the spring, while Evons does track and field. Then, Danny will go off to college.

That thought has Carol “a little sad.”

“I feel very, very blessed to have both of them, and to watch them both has been beyond fun. I’m just really happy,” she said of watching the brothers grow up together. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

Danny noted this final football season is “a little bittersweet.”

“I’m just grateful I had the opportunity with my brother,” Danny said. “It’s nice that God put someone in my life to make me better and allowed me to do sports with him, grow close with him and have a nice relationship.”

Added Evons: “He’s helped me get better at things.”

Danny looked over at his brother.

“That’s all?” he asked.

“Yeah, you said a love-hate relationship!” Evons said with a laugh. “I can’t explain more!”

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By MICHAEL LIEDTKE

Cybersecurity specialist CrowdStrike Holdings on Wednesday estimated it absorbed a roughly $60 million blow to its sales pipeline last month after its botched handling of a software update triggered a technology meltdown that stranded thousands of people in airports in addition to other exasperating disruptions.

Although the massive outage spooked customers that had been expected to close deals totaling $60 million during the final few weeks of CrowdStrike’s fiscal second quarter, executives running the Austin, Texas, company predicted it will still be able to cinch those contracts before its fiscal year ends in January 2025 because customers still have faith in its cybersecurity products despite the July 19 gaffe that froze up machines running on Windows software.

“Our mission is alive and well, and I know that CrowdStrike’s very best days are ahead of us,” CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz told analysts during a conference call covering the company’s April-July period. He also apologized for the company’s role in an outage that he said “will never be lost on me, and my commitment is to make sure this never happens again. The days following the incident were among the most challenging in my career because I deeply felt what our customers experienced.”

Kurtz’s reassuring comments, coupled with quarterly earnings that exceeded analysts’ projections, seemed to reassure investors who have been buying up CrowdStrike’s stock in recent weeks after initially dumping the shares in the wake of the havoc that the company blamed on a computer bug. The shares rose slightly in Wednesday’s extended trading, leaving the stock price 13% below its level before the tech outage — a loss of about $10 billion in market value. Earlier this month, CrowdStrike’s shares plunged nearly 25%, knocking off more than $20 billion in market value.

Even if the $60 million in deals that CrowdStrike expected to close before the tech meltdown never happen, that will be a minor price to pay compared to the massive bills those affected by the outage are facing.

Delta Air Lines, for instance, has estimated that it may owe its customers $380 million after the CrowdStrike-induced outage fouled up its computer systems so horribly that it had to cancel about 7,000 flights. Delta has threatened to sue CrowdStrike, which has insisted that the airline is using the tech outage as an excuse for its own bungling.

CrowdStrike didn’t provide an estimate of legal expenses it may face from the outage, but indicated the bills probably won’t be too burdensome.

“Our customer agreements contain provisions limiting our liability, and we maintain insurance policies intended to mitigate the potential impact of certain claims,” Burt Podbere, CrowdStrike’s chief financial officer, said during Wednesday’s conference call.

Thursday provides a heavy slate of Week 1 contests for the Minnesota high school football season. Well, at least they’re scheduled for Thursday. The prospect of weather on Thursday evening is already causing shifting of game times, with some contests already being moved up to afternoon kickoffs and other games pushing back to Friday.

Stillwater at Lakeville North, 7 p.m.

Two Class 6A state tournament teams from a year ago who should have similarly high expectations again this fall. Just how good will they be? Thursday will be an excellent gauge.

The Ponies return a lot defensively, and Stillwater’s passing game is often a bear to defend in August. But star quarterback Nick Kinsey will have to establish new connections with pass catchers.

On the flip side, Riley Grossman is back for his fourth year under center for Lakeville North, and all of his weapons return. Lakeville North’s passing game could be something to write home about this fall. Our pick: Lakeville North 31, Stillwater 21

St. Thomas Academy at Andover, 7 p.m.

Both teams fell in overtime to Chanhassen at U.S. Bank Stadium in 2023 – Andover in the Class 5A semis, and the Cadets in the Prep Bowl. Both also lost all-world skill position talents to graduation, as Cadets running back Savion Hart and Andover quarterback Chase Pemberton are onto the next step.

But Andover’s Hudson Maynard was excellent filling in when Pemberton was injured last season. That experience should help the Huskies come out of the gates fast, even against a St. Thomas Academy secondary featuring standouts like Avery Buckner and Finn Benz.

But don’t count the loser of this game out by any stretch. St. Thomas Academy fell by 26 to Andover in last season’s opener, and it did nothing to deter the Cadets. Our pick: Andover 31, St. Thomas Academy 28

Hill-Murray at Becker, 7 p.m.

Legendary Becker coach Dwight Lundeen could notch career win No. 400 on Thursday, but it won’t come easy. Not against a Pioneers team that reached the Class 4A state tournament last season.

Hill-Murray returns a few key skill players, including quarterback Jackson Reeves. But he’ll have to navigate potentially rough waters in the early going as a brand-new offensive line finds its bearing. That’s not a dream recipe when opening the season against a perennial powerhouse. Our pick: Becker 21, Hill-Murray 14

Mounds View at Farmington, 7 p.m.

Two potentially dangerous teams in Class 6A, Farmington returns a boatload of skill position players on offense, while Mounds View was a feisty young squad in 2023 that will be experienced this fall and has returning starters in many key areas on the field.

The Mustangs have the potential to win the Metro East this year. Our pick: Mounds View 24, Farmington 18

East Ridge at Park, 6 p.m.

East Ridge lost a lot from last year’s Class 6A state tournament team, so perhaps this is a chance for Park to pull off an upset against its district rival? If nothing else, it will be interesting to see how the Raptors’ offensive approach shifts following the graduation of star quarterback Tanner Zolnosky.

And Park’s high-powered offense is always good for a show. Our pick: East Ridge 35, Park 20