Tommie Football 8-Game Notes/Oct. 26

October 27, 2003
NEXT UP: Coach Don Roney's St. Thomas team (3-5 overall, 3-3 MIAC) hosts No.2-ranked St. John's (7-0, 6-0) Saturday in O'Shaughnessy Stadium. St. John's has won nine of the last 10 meetings, including three in a row in St. Paul. The last Tommie win at O'Shaughnessy came in 1992 when the Tommies, a giant underdog, upset the unbeaten Johnnies 15-12.

TICKET INFO: A standing room crowd is expected when St. Thomas hosts rival St. John's in football Nov. 1 in O'Shaughnessy Stadium on the Tommies' St. Paul campus. There's no advance ticket sale and no reserved seating -- all tickets go on sale at 11 a.m. The gates will open at 11 a.m. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students. Each gate will have a ticket line and an entrance line. There's room for several thousand fans to sit and stand outside of the main bleachers, and it's unlikely anyone will be turned away. St. Thomas pass holders -- and Tommie students, staff and faculty who can get in free with their St. Thomas IDs -- are advised to be in line at one of the entrance gates at 11 a.m. if they want a bleacher seat. Numerous St. John's fans will likely be in line waiting to buy tickets and enter when they go on sale. It's possible that all 5,000 seats could be occupied by noon.

The game will not be televised. The only live radio or live internet coverage will be on St. Cloud FM radio.

People can park in any St. Thomas campus lots (north campus or south campus) that are open, EXCEPT for handicapped spots, fire lanes, and designated reserved spaces. Some street parking will be available (next to the stadium on the east side of Cretin Avenue, and some along Summit Avenue). Other neighborhood parking may require a permit, so check signs carefully.
A parking ramp on the northeast corner of the field will cost $1 per hour (up to a $12 one-day maximum). To access that Morrison Hall ramp, enter from the north off Selby and Finn Avenues.

Here's a link to campus maps and directions:
see campus maps, directions to campus here

THIS SEASON: St. Thomas opened with a 21-19 loss at St. Norbert Sept. 6 in DePere. The Toms lost 40-6 at Bethel, Sept. 13 then bounced back to beat Hamline 54-0 at home Sept. 20 -- breaking a four-game losing streak dating back to last season. On Sept. 27, the Tommies gained 239 yards of offense but lost 51-3 at 18th-ranked UW-Stout. On Oct. 4, the Toms trailed 3-0 at halftime at home to St. Olaf before rallying for a 27-9 victory. On Oct. 11, the Toms had six turnovers and lost 21-0 to Gustavus. On Oct. 18, the Tommies led 14-7 at halftime over winless Carleton but pulled away late for a 35-13 win. Last Saturday, the Tommies scored a go-ahead touchdown with 6:00 to play but gave up a late TD and fell 17-14 at Augsburg.

TOUGH START: The Toms' five losses, all on the road, have come to teams with a combined 38-10 record vs. Division III opponents, including 8-0 Bethel and St. Norbert. Two of the defeats have come by a combined five points

HOME HELPS: The Tommies are 11-2 in their last 13 games at O'Shaughnessy Stadium. They finish the season with two home games -- Nov. 1 vs. St. John's and Nov. 8 vs. Concordia.

OUCH: The Tommies have lost three defensive starters to season-ending injuries.... Sophomore DB Tom Fritze, who tied a school record with 20 tackles (six solo, 14 assisted) in the Sept. 27 loss at Stout, is the latest injured Tommie. Fritze suffered a broken bone in his foot early in the St. Olaf game and likely is done for the season. Tommie senior LB John Kaiser, expected to be an All-America candidate, likely will return for a fifth year in 2004 after missing 2003 with a hamstring injury. Fifth-year OT Blake Norman returned Oct. 18 after missing four games with an injury.

RONEY ERA: In Roney's six seasons, the Tommies are 35-23, including a 35-15 record in conference play. Roney's teams are a combined 30-3 vs. Concordia, St. Olaf, Carleton, Augsburg, Hamline and Macalester. St. Thomas has not had a losing season in football since a 4-6 finish in 1994.

SINCE 1996: In MIAC football over the last eight seasons, St. Thomas has the third-best conference record at 49-19. St. John's (62-6) and Bethel (56-13) rank 1-2 in that span, followed by the Tommies, Concordia (43-26), Gustavus (41-28) and Augsburg (31-37).

GRADUATION: The 2002 Tommies graduated six players who scored 94 career touchdowns, including RB Jake Barkley, who broke a 25-year-old MIAC career rushing record. The Toms also graduated All-American DE Sean O'Leary.

YOUTH: St. Thomas has 26 freshmen and sophomores among its top 46 players on its two-deep. Eleven players in their first or second seasons started Saturday at Augsburg.

QB SWITCH: St. Thomas has had the luxury of having four consecutive three-year starters at quarterback since 1990 -- Tom Stallings, Chris Esterley, Greg Kaiser and Nick Ambrasas. This year, Lockrem, who only took a few snaps in varsity in 2002, won a crowded battle in preseason camp and played well in a 21-19 loss at St. Norbert. He missed the 40-6 loss to Bethel with an injury but returned to play well in the shutout of Hamline. Lockrem has had growing pains in his first season and in seven games has passed for 953 yards and four TDs with 12 interceptions. Sophomore transfer Kyle Sherwin replaced Lockrem in the fourth quarter at Augsburg and completed 10-of-13 passes for 109 yards and one TD.

CHEESEHEADS: Three key players for the Toms hail from Wisconsin -- senior RB Justin Kostner of Arcadia and soph RB/KR Walter Dosh of Green Bay Notre Dame, and starting soph DT Ben Kessler of Janesville. Kostner has 20 TDs and 2,694 all-purpose yards on his career, including 543 rushing yards in 2003 and 1,250-plus yards the last three seasons. Dosh, a transfer from Division II South Dakota State, has played three career games at home and has seven touchdowns in those games. He has six runs of 38-plus yards this season, including a 68-yard kickoff return, a 64-yard TD punt return and a 67-yard TD run. Dosh was named MIAC Offensive Player of the Week Oct. 6 after his second-half TDs of 24, 67 and 38 yards rallied the Tommies to victory.

NON-CONF. BLUES: St. Thomas has played a tough non-conference schedule and is just 2-12 outside the conference since 1992. That includes a 28-7 home loss to Stout in 2002; two close losses to St. Norbert (35-31 and 21-19); four losses to Division II Bemidji State from 1998-2001 (three by 10 or less points); and four losses to UW-River Falls from 1992-95.

TRACK TALENT: St. Thomas has eight football players who have contibuted to the Tommies' conference championship track and field team, including OT Matt McLaughlin and TE Peter Rosholt (throws); Kaiser and TE Tore Evenson (javelin); WR J.J. Kirby (high jump); DB Jason Larson (pole vault); DB Chris Mattke (400 hurdles/multi-event). St. Thomas has dominated MIAC indoor and outdoor track, winning all 19 indoor titles contested and winning 19 of the last 21 outdoor championships.

TURNOVERS: In its five losses, St. Thomas is minus-14 in turnover margin. In its three wins, UST is plus two.

MISCELLANEOUS: St. Thomas' final junior-varsity football game, originally set for Oct. 27 at home vs. Augsburg, has been cancelled. The Tommies finished 4-0 and outscored foes 170-38, including a 41-6 win over Bethel, which had beaten the Tommie JV four years in a row... The Tommies were flagged for just 24 penalties in their first six games but were called for 13 for 125 yards Oct. 18 vs. Carleton... The Toms also have allowed just 117 ypg in passing but will get its toughest test this week vs. St. John's... The Toms will open their 2004 season on the road vs. Coe (Iowa) College, and play Coe at home in 2005. That game will replace St. Norbert... Soph LB Andrew Ubbelohde, who missed the Sept. 27 UW-Stout game due to an ROTC commitment, has 85 tackles, an intercpetion, a forced fumble and a recovered fumble in seven games.