St. Thomas Football Notes/Sept. 8

September 8, 2005
FIRST GAME: The University of St. Thomas (0-0) opens its 2005 football season Saturday Sept. 10 at home vs. Coe College (1-0). Kickoff is 1 p.m. in O'Shaughnessy Stadium. It's Neighborhood Day, and St. Paul residents can look for coupons in this week's Highland Villager for free admission and food discounts... A crowd in the range of 2,500 is likely in the 5,000-seat stadium... Tickets are $7 for adults and $3 for students, and gates open at noon.

STUDENTS: St. Thomas students, faculty and staff are admitted free to all home regular-season sporting events with their school ID card.

ON AIR?: At present, St. Thomas will not air its 2005 football games on radio as it did in 2004. Some Tommie games will be available on radio or the internet through the opponent's stations and websites. Coe will broadcast the game back to Iowa.

PALMER FIELD: It's year two on the new artificial turf, which was named Palmer Field in honor of donors Bill and Art Palmer. The Tommies were 3-1 on Palmer Field last year and play five on-campus games in 2005. The Tommies are 14-5 in their last 19 games in O'Shaughnessy Stadium.

QUICK FACT: Dating back to last season, Coe has won five in a row while UST has won six of its last seven games.

LAST YEAR: In the first football meeting between the institutions, St. Thomas scored 21 second-quarter points and held on to win 21-12 in Cedar Rapids. To see a web story on last year's game, click here: see story here

NEXT WEEK: Both teams have tough road tests in conference play -- Coe at Central, and St. Thomas at defending MIAC champion Concordia-Moorhead.

CHARTING COE: Coe started its season last week at home with a 49-7 win over Westminster (Mo.). The Kohawks outgained Westminster 414-167 yards and capitalized on four turnovers by the vistors. Coe scored on seven consecutive possessions in a 19-minute mid-game stretch. Sophomore RB Neil Suckow did most of his damage as a receiver and scored three TDs. Three Coe QBs combined to complete 16-of-22 pass attempts with no interceptions... Coe won its final four games of 2004 -- including two in overtime -- to finish 7-3 and share the Iowa Conference title... The Kohawks graduated three-year all-conference QB Joe Brannen but return more than a dozen starters... Coe has seniors and juniors at 21 of its 24 starting spots... 79 of Coe's 94 players are Iowans... Coe is 23-10 since the start of the 2002 season.

THE COACHES: Coe's Erik Raeburn is 35-18 in his fifth season, with conference co-championships in 2002 and 2004. He was a starting linebacker and later a coach in the 1990s at Division III power Mount Union (Ohio)... St. Thomas' Don Roney starts his eighth season with a 42-27 record (41-19 in MIAC games). Roney has six new assistant coaches in 2004 -- Dan Green returned to the staff after being head coach at Osseo High the last two seasons; ex-Tommie linebacker Blane Tetreault (224 tackles in three seasons) joined the staff as a full-time coach after working the last couple of seasons as a graduate coach at Division III power Rowan (N.J.)... ex-Richfield High coach Dan Fogelson has been on the Hamline staff the last three seasons; Eric Longtin has been head coach at Irondale High the last two seasons; Tim Fischer is a UST Athletic Hall of Famer who played on the Toms' last outright conference champion team in 1983; and Roger Velasquez has coached at several college and prep programs including Concordia-St. Paul and Augsburg.

DID YOU KNOW?: The Toms' 2004 win at Coe was the school's first season-opening win since 1997; first non-conference road win since 1990; and first win in the state of Iowa since 1959. UST had lost 12 of its last 14 non-conference games before that victory, although most of the losses to Bemidji State, UW-River Falls, St. Norbert and UW-Stout was close games.

GREAT GAINS: St. Thomas had Division III football's fourth-best improvement in won-loss record from 2003 to 2004. The Tommies rebounded from a 3-7 slate in 2003 to close the 2004 season 7-2 -- a plus-4.5 gain. Only Carthage (Wis.) (plus-6.5), and Puget Sound and Texas Lutheran (plus-5) had better shifts... The 2004 Tommies had a six-game, mid-season winning streak, and won five games by a combined 29 points. They posted five comeback victories (two late in the fourth-quarter), and won another game on an interception in overtime.

BIG PLAY WATCH: After finishing minus-11 in turnovers vs. opponents in 2003, last year's Toms closed at plus-15 in turnovers to rank among the Division III leaders... Big plays made -- and big plays denied -- were huge. The Toms' defense and special teams chipped in six touchdowns. UST allowed just two pass completions of more than 26 yards and only one touchdown of more than 25 yards. The 2004 Tommies allowed just 265 ypg and ranked third nationally in pass efficiency defense. They allowed just seven second-half touchdowns in nine games.

BIG SQUAD: Roney has his largest roster to date, accented by youth. Of the 114 players, just 14 are seniors in eligibility. The list includes 47 true freshmen. The 61 returning letterwinners include 16 of 24 players with full-or part-time starting experience (nine on offense, seven on defense)... 97 of the Toms' 114 players are Minnesotans... UST has five junior-varsity games with the first Sunday Sept. 11 at Hamline (7 p.m.)... Of the near 50 players on UST's 2-deep chart (starters/backups), there are 22 players from the last recruiting class.

CONSISTENCY: Despite a tough schedule, UST will look to reach or surpass six victories for the 18th time in the last 25 seasons. UST's .607 all-time winning percentage ranks 21st in Division III.

CHASE FOR 500: In fact, St. Thomas (494-314-34 in 100 seasons) needs six wins to join the Minnesota Gophers (616) and St. John's (517) as just the third Minnesota collegiate football team to reach 500 all-time victories.

STEADY: UST's offensive optimism starts with junior QB Ryan Jansen, an Academic All-America candidate with a 4.00 grade-point average in Electrical Engineering. Jansen was 6-0 as a starter last season before losing 21-0 at St. John's in the season finale. A threat as a runner or passer, Jansen brought stability as the UST offense had only three turnovers in its last five games of 2004. He'll play behind an offensive line with experience players at five of six spots from tight end to tackle... Also back at QB is senior Justin Lockrem, the 2003 starter who has 11 career starts and has thrown for 1,544 yards with seven TD passes on his career.

RUNNERS: Senior Joe Lepsche (13 catches, 107 yards) returns as starting fullback and will be pushed by junior Jake Braegelmann, who sat out last season with an injury... Tailback candidates include freshman Jake Casey and sophomores John Azman and Danny Brees. Casey sat out the last two seasons. He was honorable mention all-state as an option quarterback and running back at White Bear Lake. Azman scored four touchdowns in the 2003 Prep Bowl to lead Totino-Grace to the Minnesota Class 4A championship. He rushed nine times for 57 yards as a UST freshman.

RECEIVERS: Junior P.J. Theisen (55 receptions, 831 yards, 15.1 ypc, 3 TDs over last two seasons), and senior Joel Korte (Career: 53 rec., 635 yards, 12.0 ypc, 3 TD) lead the returning wideouts. In track and field, Theisen (400, 400 hurdles, long jump) is a three-time All-American and has 11 top-two finishes in conference championship meets. Junior Ian Lewis and senior J.J. Kirby add experience, and several freshmen are pushing for time. Receiver Jay Greavu was switched tom defensive back to help the depth there... Top returning tight ends are senior Billy Schreiber (6-4, 225), who had three TDs, 23 catches for 253 yards (11.0 ypc) in the last two seasons; junior Peter Rosholt (6-4, 220), who had seven catches for 64 yards in 2004; and junior Jake Miller (6-4, 220). Rosholt is a two-time MIAC track and field runner-up in the hammer throw.

UP FRONT: The skill players will operate behind an offensive line that returns six blockers with starting experience from tight end to tackle. Juniors Sam Friederichs (6-2, 245) and Ben Hanson (6-3, 250) and sophomore Greg Graham (6-3, 270) have all started at tackle, and sophomore Graham Gmach (6-2, 255) is back at guard. Schreiber and Rosholt have both started at tight end. Sophomore Pat Cahalan (6-0, 230) of Cretin-Derham Hall will start at center.

All-AMERICAN CALIBER: On defense, St. Thomas boasts two senior All-America candidates in linebacker Andrew Ubbleohde and tackle Ben Kessler... Ubbelohde (6-0, 210) is a Marine ROTC student who spent six weeks of his 2005 summer in boot camp in Virginia. He's been a terror when healthy with 172 tackles in 15 games as a starter in 2003 and 2004. He had 4.5 sacks last season in six games... Kessler has played in 27 career game with 118 tackles, 18 sacks, 29 tackles for loss, three fumble recoveries, three forced fumbles and a blocked kick. The 6-2, 250-pound Kessler is a CoSIDA Academic All-American with a 4.00 gpa in Business and Philosophy and an even grander career goal -- he plans to become a Catholic priest.

OTHER DEFENSIVE KEYS: Junior tackle Mike Rouse (6-2, 280), junior DEs Mike Hara (6-0, 235) and Danny Reisenauer (6-3, 250); seniors Tom Murphy and Tom Fritze and soph Mike Odom at OLB and safety; sophomore Matt Jones at linebacker; and senior Nick Navarro and junior Justin Nwadiashi at cornerback add speed and athleticism to the defense

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN: UST must replace two starting cornerbacks, two starting safeties and two linebackers. They lose 40 career interceptions with the graduations of Matt Meunier (nine pickoffs), Paul Sommerstad (8), Steve Groth (8), John Kaiser (5), Jeremy Krentz (4), David Rains (3) Joe Skaja (2) and Dustin Peltier (1).

NEW KICKERS: Freshman Eric Taylor will handle placekicking duties. He was an all-conference placekicker for his 10-3, district-champion team last season in San Rafael, Calif.... Sophomore Taylor Thompson of Apple Valley will debut as punter.

NEWCOMERS ADD DEPTH: Eric Taylor, who also plays running back, is part of a balanced recruiting class, including seven incoming freshmen who were named honorable mention all-state in Minnesota. Three of that group played in the 2005 Minnesota high school all-star game - running backs Kyle Jepson (5-9, 190) of Woodbury and Mikkel Haugen (5-9, 180) of Kenyon-Wanamingo, and lineman Pat Mooney (5-10, 265) of St. Agnes. Jepson also placed fifth at state track in the Class AA 100 meters as a senior. DB Nick Shannon of Fargo played in two state all-star games in North Dakota... Other promising in-state recruits include Rocori QB David Sauer (6-4, 180), a football-baseketball standout who threw for 4,418 yards and 24 touchdowns the last two seasons; DT Jared Rasmussen (6-0, 260) of Anoka; LB Alex Falenczykowski (6-1, 215) of Benilde-St. Margaret; and WR Rollie Cassilas (6-1, 200) of Henry Sibley... Blake Eyberg, listed as a backup at tackle on offense, played at Iowa power West Des Moines Valley... Freshman Billy Lepsche of Woodbury, brother of starter Joe, is also listed as a second-team offensive lineman.

SERIES ENDS: Saturday's game will conclude a two-year arrangement between UST and Coe. The Tommies will face Loras (Iowa) in 2006 and 2007 in Coe's place.

SCHEDULE QUIRKS: In a quirk in the Toms' schedule, their first two foes (Coe, Concordia) played Sept. 3, and thus started practice one week before UST. Also, opponents Concordia, Gustavus and St. John's each has a bye the Saturday before it faces St. Thomas.

MIAC NOTES: UST's last postseason trip was 1990 when it shared the conference title with Concordia. In the last 48 seasons, the Tommies have just one outright MIAC football championship (1983), along with three shared conference titles... The Tommies are 61-26 in conference play over last 10 seasons, including a 41-19 MIAC record in Roney's era. Only St. John's (77-9-1) and Bethel (66-21) have better conference marks in that span. Concordia is fourth at 59-27-1.

BONUS POINTS: Of the 2004 Toms' six defensive or special teams touchdowns, one was on a punt return, another on a kick return, another came after a blocked punt and three came on interception returns. UST had only three special teams or defensive TDs in the previous four seasons combined.

RUSH WEEK: St. Thomas running backs have had 100-yard rushing performances 43 times over the last 13 seasons (20 by Jake Barkley from 1999-02).

OPEN DATE: The Toms again play just nine regular-season games -- they have an open date Oct. 8 in the slot previously occupied by independent Macalester.