St. Thomas football ends season with 32-9 win over Dayton

Entering the 2024 season, St. Thomas football was picked to place second in the Pioneer Football League and even received a first place vote in the coaches’ poll.

By the final Saturday of the season, the Tommies needed a 32-9 win over the University of Dayton at O’Shaughnessy Stadium to end 6-6 and avoid the first losing season under coach Glenn Caruso.

In between, the Tommies lost their first game on campus since 2016 to Division II Sioux Falls, started conference play with a four-game win streak and slid through a three-game losing streak.

“Every year where we don’t win every game, I consider our resumes to be missing something, so the level of expectations is very, very high. I think the biggest thing for us is to keep things in perspective,” Caruso said.

Senior running back Hope Adebayo expressed disappointment at the season’s outcome but said what he’s received instead was so much better.

“In the long run, a championship would be good, but the brotherly love that we have for one another is going to surpass that in years to come,” Adebayo said.

Caruso said his class of seniors gave him perspective through the wins and losses of his 15th season leading the program.

“They’ve given of themselves to help us reach tremendous heights. Their legacy is probably not even known yet,” Caruso said.

Before the game, the team celebrated the seniors and their families as they walked across the field. Caruso said he’s long believed the best way to honor the 17 graduating members is in how they play on the field.

The team honored the seniors by cleaning up mistakes that had plagued the team throughout the season, especially during the team’s three-game skid entering Saturday’s game. The Tommies scored on three of their four red zone appearances and avoided special teams blunders that were becoming common.

“One of the things I love about our guys is that they stand up to their shortcomings and they’re willing to grow from them,” Caruso said, “Certainly we talk about it, but when you have kids with such a high football IQ, I don’t have to mention it. It’s very clear what our shortcomings are.”

St. Thomas’ offense did still struggle on third down, going 4-14, and sophomore quarterback Tak Tateoka was sacked three times for 27 yards. 

Tateoka had 136 yards passing, a touchdown to junior receiver Colin Chase and an interception. His performance capped off a year of uncertainty at the quarterback position after three different players fought for the spot.

Adebayo continued to anchor the Tommie scoring efforts, like he had all season, with two touchdowns and 123 net yards rushing. He ended his final year in purple with 1,137 yards, second-most in the conference, and nine touchdowns.

“There’s now 440 guys that graduated through the program the last 17 years. I don’t know if there’s another single young man who has sacrificed and given of himself more than Hope Adebayo,” Caruso said.

Adebayo expressed gratitude with those he had shared the backfield with during his 3,000-plus yard career at St. Thomas.

“I couldn’t be here without (senior full back Landon Norris). I couldn’t run plays without him, so (I’m) super grateful for him and just love his heart,” Adebayo said.

“Me and (junior running back Gabe Abel) had a conversation before the season started, knowing that we’re both competitive, but understanding that his accomplishments are my accomplishments, and my accomplishments are his,” Adebayo said, “Just having that brotherly love amongst one another, it definitely hurts that it’s our last game together.”

Graduate defensive back Grif Wurtz led the team with eight total tackles in his final game as a Tommie. His five-year career included the COVID-canceled 2020 season, the inaugural D-I season and the school’s first team conference championship in the D-I era.

“I’ve talked to almost everybody that’s coming back next year in my position group. I think I’ve had a hard time expressing my emotions to them,” Wurtz said, “I think just them watching how Hope and I and the other senior leaders on this team operate on a day-to-day basis is the biggest thing that I can leave them, and it will mean more than any words can.”

The junior class set out to prove that the defense will be in good hands next season. Linebackers Charlie Boucher and Jordan Pendleton combined for three sacks that resulted in a loss of 29 yards. Defensive backs Den Juette and Rod Finley each had an interception, while linebacker Ryan Sever added another and a forced fumble.

Younger players needing to step up had been a trend all year while the Tommies dealt with injuries to key players. Caruso said that 20 players that had been first- or second-string during the season were out against Dayton.

“(First-year) Marianao Birdno was really the only tight end. He came in as a sixth tight end, but number one, two, three and four were all out, and we needed to have someone else do it,” Caruso said.

Caruso said that he’ll always put importance on the off-field accomplishments and well-being of his team, and that his time as a football coach has given him so much perspective.

“You will never find a program that has … greater perspective than that locker room does. It just so happens that we have competitive guys that love each other and love football and winning games,” Caruso said.

Adam Mueller can be reached at muel7541@stthomas.edu.