St. Thomas picked up its third Pioneer Football League win in a 35-13 game against the Marist Red Foxes Saturday at Tenney Stadium in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
The Tommies (6-2, 3-1 PFL) had a slow start against the Red Foxes (4-4, 3-1), falling behind 7-0 in the first quarter after a 22-yard touchdown pass from graduate quarterback Sonny Mannino to redshirt first-year receiver Jayden Taylor. However, they tied the game up at the beginning of the second quarter with a surprising fake field goal, resulting in a rushing touchdown by sophomore wide receiver Stefano Giovannelli.
From the second quarter on, the Tommies controlled all facets of the game, scoring another 28 points while allowing only six.
Coach Glenn Caruso praised the team’s ability to move on after its mistakes in the first quarter.
“Really happy with how we stubbed our toe early on all three phases, and rebounded very quickly on all three phases,” Caruso said.
The Tommie offense was once again led by dominant performances from graduate running back Gabe Abel, who rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns, and redshirt first-year quarterback Nick Peipert. Peipert had 275 total yards and two touchdowns, including a 38-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Quentin Cobb-Butler in the fourth quarter.
Caruso said that Abel “ran with authority.” He also mentioned that he had spoken to NFL scouts about Abel’s success.
“He’s just running with a vision combined with a toughness that is just so rare. He’s doing all the things,” Caruso said.
The Tommies abandoned their explosive offensive model from past games, moving the ball with mainly short and quick plays. That allowed them to dominate in time of possession, with nearly 40 minutes in control of the ball.
Caruso said he was pleased with the team’s ability to adapt to a different play style.
“I think even though it wasn’t the sexiest performance of offense, I think it showed huge growth and maturity,” Caruso said.
The Tommie defense dominated the game physically, allowing the Red Foxes just 57 rushing yards. St. Thomas also had an aggressive pass rush, chalking up sacks from junior linebackers Nash Tichy and Brent Rowe, with sophomore linebacker Will Seymour and junior defensive lineman Walker Owens combining for a third.
“We saw a lot of pressure from Seymour, from Boucher, from Tichy. But the defensive line, Owens, DiLeonardi, the push to get in the backfield. I thought the defense was flying around,” Caruso said.
The Tommies are now in a four-way tie for first in the PFL with Marist, Dayton and Butler, and will face off against the Davidson Wildcats in their next conference game at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31, at O’Shaughnessy Stadium.
Jackson Geibig can be reached at geib347@stthomas.edu.
