Sophomore quarterback Michael Rostberg crawls without his helmet into the end zone for a touchdown. St. Thomas defeated Black Hills State 24-14 on Saturday at O’Shaughnessy Stadium. (Eli Andersen/The Crest) 
Sophomore wide receiver Eli Paulson jukes past a defender for a big gain. (Eli Andersen/The Crest) 
A massive pile-up at Black Hills State’s goal line as players from both teams fought for the ball. (Eli Andersen/ The Crest) 
Tommies face intense pressure as they attempt a crucial play to continue their offensive drive. (Eli Andersen/ The Crest) 
Quarterback Rostberg smiles after securing a Tommie win with his third rushing touchdown of the game. (Eli Andersen/ The Crest)
Sophomore quarterback Michael Rostberg rushed for three touchdowns in the Tommies’ 24-14 win over Division II Black Hills State University Saturday at O’Shaughnessy Stadium.
Despite the three touchdowns, Rostberg threw 7-22 for only 72 yards, 39 of which came on one completion to sophomore receiver Eli Paulson. Sophomore quarterback Tak Tateoka also threw 1-5 late in the third quarter, continuing St. Thomas’ struggle to nail down the quarterback position.
“We should have completed four times as many balls and it might not have led to tons of yards… but you saw what happens when you get the ball out quick to Eli Paulson,” coach Glenn Caruso said.
“I think I can get the ball to receivers quicker. That was one thing that I tried to make emphasis on and today, I just didn’t think I really had that,” Rostberg said.
The pass to Paulson eventually led to Rostberg’s first one-yard touchdown rush. His second came when junior linebacker Charlie Boucher scooped up Jackets junior quarterback Luke Duby’s ball that was knocked out by senior defensive lineman Noah Friedt and returned it to the Yellow Jackets’ 1-yard line. All Rostberg needed was a push from his offensive line to get it in.
Despite these scores, the Tommies struggled to string together any long drives. Caruso said the offensive line played “below average,” a constant for the team’s first three games.
“O-line is like a glove. If you’ve got one finger cut off of the glove, you don’t have a cold finger, you’ve got a cold hand,” Caruso said, “And it’s five dudes that got to play well together, and we need to get better there.”
The Tommies lost senior running back Hope Adebayo to injury during the game. Graduate Defensive lineman C.J. Warren was carried off the field and senior linebacker Luke Herzog was visibly limping twice during the game.
This added to additional missing starters who were injured in the first two games, including junior running back Gabe Abel and sophomore D-lineman Emmanuel Olagbaju.
Caruso said that graduate receiver Jacob Wildermuth will be back “hopefully sometime.”
Multiple underclassmen took to the field to fill spots the injured players left throughout the game.
“I like to look those young guys in the eyes and be like, ‘we’re good,’” junior linebacker Ryan Sever said.
One of those underclassmen was first-year running back Joseph Koch, who rushed for 95 yards on 18 attempts in Abel and Adebayo’s absence. Koch also caught Tateoka’s only completion for 15 additional yards.
“Joey’s our fourth running back, but that’s where we are right now, so Joey’s going to have to step up to a starting role, and he matured, I think, throughout the game a little bit,” Caruso said.
Koch was against a starting Yellow Jackets defense of almost entirely upperclassmen.
“I don’t care who you are or where you play, if you have that senior-laden of a defensive group, it’s tough sledding,” Caruso said.
After junior kicker Stephen Shagen’s 45-yard field goal on the Tommies’ first drive, no teams scored for the rest of the quarter. The Jackets scored twice in the second quarter, including a 63-yard touchdown connection between Duby and junior running back Cam Goods. Rostberg’s two keeper touchdowns kept the Tommies just ahead.
Caruso said he was happy that they corrected the “massive failures” from the first half in the second half.
The Tommies sealed their win after a completely scoreless second half was broken by Rostberg’s final touchdown. After faking a handoff to Koch, Rostberg ran 23 yards and dove to the pylon for the final blow. Sever said it felt good to finally have a win.
For the first time since Nov. 18, the Tommies could ring the victory bell. Fans in their Military Appreciation Day camouflage hats sang the fight song in unison with the players.
“It’s a feeling that we haven’t felt in a long time. It was funny, we were kind of making fun of the freshmen because they didn’t know the school song when we won the game, which is how it usually is,” Sever said, “But it feels good. Vibes are high.”
After the team’s loss on Sept. 7, Caruso made sure to point out that he wasn’t happy with the result, but he was proud. Although he said he’ll never truly be, his feeling was closer to a new word: “satisfied.”
“Just too many mistakes and we’re going to have to find ways to correct them, because there’s no other guys coming out of the woodwork. Who we have in our locker room is who we have,” Caruso said.
The Tommies go on the road to play Lindenwood University at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21 in St. Charles, Missouri.
Adam Mueller can be reached at muel7541@stthomas.edu.