Caruso's Tommies make great strides toward another title game

The last football season before coach Glenn Caruso came to St. Thomas was in 2007. The Tommies finished 2-8 that fall. They had their first 0-4 start since 1969 before getting their only two wins against Carleton and Augsburg. 

Now in 2015, the Tommies (14-0) are headed to their second Division III national championship game in four years. What a difference a few seasons, and a new coach, can make. 

Caruso was hired in January 2008, a news conference I, the school newspaper's sports editor, missed attending because I was studying abroad in London for the month. He turned things around right away, with a 7-3 record in 2008 (my senior semester on campus). This included a heartbreaking 12-9 home loss to rival St. John's; I remember that blown touchdown call like it was yesterday. 

Preparing for kickoff versus Linfield.

Anyway, 2009 saw great strides as well. An 11-2 team that lost only to St. John's in overtime and then to Linfield 31-20 in the DIII quarterfinals. 

2010: 12-1, with a 10-0 regular season. 

2011: 13-1, getting shutout 20-0 by DIII powerhouse UW-Whitewater in the semifinals. 

2012: 14-1, losing to dominant force Mount Union 28-10 in the title game, the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl. 

2013: 8-2, and a down year, if you want to call it that, with losses to St. John's and Bethel. 

2014: 8-3, again losing to St. John's and Bethel, and also to Wartburg in the first round of the playoffs. 

A milestone game

Saturday's game in St. Paul versus Linfield (Ore.) (12-1) marked game No. 100 for Caruso at St. Thomas.

The semifinal was a solid enough test for St. Thomas, but it still won by three touchdowns, 38-17. The Tommies got off to a quick start, coasting to a 20-0 lead in the first quarter. With a team that averages around 50 points a game and gives up around 10, it looked like the route was on, right? 

Well, not exactly. Linfield made some adjustments in the second quarter to stifle the Tommie offense a little bit. It was 23-3 at the break. 

Things were slow in the second half, too, as the defenses for both teams took control. The Wildcats were within striking distance, but the Tommies put up a couple fourth-quarter touchdowns to seal the deal. Turnovers, as they often are, were key elements to the game. Linfield handed the ball over five times, compared to just two turnovers for St. Thomas. After all, a fumble recovery deep in Linfield territory made the game 20-0 with three minutes to play in that first quarter. Then the teams traded fumbles back-to-back. 

Tommie touchdown!

Keys to the game

The other turnover for the Tommies was an interception, but it was on fourth down around midfield. Basically, if you're going to throw an interception, that wasn't a terrible spot for it. 

If you want to find a spot to critique, St. Thomas could clean up the penalties just a touch. I'm mostly thinking of the three delay of game penalties they took Saturday. But there were others. For instance, late in the first half they had a 2nd-and-36 play thanks to some penalties. They survived and got a field goal out of the deal.

Linfield was focused on the passing game, with 290 passing yards. St. Thomas threw for 55 yards, but its game is all about the run, with 389 yards. And how about St. Thomas junior runningback Jordan Roberts? The lad rushed for 256 yards on 33 carries. For those keeping track, he increased his totals to 1,957 yards for the season. That's good enough to be the leading rusher in school history. The previous record was 1,861 yards in 1990 set by Gary Trettel. Roberts also leads Division III in scoring. 

So yeah, Roberts is a good football player. If you like understatements.

The Mount-umentous task ahead

Next up: The NCAA DIII title game Friday in Salem, Va. to face Mount Union in the Stagg Bowl. Mount Union is in a class all its own when it comes to football. This will be the 11th straight appearance in the Stagg Bowl for the powerhouse. They're No. 1 in points scored with 53.6 while St. Thomas is No. 2 with 52.5.

As good as St. Thomas is, the past few years have shown that Mount Union, and the other semifinalist UW-Whitewater, take DIII football to a whole new level of greatness. Dominant doesn't seem like a strong enough word. But with a title game experience under their belts, let's hope the Tommies can come through with a victory. 

From 2-8 before 2008, to national champions in 2015. What a mark that would be for Coach Caruso's pride-and-passion-filled bunch.

Me and my friend Amy at the semifinal game Saturday.