St. Thomas (Minn.) rolls Monmouth

UST

Waldvogel

SAINT PAUL, MINN. — Colin Tobin rushed 39 times for 258 yards and Fritz Waldvogel added 319 all-purpose yards — all career highs — as St. Thomas (Minn.) (12-0) outscored the Fighting Scots of Monmouth (10-2) 28-0 in the second half of Saturday’s 38-10 victory in NCAA tournament action at O’Shaughnessy Stadium.

St. Thomas, who survived four turnovers, advances to the NCAA quarterfinal round for the third year in a row. 

The Tommie defense had five sacks, three by sophomore linebacker Tremayne Williams, who was making just his second career start. UST limited Monmouth’s Division III-leading offense to 241 total yards — half of their season average — including just four net rushing yards on 29 carries, and a 22% rate (4-of-18) on third- and fourth-down conversions.

UST has allowed just five touchdowns in its last eight games.

In the game’s first 10 minutes, St. Thomas lost a fumble on first-and-goal at the MC seven-yard line and also had an interception returned 46 yards to the Tommie 12-yard line. They were tied 10-10 at halftime despite outgaining Momnouth 312-71 in yards over the first 30 minutes of play.

Waldvogel opened the second half with a 100-yard kickoff return to the end zone for a 17-10 lead. It was the 10th career kick return touchdown for Waldvogel and it tied Stony Brook’s Chuck Downey (1984-87) for the second-most return TDs by a Division III player, behind the 13 recorded by Wesley’s Larry Beavers (2004-08).

Waldvogel, who also had 148 yards in receiving on six catches, rolled up his 319 all-purpose yards on just 14 touches. He surpassed 4,000 receiving yards and 7,000 all-purpose yards in the process. UST is now 13-0 all-time when Waldvogel has two or more TDs in a game.

Tobin, who rushed for 206 yards the previous week against St. Scholastica, had 189 yards at halftime. He scored two TDs and now had 10 in five career playoff games.