ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Gustavus football team closed out its 2017 road schedule with a 58-7 loss at the No. 4-ranked University of St. Thomas Saturday afternoon. The Tommies limited the Gusties to just one touchdown and outmatched the Gustavus defense with a balanced offensive attack.
St. Thomas set the tone early with two rushing touchdowns to take a 14-point lead after the first quarter and kept rolling from then on out.
The Gusties were able to get on the board in the second quarter, breaking the shutout at the 12:41 mark of the second quarter. Josh Kirk (So., Garvin, Minn.) ran in the score from 12 yards out to cut the Tommie lead to 14-7.
From then on, St. Thomas compiled 44-straight points, totaling 550 yards of total offense. The Tommies also sacked Gustie quarterback Hunter Johnson (Sr., Cannon Falls, Minn.) seven times to limit Gustavus to one yard of total offense.
Casey Decker (Sr., Mapleton, Minn.) registered career-high punt totals, tallying 11 punts for 409 yards, including a career-long 59-yard boot. Drew Fredericksen (Sr., Forsyth, Ill.) and Tamir Beeler (Fy., Roseville, Minn.) paced the defensive unit with eight tackles each.
Gustavus wraps up the 2017 season next Saturday, hosting Carleton College during senior day at Hollingsworth Field.