30 September 2023
St. Thomas needed a last-second goal-line stand to pull out a hard-fought 20-14 victory over Dayton in a Pioneer Football League game Saturday in Dayton, Ohio.
The Flyers had the ball at the Tommies’ 4-yard line with 10 seconds left on the clock. But on fourth down, St. Thomas’ Johnson Fallah snuck up behind wide-open receiver Joey Swanson in the end zone and batted away a pass from Dante Casciola, preventing a tying touchdown and preserving the Tommies’ 12th consecutive PFL victory.
St. Thomas (3-2 overall, 2-0 PFL) led 20-0 midway through the second quarter, but Dayton (2-3, 0-2) kept clawing its way back into the game.
Tommies quarterback Tak Tateoka completed 15 of 23 passes for 100 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
The St. Thomas defense got 13 tackles from Nick Hand and 12 from Jonathan Bunce, plus interceptions from Grif Wurtz and Kam In.
Bethel 37, Gustavus Adolphus 28
The Royals (2-2, 1-1 MIAC) scored 20 points in the final 5 minutes and 4 seconds to rally past the Gusties (1-3. 0-2) in Arden Hills, Minn. Michah Niewald scored on a 24-yard pass from George Bolt to put Bethel up 31-28 with 19 seconds left, then Isaac Call scored on a fumble recovery in the end zone as time expired to complete the Royals’ late rally.
St. John’s 27, Augsburg 24
Aaron Syverson completed 25 of 37 passes for 367 yards and four touchdowns to help the Johnnies (3-1, 2-0 MIAC), ranked No. 7 in Division III, slip past the Auggies (3-1, 1-1) in Minneapolis.
St. Scholastica 23, Macalester 17
Donald West passed for 166 yards, and Ashton Hain ran for 99 as the Saints (2-2, 1-1 MIAC) edged the Scots (2-2, 0-2) in St. Paul. Michael Poker caught nine passes for 68 yards to lead Macalester.
St. Olaf 49, Hamline 25
Jordan Embry rushed for 143 yards and three touchdowns, and Theo Doran passed for 253 yards and two touchdowns to lift the Oles (3-1, 2-0 MIAC) past the Pipers (2-2, 0-2) in St. Paul. Alejandro Villanueva completed 24 of 40 passes for 297 yards and two touchdowns for Hamline.
Concordia-St. Paul 37, Mary 34
Jaylin Richardson rushed for 172 yards on 20 carries as the Golden Bears (2-3, 1-3 NSIC) ran for 295 yards and five touchdowns as a team to survive a scare from the University of Mary (0-5, 0-5) at Sea Foam Stadium in St. Paul.
Valparaiso 16, SW Minn. State 15
Valparaiso (1-3), an FCS member of the Pioneer Football League, scored the final 16 points of the game to rally past Division II Southwest Minnesota State (1-4) in Valparaiso, Ind. The Beacons went ahead on Michael Appel’s 35-yard touchdown run with 5:14 left in the fourth quarter.
South Dakota 24, North Dakota State 19
Aidan Bouman combined with Carter Bell on two long touchdown passes, and South Dakota knocked off North Dakota State, ranked No. 2 in FCS, in Fargo, N.D. It was the Missouri Valley Football Conference opener for both teams. The win was the first for the Coyotes in Fargo since 2015.
South Dakota State 42, North Dakota 21
Isaiah Davis ran for 132 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries as the defending FCS national champion Jackrabbits (4-0, 1-0 MVFC) topped UND (2-2, 0-1) in Brookings, S.D.
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