Area college football roundup: St. Thomas gets off to fast start with two blocked punts for touchdowns in victory over Stetson

St. Thomas recovered two blocked punts for touchdowns in the first five minutes and Ryan Calcagno added a 66-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter, sparking the Tommies to a 34-24 victory over Stetson in Pioneer League play on Saturday in St. Paul.

Matthew Guggemos recovered his block of a punt in the end zone in the first minute of the game. Four minutes later, Logan Cassady blocked a punt and returned it 13 yards for a TD and a 14-0 lead. Calcagno’s return gave the Tommies a 28-0 lead after a quarter.

The Hatters scored twice in the third quarter to pull within 31-17 but the Tommies held on.

Hope Adebayo rushed for 86 yards and a touchdown for the Tommies, who improved to 13-0 in Pioneer League contests at O’Shaughnessy Stadium since joining the league in 2021 and improved to 4-0 in the series with Stetson.

North Dakota State 41, North Dakota 17: Cam Miller passed for 168 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a TD and CharMar Brown rushed for 83 yards and a TD as the Bison, ranked No. 2 in FCS, topped the sixth-ranked Fighting Hawks in Fargo. A week after scoring 72 points in a victory over Murray State, North Dakota held to 267 yards of offense.

South Dakota State 41, Northern Iowa 3: Mark Gronowski threw for 223 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Jackrabbits past the host Panthers in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The top-ranked Jackrabbits forced four Northern Iowa turnovers and Noah Thompson returned a blocked punt 49 yards for a South Dakota State touchdown.

South Dakota 59, Murray State 0: The Coyotes rushed for 361 yards and six touchdowns as they ran past the Racers in Murray, Ky. Travis Theis rushed for 132 yards and two TDs and Charles Pierre ran for three TDs for the Coyotes.

Sioux Falls 40, Minnesota State Mankato 36: The host Mavericks, ranked fourth in Division II, lost for the first time this season, falling to the Cougars, who got 304 passing yards and four touchdown passes from Camden Dean.

Minnesota State Mankato, which trailed 30-9 in the third quarter, scored with 4:17 left to pull within four and got the ball back on its own 18-yard line with 67 seconds left. The Mavericks drove to the Cougars 14 before time expired.

Hayden Ekern passed for 317 yards and three TDs for the Mavericks.

Augustana 28, Minnesota Duluth 24: Gunnar Hensley’s 23-yard TD pass to Jack Fisher with 56 seconds remaining rallied the Vikings past the Bulldogs in Sioux Falls, S.D. UMD drove to the Augustana 9-yard line before its final drive stalled.

Concordia (St. Paul) 19, Mary 13 (2OT): Jaylin Richardson scored on a 7-yard run in the second overtime to lift the Golden Bears in Bismarck, N.D. Each team kicked a field goal in the first OT. Richardson ran for 188 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to tie the score at 10-10.

Northern State 14, Bemidji State 13: The Beavers, ranked No. 16 in Division II, scored a touchdown with six seconds remaining, but the host Wolves stopped the two-point attempt to hold on for the victory in Aberdeen, S.D.

Winona State 33, Minnesota State Moorhead 6: The Warriors rushed for 288 yards and had the ball for 36:50 to top the visiting Dragons. Jackson Flottmeyer threw a TD pass and rushed for 87 yards for Winona State.

St. Scholastica 30, Macalester 28: Jacob Andrews’ short field goal in the closing seconds capped a frenzied final two minutes and lifted the Saints past the Scots in Duluth.

The Saints drove 71 yards in five plays to the Scots 4-yard line in the final minute, setting up Andrews’ kick. The Scots had scored 15 points in the final two minutes to take a 28-27 lead with 45 seconds left. After pulling within 27-20 with 66 seconds to play, St. Scholastica recovered an onside kick.

St. John’s 45, Augsburg 20: Aaron Syverson threw four TD passes — three to Dylan Wheeler — as the host Johnnies, ranked No. 5 in Division III, pulled away from the Auggies in Collegeville to remain unbeaten. Caden Wheeler rushed for 136 yards and a TD for the Johnnies, who scored twice in the final seven minutes of the first half for a 28-14 halftime lead and then extended the lead to 38-14 in the fourth quarter. Marcus Freeman threw for 249 yards and three TDs for Augsburg.

Bethel 43, Gustavus Adolphus 0: Aaron Ellingson ran for three touchdowns and Cooper Drews threw two TD passes to lead the Royals past the host Gusties.

Concordia (Moorhead) 31, Carleton 6: Cooper Mattern threw three TD passes and Jaiden Musse returned an interception 55 yards for a TD as the visiting Cobbers rolled in Northfield.

St. Olaf 41, Hamline 6: Theo Doran passed for 257 yards and two TDs and rushed for three more scores and the host Oles had 521 yards of offense against the Pipers.

Martin Luther 21, Minnesota-Morris 14: Rees Roecker scored on a 4-yard run with five seconds left to lift the host Knights over the Cougars. Roecker’s TD capped a six-play, 38-yard drive set up by Joey Ehlke’s interception with 1:51 to play.

Northwestern (Roseville) 69, Crown 14: Cade Cantrell passed for 258 yards and six touchdowns and Sivert Klefsaas rushed for 149 yards and a TD to lead the host Eagles.