On Friday, October 2nd, the St. Thomas Eagles ushered in the new month with a win over the Lutheran South Academy Pioneers, putting up 19 points to LSA’s 14. 

“As we have reflected this past game, we have reviewed how the win was a full team effort across the board,” shared Head Coach Ray Davis.

On Offense, the Eagles put up:

527 total yards of offense

128 yards passing

399 yards rushing

Senior QB1 Pierce Jacobson had 23 attempts for 189 yards; Myles Stewart followed his lead with 17 attempts for 170 yards and two touchdowns. Luke Garcia finished the game with four attempts for 33 yards, and Da’Metries Pittman with two attempts for seven yards.

Junior Dylan Ayal secured a shoutout from Coach Davis and a crucial fourth down catch as time expired at the end of the first half. 

“Our ability to convert eight of twelve third downs helped us keep our offense on the field and reduce their high powered offense getting that field time,” Davis shared. “We totally outmatched them in the number of plays–74 to 43.”

Coming into the game, the Pioneers were the leading rushing team in the entire TAPPS conference, averaging 50.5 points a game. The Eagles held them to 14, with only 51 yards rushing. 

Stand-outs on Defense were Jonathon Marsack, Dayton Dix, and Logan Debose. The leading tackler for the defense was Pryce Cravens.  

A highlight of the game was sophomore Carter Texera’s sky kick–a high kickoff intended to limit return yardage and force a shorter return–that the Pioneers mishandled, leading to an Eagle recovery from Ryan Nowak ‘28. 

With only half of the fourth quarter remaining, and the Eagles down 13-14, that tricky kick-off and quick action from Nowak was a turning point for the Eagles. The St. Thomas squad then marched down the field and scored their third touchdown of the night, securing the win. 

“It gave our team a lot of energy and confidence,” Nowak shared. “It was an amazing feeling knowing that the recovery helped put us in position to win the game.”