Tommies cruise to big victory in opener

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Senior TE Charlie Dowdle caught touchdown passes of 36, 38 and 71 yards and senior CB Jordan Young returned an interception a school-record 100 yards to the end zone as the No. 14-ranked Tommies (1-0) rolled past the host Blugolds (0-1) in Saturday night's non-conference football play in Eau Claire, Wis.

Tommie senior QB John Gould completed 15-of-27 passes for 335 yards and halfbacks Jordan Roberts and Jack Kaiser each had two TD runs. Dowdle caught four passes for 209 yards.

Young was starting his first game on defense and recorded his first touchdown.

The Tommie offense punted just twice and had no turnovers. It raced to a 38-0 halftime lead.

The UST defense had four takeaways while limiting the Blugolds to 240 yards of offense. Ten different Tommie defenders recorded either a sack, a forced fumble, an interception or a recovered fumble.

Senior PK Paul Graupner made both field-goal tries, including a 51-yarder, and added six touchbacks on kickoffs.

Coach Glenn Caruso improved to 8-0 in season-openers and 15-0 in regular-season non-conference play.

The Toms play their home opener Sept. 12 at O'Shaughnessy Stadium against UW-LaCrosse, which edged Luther in its 2015 opener.