A case can be made that St. Thomas’ opening Pioneer Football League game against the Stetson Hatters on Saturday at O’Shaughnessy Stadium was won in the first quarter. It also wouldn’t be a stretch to say that the Tommies spent the remainder of the afternoon doing just enough things right, as a 28-0 lead to turn into a 34-24 victory. Coach Glenn Caruso entered the game looking for consistency from a team that lost three of its first round games, and it proved elusive for at least another week despite the win. “Playing well is the ultimate goal,” Caruso said. “If we do that, the scoreboard takes care of itself. “Simple answer: Yes, we have to be more consistent.” Special teams and defense led the early charge with blocked punts on Stetson’s first two possessions and a pair of interceptions. The Tommies’ defense held Stetson to 56 yards of offense in the first half, and the rout appeared to be on as St. Thomas took a 31-3 into halftime. But the Hatters made a game of it from that point on, finishing with 304 yards of total offense to the Tommies’ 216. “We had a tougher time stopping them on defense in the second half,” Caruso said. “What we did well in the first half was change the quarterback’s internal clock a little bit. I think at halftime, they were able to get him reset. After then he placed some nice balls. “They attacked us vertically, and our pass rush didn’t get home as much. They did a nice job to go on two extended drives to get within 14 points.” The Tommies’ offense continued to appear out of sync, although it was buoyed by the return from injury by Hope Adebayo, who rushed for 95 yards on 19 carries. “You just have to keep doing the little things,” Adebayo said, when asked what the offense needs to do to get going. “We’re working on that, and we’ll get it figured out. We’re thankful for how the defense and special teams played today, but, yeah, we will get it figured out. “That’s a must.” Tak Tateoka started at quarterback for the Tommies. Michael Rostberg replaced him in the third quarter but left in the fourth quarter with what appeared to be a lower-leg injury. Tateoka finished 7 for 17 for 66 yards while also rushing for 41 yards. Rostberg missed on all three of his pass attempts and was sacked three times. Caruso said the quarterback play again was inconsistent, as he went on to detail three throws in the first half when open receivers were missed. “When you talk about consistency, that’s where it has to start,” Caruso said. “Just simply doing the routine things routinely. It’s going to be really tough sledding if we’re going to have to continue to manufacture ways to win like this. “You’re not going to count on three non-offensive touchdowns.” They certainly were welcome on Saturday. Matt Guggemos blocked the first punt at the Stetson 11-yard line and fell on the ball in the end zone. Logan Cassady blocked the second one at the Stetson 34 and ran the ball in for the score. The Hatters’ third possession of the game ended on an interception by Guggemos, giving the Tommies the ball at the Stetson 22. A 12-yard touchdown run by Adebayo gave the Tommies a 21-0 lead. The defense got on the board before the end of the first quarter when safety Ryan Calcagno returned an interception 65 yards for a touchdown. Caruso acknowledged that the coaches saw something on tape that gave them reason to believe that the Tommies could get to the Hatters’ punter. “The thing that was beautiful about the first punt block was that a formation that was not their normal punt,” Caruso said. “I loved that our guys didn’t panic, stuck with their base rules and getting off the ball. “The other things is that they didn’t come from the same area; one was from the kicker’s right and one came from the kicker’s back side. It’s nice to bring pressure from different places.” Related Articles College Sports | Tommies football running low on running backs College Sports | College football: St. Thomas beats Black Hills State College Sports | Tommies football turns to freshman QB Michael Rostberg to re-route 0-2 start College Sports | Northern Iowa escapes St. Thomas upset on a fortunate bounce College Sports | Tommies hope to bounce back against quality foe Northern Iowa after falling flat in opener