The Valparaiso University football team got a first-quarter rushing score from Ryan Mann (Vernon Hills, Ill. / Vernon Hills [Northern Illinois]) and an impressive touchdown catch from Jack Coulson (Boca Raton, Fla. / Olympic Heights [Kent State / Holy Cross]), but the Beacons were on the wrong end of a 42-14 score against St. Thomas on Saturday afternoon at Brown Field.
 
How It Happened

• After both teams punted on their opening drives, St. Thomas got on the board with a 74-yard touchdown completion from quarterback Tak Tateoka to Colin Chase.
• The Beacons put together a response, going 61 yards on seven plays for a touchdown drive that culminated with a Mann four-yard burst to tie the game at seven with 3:00 left in the first quarter. Mann had a 15-yard run earlier in that drive, and Michael Appel Jr. (Springboro, Ohio / Springboro) hooked up with Jack Coulson (Boca Raton, Fla. / Olympic Heights [Kent State / Holy Cross]) for a 13-yard pass to move the ball inside the 5-yard line and set up the Mann score.
• A 44-yard catch by Eli Paulson set up the Tommies at the 1-yard line, and Hope Adebayo plunged in from a yard out to put the guests in front 14-7 with 11:17 left in the second quarter.
• The Tommies forced and recovered a fumble, taking over at the Valpo 23. On the second play of the ensuing drive, a 17-yard TD grab by Jac Wildermuth widened the gap to 21-7 with 9:10 left of second-quarter time.
• Another fumble recovery set the Tommies up with another short field, and they took advantage with a 1-yard TD run by Gabriel Abel to extend the lead to 28-7 with 7:07 left until halftime. That stood as the halftime score.
• The two teams exchanged punts throughout the third quarter with neither squad cracking the scoreboard. Valpo broke through early in the fourth with the first scoring of the second half by either team as Coulson made a nice grab on a 30-yard pass from Caron Tyler (Temecula, Calif. / Chaparral) for a touchdown to make it 28-14 with 12:27 to play.
• The two-score game was short-lived as St. Thomas used just 2:19 to march 77 yards for a score to make it 35-14 with 10:01 on the clock. Adebayo had all 77 yards on the drive with runs of 49, 20 and 5 before a 3-yard TD. The Tommies tacked on one more score on a 44-yard rush by Joseph Koch with 3:59 remaining to account for the final margin.

Inside the Game

• Coulson's impressive catch represented a bright spot and marked his first score in a Valpo uniform. After entering the day with two catches for 12 yards, Coulson produced four grabs for a team-high 54 yards against the Tommies.  
• Mann had a season-high 69 rushing yards on 17 carries. His touchdown was his first of the season and the fourth of his career.
• After missing Valpo's previous game with an injury, Jake Birmingham (River Forest, Ill. / Oak Park and River Forest) returned to the field and registered a season-high 11 tackles including five solos. He tied a career high for tackles set way back on Nov. 5, 2022, also against St. Thomas.
• Redshirt senior Camari Harris (Fort Wayne, Ind. / Bishop Luers [Akron / Northern Illinois]) collected eight tackles, representing a season high. He entered the game with 10 total for the season.
• Redshirt senior Sam Johnson (Birmingham, Ala. / Oak Mountain [Jackson State / Alabama]) booted eight punts for 404 yards, averaging 50.5 yards per punt. Five of his eight punts traveled 50+ yards including a long of 57.  
• Junior Jeffery Vercher (Nashville, Tenn. / Franklin Road Academy) had six kickoff returns for 146 yards with a long of 44.
• Redshirt junior Ryan Hawk (Columbus, Ohio / Bishop Hartley) went 2-for-2 on PATs, improving to 9-for-9 this season.
• Valpo produced 244 yards of total offense, more than its previous two PFL games combined, but was hurt by three turnovers, losing the turnover battle 3-0.
• The Tommies racked up 424 yards of total offense, split almost exactly down the middle between rushing (213) and passing (211).
• St. Thomas improved to 20-1 in its last 21 PFL games. Valpo's two league home games so far this season were against the teams picked first and second in the PFL preseason poll, but it doesn't get much easier at Brown Field as the two remaining games are against the teams picked third and fourth.

Postgame Press Conference
Click here for postgame press conference.
 
Up Next
Valpo (2-5, 0-3 PFL) will visit Marist next week in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. The game will kick off at 11 a.m. CT and air on ESPN+.