Division II-member Sioux Falls stymies St. Thomas in 34-13 season-opening win

Published Aug. 30, 2024 1:32 a.m. ET

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ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Division II-member Sioux Falls got two rushing touchdowns from Dylan Rudningen and the Cougars shut down the St. Thomas-Minnesota offense in a 34-13 season-opening win on Thursday night.

The Tommies' loss brought their nation-long 31-game home winning streak to an end.

The Cougars, known for their four NAIA national championships before moving to Division II in 2012, outgained St. Thomas 393-172 in total offense. The Tommies had only three first downs through three quarters and were 1 for 13 on third down for the game.

Sioux Falls took an 11-7 lead at halftime, after Camden Dean's 1-yard run plus a two-point conversion and a 30-yard field goal by Nick Hernandez.

The Cougars pushed their lead to 18-7 when Matt Grzybowski ran 3 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. St. Thomas got within 18-13 on a strip sack and 5-yard fumble return by C.J. Warren to make it 18-13 but the Cougars' Brendan Holt recovered a fumble on the two-point try and returned it 90 yards for a defensive two-point conversion.

Sioux Falls added Rudningen's two short touchdown runs to put the game away in the fourth quarter. He finished with 67 yards on 23 carries.

Dean completed 17 of 29 passes for 189 yards and was intercepted once.

Two St. Thomas quarterbacks combined to go 14 of 35 for 150 yards with a touchdown and in interception.

The Tommies took an early 7-0 lead when an interception by Branden Smith set up a 25-yard touchdown pass from Tak Tateoka to Jacob Wildermuth. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

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