Change launches Wartman, Tommies on a two-year roll

When Ben Wartman arrived at St. Thomas in the fall of 2007, he was immediately switched from running back, a position he had played since youth football, to receiver in the Tommies' wide-open spread offense.

"I'm not going to say I was completely happy, but it was a chance to get on the field,'' Wartman said. "We didn't run the ball that much back then anyway.''

The Tommies weren't that good, either, going 2-8 in Don Roney's final season as coach. Glenn Caruso moved from head coach at Macalester to St. Thomas in 2008, and one of the new coach's first moves was to move Wartman back to running back.

It was a decision that has helped propel the current best two-season turnaround in Division III football. The Tommies went 7-3 in Caruso's first season. This fall, they are 10-1 and have advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs, where they will host Coe College on Saturday. Coe upset St. John's 34-27 last Saturday, wiping out a possible rematch between the MIAC archrivals.

The move of Wartman back to running back was an easy one for Caruso to make. Caruso tried hard to recruit Wartman to Macalester out of Prior Lake High School, and he nearly succeeded. Wartman said he liked the coach but felt it imprudent to select his college based primarily on a coach.

A year later, Wartman had it all: Caruso, St. Thomas, and a move back to running back. And it has only gotten better since.

Caruso's basic philosophy from Day 1 at St. Thomas was to make the Tommies a physical, run-oriented team, a perfect fit for the 6-2, 205-pound Wartman. He has rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of Caruso's two seasons as coach.

The telling team stat is linked to Wartman: St. Thomas is 16-1 when the junior has run for more than 100 yards the past two seasons, 1-3 when he is held to fewer than 100.

"Our attitude is that we want to establish that physicalness,'' Wartman said. "It's all about those five guys up front [on the offensive line].''

Caruso agrees but adds that Wartman -- in addition to the line -- has more than a little to do with the team's physical ground game.

"Part of who we are as a team stems from his toughness, both physical and mental,'' Caruso said. "He's just a very tough runner, elusive in an odd way. You watch him run and you say he's not very elusive. But week after week, he continues to get big yards after contact.''

Caruso has a one-two tandem of running backs with Wartman and his backup, 5-9, 180-pound sophomore Colin Tobin. While Wartman is a slasher, Tobin is a quick-cut scatback.

Caruso, never at a loss for words, describes the relationship of the two backs as "symbiotic'' and says defenses have to use completely different tackling leverage depending on who's in the game. The bottom line: Wartman has rushed for 1,491 yards, averaging 6.2 yards a carry, while Tobin has 824 rushing yards, averaging 7.2 yards.

Coe has a quick, opportunistic defense that forced six St. John's turnovers. Since the Kohawks are likely to be without starting quarterback Brad Boyle, injured in the fourth quarter at St. John's, the defense is likely to need a repeat performance in the turnover category.

The Tommies don't expect to be as giving hosts as St. John's was last Saturday. The Tommies have committed only 14 turnovers all season, only two of them fumbles. Wartman has not fumbled in his past 387 touches dating to last season.

"It's huge,'' Wartman said, acknowledging that he's very aware of the streak. "One thing that kills a team is turnovers, but that's one thing we can control. It's not about getting the extra 2 or 3 yards every rush. You have to be smart, too.''

Which is another of his attributes. On Tuesday Wartman, a finance major with a 3.87 GPA, was a first-team selection to the Academic All-America College Division (Division II and III) team.