St. Thomas football travels to Davidson, Pioneer League title hangs in balance

It is a narrative so simple it seems preordained, but so unexpected it seems like a fairytale.

The St. Thomas football team, in its inaugural Division I campaign, will travel to North Carolina on Saturday to face Davidson with a path to the Pioneer League title hanging in the balance.

That the Tommies (5-2 overall, 4-1 conference) have the league's best scoring defense (15.3 points allowed per game) and the Wildcats (6-1, 5-0) have the league's best scoring offense (37.6 points per game) only adds to the charm.

Wildcats coach Scott Abell has spent four seasons building a Pioneer League powerhouse at Davidson but knows about the Tommies and coach Glenn Caruso from his days coaching Division III Washington & Lee.

"They certainly are, if not the best defense in the league, one of the best defenses in the league, and the numbers would tell you they are the best defense," Abell said. "They get to the football, they're physical, they are very well coached. I have nothing but praise for what they do defensively."

If there is an answer for St. Thomas' surprising success this season, it starts with that defense.

More directly, it starts with giving up 44 points to Northern Iowa in the Tommies' second game of the season.

But ask anyone involved with the team and they will tell you that game was closer than the boxscore appeared and it was when they knew the defense could play at the higherlevel.

"Heck yeah, that gave us a ton of confidence going forward," said senior defensive back Luke Glenna. "Just knowing that we can hang with a team like that being put out there on short fields and just holding them to field-goal attempts and seeing that we could string some plays together. … It was eye opening."

Since allowing 44 to the Panthers, the Tommies have allowed 54 points — in five games.

Defensive coordinator Wallie Kuchinski has been with St. Thomas since Caruso became head coach in 2008. He's never seen anything like this.

"I haven't been around a team that plays this way. They play violent. It's sprinting everywhere. There is no running. It's sprinting everywhere," he said. "They want to pop the football. It's awesome. I love watching our boys play."

The Edina native was recruited when there was no concept of the Tommies moving to Division I. His father, Les Glenna, was a star football star at Hamline and is a member of its athletic hall of fame.

Now, at 5-10, 188 pounds, Luke Glenna is playing Division I with the Tommies, leads the team in tackles with 45, fumble recoveries with two and is tied for second on the team with two interceptions.

"I'm one where I don't ever think the moment is too big, so I was excited to get the challenge of playing some new teams and being in close games," Glenna said. "I was all for it."

One thing that drew Glenna to the Tommies was a familial nature among teammates — from the starting QB to the newest freshman on the bench. Those bonds run deep on the defense and right through the senior cornerback.

Glenna played high school basketball against junior defensive back and Osseo grad Johnson Fallah. He helped recruit Fallah after Minnesota Crookston disbanded its football team. Fallah's three interceptions this season lead the Tommies.

Glenna's roommate for several years has been Trent Meyer, the senior linebacker out of Sartell, who is second on the team with 35 tackles and leads the club with 7.5 tackles for loss.

It's those bonds that have helped the defense turn a 44-3 loss into a conference title chase.