St. Thomas - Minnesota builds early lead, holds off Dayton 20-14 in defensive battle

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) Tak Tateoka threw two first-half touchdown passes and St. Thomas of Minnesota went on to defeat Dayton 20-14 on Saturday.

Tateoka threw for only 100 yards on 15-of-23 passing but his touchdowns to Andrew McElroy and Jacob Wildermuth helped the Tommies build a 20-0 lead in the second quarter. That was enough for the win as the St. Thomas defense held Dayton to 253 yards and two touchdowns.

Gabriel Abel added a 7-yard touchdown run for the Tommies (3-2, 2-0 Pioneer Football League), who managed only 223 yards themselves.

Dante Casciola, who was 11-of-23 passing for 161 yards for Dayton, scored on 10-yard run late in the second quarter to make it 20-7 at the half. Cole Dow's 5-yard pass to Gavin Lochow in the fourth quarter for Dayton (2-3, 0-2) was the only scoring in the second half.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll