The University of St. Thomas football team suffered one of the program’s most-lopsided defeats Saturday afternoon, bowing to host Lindenwood University 64-0 in St. Charles, Mo.

Lindenwood, like St. Thomas, has made a rapid rise through the NCAA to FCS Division I status. The Lions play in the Ohio Valley Conference along with the likes of Eastern Illinois, Western Illinois, Austin Peay, Murray State and Tennessee State.

It was the fourth consecutive game against a scholarship program for St. Thomas (1-3).

Lindenwood opened the season with a 48-3 loss to Kansas, ranked in the top 25 at the time, on Aug. 29.

On Saturday, the Lions (1-3) jumped on the Tommies (1-3) early, blocking a punt on St. Thomas’ second offensive possession and recovering the ball in the Tommies’ end zone for a quick 7-0 lead.

Things went downhill from there for the Tommies, and Lindenberg led 42-0 at halftime.

Lindenwood outgained St. Thomas 541 yards to 148 for the game, limiting the Tommies to 41 yards passing and 107 yards rushing.

Joseph Koch led the Tommies’ offense with 41 yards rushing. Peyton Himley led the defense with seven tackles.

Cortezz Jones rushed for 152 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries for the Lions. He had touchdown runs of 51 and 48 yards.

Jeff Caldwell had five receptions for 153 yards and two touchdowns, including a 93-yard TD catch.

With St. Thomas missing a handful of starters because of injuries, Amari Powell made his 2024 season debut at quarterback, entering early with the Tommies trailing 7-0. He completed 5 of 10 passes for 18 yards and rushed eight times for 33 yards.

St. Thomas is off next week, then opens its Pioneer Football League schedule on Oct. 5, hosting Stetson after starting the season with four consecutive nonconference games.