The Butler football team improved to 9-2 on Saturday afternoon with their first-ever win against St. Thomas. Nick Howard ran for three touchdowns and passed for one helping the Bulldogs pick up the 36-20 victory. The defense was led by Steven Stephany and his six-tackle, two interception performance.
 
Butler ran the ball 49 times against the Tommies and limited one of the best backs in the PFL to just 61 rushing yards. 40 of Hope Adebayo's 61 yards came on one play.
 
The Bulldogs gave Howard 22 carries in the win which resulted in 97 yards and three scores from two, five and 28 yards. Howard also threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Trevon Brown, his fourth of the season. Reagan Andrew led BU with 184 passing yards and his first quarter touchdown pass to Luke Wooten would open the scoring for BU on Saturday. Wooten was just getting started as he finished the contest with five receptions for 111 yards and the TD.
 
Action in the first half featured Butler blocking a St. Thomas field goal and getting an interception on the final play of the second quarter to keep the Tommies out of the end zone. The second half opened with fireworks as well with St. Thomas attempting an onside kick. The ball didn't travel far enough on the try which set Butler up with great field position. BU outscored UST 10-7 in the third and 13-6 in the fourth to keep their lead.
 
The defense was phenomenal with four total interceptions to go along with a strip sack that set up a score. Steven Stephany had two fourth quarter picks near the end zone. Devaon Holman had the one at the end of the first half and Jeremiah Jackson came up with his third of the year.
 
The Bulldogs got after two Tommie quarterbacks today which led to three sacks. Ashton Nawrocki and Jack Burch added to their season total and Anagonye knocked the ball loose on his hit which allowed Adam Sturtz to land on the pigskin. BU also got a lift from Tyson Garrett and his team-high seven tackles.
 
The final game of the 2024 regular season will send Butler to South Carolina to face Presbyterian. Kick-off is set for 1 p.m.