Arizona Rebound vs St. Thomas Shows Something

02.04.2026College Men

Arizona vs St. Thomas January 2026. Photo Josh Pearson.

Author: Alex Goff

Perhaps the most compelling game in D1A this past weekend was St. Thomas at Arizona.
The stage was set for an interesting one, and we got it.

St. Thomas, the 2024-25 D1AA champs, have moved up to D1A and are playing an independent schedule that includes the Cayman Islands national team, Arizona, Queens, Army, Life, Penn State, and Mount St. Mary’s. As is true for all independent teams (and Arizona is one of those), every game ends up being a playoff game. You have to show well all the time if you want playoff consideration.

For Arizona, they were a little undercooked going into their game against Saint Mary’s in Moraga, and paid for it to the tune of 68-15. Head Coach Sean Duffy, however, points to the fact that it was 49-0 until just before halftime when Arizona scored for the first time. For the final 45 minutes or so the score was 19-15 for Saint Mary’s, indicating that the Wildcats had started to catch up to the pace of the game.

Arizona vs St. Thomas January 2026. Photo Josh Pearson.

So that all leads to Saturday and St. Thomas at Arizona. This was a barnburner. Arizona had to work hard to contain the STU speedsters, including scrumhalf Tshepang Matubatuba, flyhalf Welton Charumbira, and fullback Taonaishe Mapani. Matubatuba scored very early and while flyhalf Saxon Gerstl answered moments later, the Bobcats’ quick-strike ability meant Arizona couldn’t quite shake them and when Hesed Lote-Felo scored on a pick-and-go, followed shortly by Charumbira and George Ditima setting up Mapani for a majestic score, it was 26-12 for the Floridians.

But Arizona recovered. Hooker Henry Langrish, who had a bit of a blinder, scored off a maul, and in the second half it was not quite all, but mostly, Arizona.

Arizona vs St. Thomas January 2026. Photo Josh Pearson.

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“I think coaches often say we appreciate the team and the match, and in this case we really appreciated this match,” said Duffy. “We love the challenge and until you play a team like St. Thomas, you really don’t know what they’re like. They have shape and they have athletes, and we made some mistakes early. But to rip off 40 points in the second half … I was pretty proud of how they responded.”

Arizona vs St. Thomas January 2026. Photo Josh Pearson.

Tries from Isaac Morrill, Nick Morgan, Aiden Kemp, Chris Grosse, Gerstl again, Parker Beilke, and Ethan Helm vaulted Arizona from 26-19 down at halftime to a 66-40 win.

Gerstl helped the cause in several ways, not least of which was his 8-for-10 performance on conversions, ensuring the Wildcats got full value for their tries.

Meanwhile, in the days when most tight five forwards, especially in the front row, expect to be subbed off, Langrish was told he would need to play the full 80 because Duffy had four backs on his bench. He responded, playing hard and with intensity to the final whistle.

“He’s just a hard worker, he’s accountable, and he’s a leader,” said Duffy.

Arizona vs St. Thomas January 2026. Photo Josh Pearson.

And so this was a test, not only of athleticism and speed and fitness, but one of tenacity, as Arizona might well have imploded down two tries against a team that has the ability to run them ragged.
Now both look ahead to some challenges this spring. Next up for STU is Queens in a couple of weeks. For Arizona, it’s Cal, UCLA, BYU, Trinity Western, and Colorado State.

“I think against Saint Mary’s in those first 20 you could see we hadn’t played a match [in two months],” said Duffy. “We could have scheduled a different opponent, but we need that challenge, and the growth we’re seeing is important. And following that up with St. Thomas, well I kno the boys are stoked to go to Miami next year!”