The start of the St. Thomas’ football home opener on Thursday night at O’Shaughnessy Stadium against the Division II Sioux Falls Cougars was pushed back two hours to 8 p.m. due to the severe weather.

Based on how the night played out, the Tommies likely wish the skies never cleared. Playing against a team that most viewed as light fare to open the season, the Tommies were outplayed on both sides of the ball in a 34-13 loss to the Cougars.

Among the many questions that come out of the game for St. Thomas is who starts at quarterback next week against Northern Iowa after sophomore Tak Tateoka was replaced after an ineffective first half by sophomore Michael Rostberg.

Rostberg, seeing his first action for the Tommies, replaced Tateoka at the start of the third quarter after the Tommies were limited to 51 yards of total offense in the first half. Tateoka completed 5 of 13 passes for 49 yards. The Tommies were held to 2 net yards rushing.

Rostberg finished 9 of 22 for 100 yards and threw an interception. The Tommies managed only 171 yards of offense and eight first downs.

The Cougars were led by quarterback Camden Dean, a junior from Lakeville South, and he did it with his arm and his legs. Dean completed 17 of 30 passes for 189 yards. He rushed for 85 yards on 15 carries and scored a touchdown.

Sioux Falls got the ball for the first possession of the game, but an interception by Tommies cornerback Branden Smith on third down set St. Thomas up in Cougars territory. A unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Tommies after the play gave St. Thomas the ball at the Cougars’ 26 yard line.

On second and 9, Tateoka connected with wide receiver Jacob Wildermuth in the back of the end zone.

Sioux Falls took an 8-7 lead at the end of the first quarter, moving the ball 85 yards in 13 plays. The Cougars fumbled the ball on a first-and-goal from the 1, but quarterback Dean picked up the loose ball and ran it in around the right end.

The Cougars then converted the two-point conversion on a pass over the middle.

The score remained the same until late in the second quarter. The Tommies’ defense forced a three and out with 3 minutes, 26 seconds to play in the half, giving the struggling offense another shot at putting the Tommies in front.

But St. Thomas followed with a three and out of its own. The Cougars controlled the ball for the remainder of the half, and took an 11-7 lead into the locker room following a 30-yard field goal.

After the Tommies failed to score on their first possession of the second half, the Cougars moved 77 yards in eight plays to score on a three-yard run to take a 18-7 lead.

Following a St. Thomas punt that gave the Cougars the ball at their own 10 yard line, St. Thomas linebacker Luke Herzog made a big play to give the Tommies some life. Herzog forced a fumble on a sack, and CJ Warren scooped the ball up for a touchdown.

The Tommies elected to go for the two-point conversion. Not only did they not convert, but a fumble was picked up by a Sioux Falls defender and returned for two points to put the Cougars up 20-13.

Sioux Falls put together another drive on its next possession and scored early in the fourth quarter for a 27-13 lead.

A fumble by Rostberg on a sack on the Tommies’ next possession gave the Cougars the ball inside the St. Thomas 20 yard line. The Tommies blocked the ensuing field-goal attempt.

Sioux Falls scored its final touchdown of the game with just over three minutes to play.