(GREENVILLE, Pa.) – Trailing 27-21 at halftime, the 22nd-ranked Thomas More College football team scored 45 unanswered second half points to defeat Thiel College, 66-27, today (Saturday, September 20, 2014) in both teams' Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) opener at Alumni Stadium in Greenville, Pennsylvania.
With the win the Saints improve to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the PAC and with the loss, the Tomcats fall to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the PAC.
The game was tied at 7-7 after one quarter, Thiel led 27-21 at halftime and the Saints led 49-27 after three quarters.
Thiel took a 7-0 lead with 8:38 to play in the first quarter when Ron Howard caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Radke and Jon Fennick made the point-after-attempt.
Thomas More answered with a four-yard touchdown run by senior Domonique Hayden (Lexington, Ky./Lexington Christian Academy) and a PAT by junior place kicker Tommy Budke (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain) to tie the game at 7-7 with 5:23 to play in the opening quarter.
Radke connected on a 32-yard touchdown pass to Tim Walker and Fennick made the PAT to give the Tomcats a 14-7 lead with 11:48 to play in the second quarter.
The Saints tied the game at 14-14 with 9:54 to play in the second quarter when Hayden scored on a one-yard run and Budke connected on the PAT.
Thiel answered with a Ryan Smallwood one-yard touchdown run and a Fennick PAT to take a 21-14 lead with 6:17 to play in the opening half.
Hayden scored on a 13-yard touchdown runs and Budke made the PAT to tie the game at 21-21 with 4:32 to play in the second quarter.
Thiel took a 27-21 lead at halftime as Radke scored on a one-yard run and the two-point conversion failed with 10-seconds to play in the second quarter.
In the third quarter, junior wide receiver Goose Cohorn (Independence, Ky./Dixie Heights) scored on a 51-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Jensen Gebhardt (Kings Mills, Ohio/Kings) and Budke made the PAT to give the Saints a 28-27 lead with 14:12 to play in the third quarter.
Freshman running back CT Tarrant (Pittsburgh, Pa./Hamilton (Ohio)) scored on a three-yard touchdown run and Budke made the PAT to extend the Saints' lead to 35-21 with 7:04 to play in the third quarter.
Thomas More increased the lead to 42-27 with 6:09 to play in the third quarter when Hayden scored on a two-yard run and Budke connected on the PAT.
Hayden scored on a 15-yard touchdown run and Budke made the PAT with 1:35 to play in the third quarter and the Saints extended the lead to 49-27.
With 12:31 to play in the fourth quarter Gebhardt connected on a 26-yard touchdown pass to Cohorn and Budke added the PAT to increase the lead to 56-27.
Thomas More extended the lead to 66-27 with 2:18 to play in the game when sophomore running back Gabe Rice (Cincinnati, Ohio/Norwood) scored on a one-yard run and freshman place kicker Zach Bryant (Milford, Ohio/Milford) made the PAT.
The Saints out-gained the Tomcats 570 yards of total offense (323 rushing/247 passing) to 334 yards of total offense (138 rushing/196 passing)
Hayden led the offense with 20 carries for 154 yards and a school record-tying five rushing touchdowns. Gebhardt was 10-of-15 passing for 247 yards and two touchdowns, while Cohorn had six catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Tarrant had seven carries for 61 yard and one touchdown to go with one catch for 61 yards and sophomore running back Myron Fears, Jr. (Atlanta, Ga./Heritage) had four carries for 62 yards.
Defensively, sophomore linebacker Austin Copeland (Cincinnati, Ohio/Kings) had eight tackles, while junior defensive end Erick Butler (Eminence, Ky./Henry County) had seven tackles, including two sacks and a two and a half tackles for a loss. Junior defensive back Ian Gunn (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) and senior defensive back Jake Fishburn (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) each had five tackles in the game. Junior defensive back Kyle Fuller (Taylor Mill, Ky./Holy Cross) and sophomore defensive back Darrell Davis (Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton) each had one interception.
Thomas More returns to action next Saturday (September 27) when it hosts Westminster College in its 2014 home opener at The Bank of Kentucky Field in Crestview Hills, Kentucky. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.