Kues Leads No. 10 Thomas More to a Season Opening 44-13 Win Over Rival Hanover
(CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky.) - Junior quarterback Rob Kues (Fort Thomas, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) had a combined 286 offensive yards to lead the 10th-ranked Thomas More College football to a season opening, 44-13, win over Hanover College today (Saturday, September 10, 2011) on First Responder Day at The Bank of Kentucky Field in Crestview Hills, Kentucky.
With the win, the Saints are 1-0 and with the loss, the Panthers fall to 0-2.
The Saints never trailed in the game as they led 14-0 after one quarter, 14-7 at halftime and 34-7 after three quarters.
The Saints took an early 7-0 lead when sophomore running back Domonique Hayden (Lexington, Ky./Lexington Christian Academy) scored on a seven-yard run and senior place kicker Aaron Walter (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) added the point-after-attempt with 12:09 to play in the first quarter.
Thomas More extended the lead to 14-0 when senior running back Kendall Owens (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) scored on a seven-yard pass from Kues and Walter added the PAT at the 7:04 mark of the opening quarter.
In the second quarter, Hanover cut the lead to 14-7 when Dexter Britt scored on a one-yard run and Dylan Dunlop added the PAT with 13:55 to play in the quarter.
In the third quarter, the Saints extended the lead to 21-7 at the 8:06 mark when Hayden scored on a 13-yard run and Walter added the PAT.
Thomas More increased the lead to 28-7 when Owens scored on a four-yard pass from Kues at the 2:13 mark of the first quarter and Walter made the PAT.
With 56-seconds to play in the third quarter Owens scored on a 56-yard punt return and Walter's PAT failed and the Saints led 34-7.
Hanover cut the lead to 34-13 when Britt connected on a 24-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Cook and Dunlop's PAT was blocked by sophomore defensive back Jake Fishburn (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) with 12:41 to play in the game.
Thomas More extended the lead to 37-13 with 7:06 to play in the game when Walter made a 31-yard field goal.
With 6:51 to play in the game junior wide receiver Tony Bell (Cincinnati, Ohio/Northwest) scored on a 22-yard pass from Kues and sophomore kicker Tim Gormly, Jr. (Cincinnati, Ohio/McNicholas) added the PAT for the final score of 44-13.
The Saints' offense was led by Kues, who was 20-of-29 passing for 241 yards and three touchdowns and ran the ball 17 times for 45 yards. Hayden had five catches for 40 yards and two touchdowns and also caught six passes for 71 yards. Owens had four carries for 38 yards and four catches for 14 yards and two touchdowns. Junior Austin Studer (Alexandria, Ky./Campbell County) had five catches for 75 yards.
The defense was led by sophomore defensive back Alex Taylor (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder), who had eight tackles and one interception. Junior linebacker Nick Gramke (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) had six tackles, including a half sack and freshman linebacker Justin Wright (Frankfort, Ky./Western Hills) had six tackles.
The Saints open Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play next Saturday (September 17) when they host Geneva College at 1:30 p.m. at The Bank of Kentucky Field.
