(WAYNESBURG, Pa.) - The 10th-ranked Thomas More College football team scored a touchdown with 49-seconds to play in the game to defeat Waynesburg University, 17-10, today (Saturday, November 6, 2010) at Wiley Stadium in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania and clinch its third straight outright Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship.
With the win, the Saints remain undefeated at 9-0 overall and 7-0 in the PAC. Thomas More also clinches the PAC's automatic bid to the 2010 NCAA Division III Football Playoff. With the loss, the Yellow Jackets fall to 6-3 overall and 4-2 in the PAC.
Thomas More led 7-0 after two quarters and 7-3 at halftime and after three quarters.
The Saints took a 7-0 lead with 9:08 to play in the first quarter when junior wide receiver Mercier Doucette (Florence, Ky./Boone County) scored on a 15-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Robert Kues (Fort Thomas, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) and senior place kicker Dustin Zink (Cold Spring, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) added the point-after-attempt.
Waynesburg cut the lead to 7-3 when Jon Storck connected on a 28-yard field goal with 14:52 to play in the second quarter.
With 6:44 to play in the game Waynesburg took a 10-7 when Dominic Moore scored on a one-yard run and Storck added the PAT.
Thomas More regained the lead at 14-10 with 49-second to play in the game when Kues connected on a four-yard touchdown pass to Doucette and Zink added the PAT.
On Waynesburg possession, freshman defensive back Jake Fishburn (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) intercepted a Yellow Jacket pass to seal the 14-10 victory for the Saints.
Kues led the offense as he was 21-of-32 passing for 275 yards and two touchdowns and had 17 rushes for 70 yards. Freshman running back Dominic Hayden (Lexington, Ky./Lexington Christian Academy) had 23 carries for 31 yards, while Doucette finished the day with four catches for 93 yards and two touchdowns and junior running back Kendall Owens (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) had five catches for 65 yards.
The Saints' defense held the Yellow Jackets to 248 total yards, including only 33 yards rushing. Sophomore defensive back Antonio Booker (Louisville, Ky./Male) led the defense with 10 tackles. Senior defensive lineman Tyler Owens (Fort Thomas, Ky./Highlands) had eight tackles, including two and a half for a loss and one sack, senior defensive back Marcus Lancaster (Cincinnati, Ohio/Dakota) had seven tackles, including two for a loss, one sack and an interception and sophomore linebacker Nick Gramke (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) finished the day with six tackles.
The Saints will close out the regular-season next Saturday (November 13) when they host across-the-river rival, the College of Mount St. Joseph in Bridge Bowl XV at 1 p.m. at The Bank of Kentucky Field in Crestview Hills, Kentucky.