(GREENVILLE, Pa.) - The eighth-ranked Thomas More College football team defeated Thiel College, 50-7, today (Saturday, October 1, 2011) in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game at Alumni Stadium in Greenville, Pennsylvania.
With the win, the Saints improve to 4-0 overall and 3-0 in the PAC and with the loss, the Tomcats fall to 0-5 overall and 0-3 in the PAC.
The Saints never trailed in the game as they led 7-0 after one quarter, 42-0 at halftime and 50-7 after three quarters.
The Saints took a 7-0 lead with 2:12 to play in the first quarter when sophomore running back Domonique Hayden (Lexington, Ky./Lexington Christian Academy) scored on a one-yard run and senior place kicker Aaron Walter (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) added the point-after-attempt.
Thomas More increased the lead to 14-0 when Hayden scored on a five-yard pass from junior quarterback Rob Kues (Fort Thomas, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) and Walter added the PAT with 13:45 to play in the second quarter.
Senior running back Kendall Owens (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) scored on a two-yard run and Walter added the PAT to increase the lead to 21-0 with 11:13 to play in the first half.
With 7:55 to play in the second quarter the Saints increased the lead to 28-0 when Kues connected on a 70-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Corie Cartmell (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) and Walter added the PAT.
Owens scored on a 27-yard run and Walter added the PAT to increase the lead to 35-0 with 7:17 to play in the second quarter.
Thomas More extended the lead to 42-0 at halftime when Owens caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Kues and Walter added the PAT with 1:16 to play in the second quarter.
In the third quarter, the Saints increased the lead to 44-0 when they had a team safety with 13:20 to play in the quarter.
Thomas More increased the lead to 50-0 with 6:49 to play in the third quarter when freshman quarterback Luke Magness (Pleasureville, Ky./Henry County) scored on a one-yard run and Walter's PAT was blocked.
Thiel made the score 50-7 with 43-seconds to play in the third quarter when Nate Houpt caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Smith and Cody McClelland added the PAT.
Thomas More out-gained the Tomcats 520 yards to 169 yards, including 336-31 on the ground.
Kues was 11-of-14 passing for 184 yards and three touchdowns and had seven rushes for 38 yards. Freshman running back Landon Savoy (Radcliff, Ky./John Hardin) had 15 carries for 103 yards, while Hayden had five carries for 10 yards and one touchdown and added three catches for 21 yards and one touchdown. Magness finished the day with 14 carries for 67 yards and one touchdown and Owens had five carries for 58 yards and two touchdowns and had four catches for 65 yards and one touchdown.
Defensively, 35 different Saints had at least one tackle and were led by sophomore defensive back Alex Taylor (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder), who had seven tackles, including a half tackle for a loss for one yard. Sophomore linebacker Kenny Orloff (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) added five tackles, including a half tackle for a loss of one yard and freshman linebacker Nate Dorsey (Henderson, Ky./Henderson County) finished with four tackles, including a half tackle for a loss of one yard.
Thomas More returns home next Saturday (October 8) to host Grove City College on Homecoming at The Bank of Kentucky Field in Crestview Hills, Kentucky. The game is scheduled to kickoff at 1:30 p.m.