(GREENVILLE, Pa.) - Junior running back Domonique Hayden (Lexington, Ky./Lexington Christian Academy) reached the 1,000 yard rushing plateau for the season today (Saturday, October 19, 2013) and the Thomas More College football team defeated Thiel College, 42-21, in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game at Alumni Stadium in Greenville, Pennsylvania.
With the win, the Saints improve to 5-1 overall and 4-1 in the PAC. With the loss, the Tomcats fall to 1-6 overall and 1-4 in the PAC.
Hayden had 252 rushing yards in the game to move his season total to 1,199 yards, which leads all of NCAA Division III.
The game was tied 7-7 after one quarter, and then Thomas More led 28-7 at halftime and 28-14 after three quarters.
Thomas More took an early 7-0 lead when sophomore quarterback Jensen Gebhardt (Kings Mills, Ohio/Kings) connected on a 54-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Bobby Leonard (Edgewood, Ky./Dixie Heights) and senior place kicker Tim Gormly, Jr. (Cincinnati, Ohio/McNicholas) added the point-after-attempt with 11:42 to play in the first quarter.
Thiel tied the game at 7-7 with 8:15 to play in the opening quarter when Josh Potter scored on a 54-yard touchdown run and Jon Fennick added the PAT.
The Saints retook the lead at 14-7 with 12:45 to play in the second quarter when Hayden scored on a 27-yard touchdown run and Gormly added the PAT.
With 11:04 to play in the first half, Hayden scored on a 58-yard touchdown run and Gormly added the PAT and Thomas More increased the lead to 21-7.
The Saints took a 28-7 lead at halftime when Hayden scored on a nine-yard touchdown run and Gormly added the PAT with 3:08 to play in the second quarter.
The Tomcats cut the lead to 28-14 with 12:02 to play in the third quarter when Tim Walker caught a 75-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Radke and Fennick added the PAT.
With 9:41 to play in the game Thiel cut the Saints' lead to 28-21 when Rich Koesar scored on a two-yard touchdown run and Fennick added the PAT.
Thomas More increased the lead to 35-21 with 9:30 to play in the fourth quarter when Gebhardt connected on a 63-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Goose Cohorn (Independence, Ky./Dixie Heights) and Gormly added the PAT.
The Saints closed out the scoring at the 5:14 mark of the fourth quarter when Hayden scored on a 55-yard touchdown run and Gormly added the PAT for the final score of 42-21.
Thomas More out-gained Thiel 611 yards (345 yards rushing, 266 yards passing) to 362 yards (225 yards rushing and 137 yards passing.
Hayden led the offense as he had 252 yards rushing and four touchdowns on 27 carries and had two catches for 11 yards. Gebhardt was 17-of-28 passing for 266 yards and two touchdowns and had seven carries for 64 yards. Leonard led the receivers with six catches for 113 yards and one touchdown and Cohorn had four catches for 98 yards and one touchdown.
Senior defensive back Adam Rauch (Yorkville, Ind./East Central) and senior defensive lineman Tyler Combs (Fort Thomas, Ky./Highlands) led the defense as they each had eight tackles. Rauch also had one interception, while Combs had one tackle for a loss. Junior defensive back Shaquille Jinks (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller) has seven tackles, while sophomore linebacker Nick Pennekamp (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) and sophomore defensive back Kyle Fuller (Taylor Mill, Ky./Holy Cross) each had six tackles.
The Saints return to The Bank of Kentucky Field in Crestview Hills, Kentucky next Saturday (October 26) when they host Grove City College in a PAC game scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff.