No. 8 Thomas More Defeats Rival W&J, 35-32, in First Road Game of the Year

(WASHINGTON, Pa.) - The eighth-ranked Thomas More College football team defeated Washington & Jefferson College today (Saturday, September 24, 2011) in a Presidents' Athletic Conference game at Cameron Stadium in Washington, Pennsylvania.

With the win, the Saints improve to 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the PAC and with the loss the Presidents fall to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the PAC.

The Saints never trailed in the game as they led 14-0 after the first quarter, 21-17 at halftime and 28-24 after three quarters.

Thomas More took an early 7-0 lead when junior wide receiver Austin Studer (Alexandria, Ky./Campbell County) scored on a 10-yard pass from junior quarterback Rob Kues (Fort Thomas, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) and senior place kicker Aaron Walter (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) added the point-after-attempt with 7:00 to play in the first quarter.

The Saints increased the lead to 14-0 with 6:13 to play in the opening quarter when sophomore running back Domonique Hayden (Lexington, Ky./Lexington Christian Academy) scored on a 23-yard run and Walter added the PAT.

W&J cut the lead to 14-7 when Tim McNerney scored on a one-yard run and Eric Eberle added the PAT with 10:24 to play in the second half.

Zach Wildey recovered a Presidents' offensive fumble in the endzone for a touchdown and Eberle added the PAT with 6:42 to play in the second quarter to tie the game at 14-14.

Thomas More took a 21-14 lead with 1:58 to play in the second quarter when sophomore running back Adam Rouch (Yorkville, Ind./East Central) scored on a three-yard pass from Kues and Walter added the PAT.

The Presidents cut the Saints' to 21-7 at halftime when Eberle connected on a 19-yard field goal with one-second to play in the half.

In the third quarter, the Saints extended the lead to 28-17 when Kues scored on a three-yard run and Walter added the PAT with 9:27 to play in the quarter.

W&J cut the lead to 28-24 with 29-seconds to play in the third quarter when Alex Baroffio scored on a 35-yard pass from Matt Bliss and Eberle added the PAT.

Thomas More increased the lead to 35-24 with 9:23 to play in the fourth quarter when Hayden scored on a 12-yard run and Walter added the PAT.

W&J cut the lead to 35-32 with 3:34 to play in the fourth quarter when Hunter Creel caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from Bliss and Bliss ran in the two-point conversion.

With W&J driving for the go-ahead score junior defensive back Zach Autenrieb (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) intercepted a W&J pass at the Thomas More 34 yardline.

The Saints offense was led by Kues, who was 20-for-36 for 2227 yards and two touchdowns and Hayden, who had 15 carries for 77 yards and two touchdowns.  Sophomore wide receiver Corie Cartmell (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) had five catches for 50 yards.

Defensively, the Saints were led by freshman defensive back Shaquille Jinks (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller), who had 12 tackles and junior linebacker Nick Gramke (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder), who had 11 tackles and one sack.  Autenrieb, sophomore defensive back Alex Taylor (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) and senior defensive lineman John French (Louisville, Ky./DeSale) each had eight tackles.

Thomas More returns to action next Saturday (October 1) when it travels to Greenville, Pennsylvania for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff with Thiel College.