No. 8 Thomas More Falls, 26-23, to Waynesburg
(CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky.) - The eighth-ranked Thomas More College football team fell, 26-23, to Waynesburg University today (Saturday, November 5, 2011) in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game at The Bank of Kentucky Field in Crestview Hills, Kentucky.
With the loss, the Saints fall to 8-1 overall and 7-1 in the PAC and had a 29-game regular season winning streak and a 26-game PAC winning streak snapped. With the win, the Yellow Jackets improve to 5-3 overall and 5-2 in the PAC.
Waynesburg led 14-0 after one quarter, 14-7, at halftime and 23-15 after three quarters.
Waynesburg took a 7-0 with 3:44 to play in the first quarter when Adam Moses scored on a three-yard pass from Josh Graham and Chris Marini added the point-after-attempt.
The Yellow Jackets increase the lead to 14-0 with 33-seconds to play in the first quarter when Pat Depizzo returned a block punt 40-yards for a touchdown and Marini added the PAT.
Thomas More cut the lead to 14-7 at halftime when senior running back Kendall Owens (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) scored on a 16-yard pass from junior quarterback Rob Kues (Fort Thomas, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) and sophomore place kicker Tim Gormly, Jr. (Cincinnati, Ohio/McNicholas) added the PAT with 13-seconds to play in the second quarter.
In the third quarter, Waynesburg increased the lead to 17-7 when Marini made a 26-yard field goal with 4:22 to play in the quarter.
Jackets extended the lead to 23-7 when Mike Ferraro scored on a 69-yard touchdown pass from Graham and Marini's PAT failed with 1:56 to play in the third quarter.
Thomas More cut the lead to 23-15 with 1:00 to play in the third quarter when sophomore running back Adam Rauch (Yorkville, Ind./East Central) scored on a 39-yard run and the Saints converted the two-point conversion on an Owens rush.
The Saints tied the game at 23-23 when sophomore running back Dominique Hayden (Lexington, Ky./Lexington Christian Academy) scored on a two-yard run with 10:41 to play in the fourth quarter and Kues connected on a pass to sophomore wide receiver Corie Cartmell (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) on the two-point conversion.
Waynesburg took a 26-23 lead with 2:39 to play in the game on a Marini 24-yard field goal and the Saints were unable to match as Waynesburg won the game.
Offensively, the Saints were led by Rauch, who had six carries for 62 yards and a touchdown and had six catches for 61 yards. Hayden finished the game with 18 carries for 75 yards and one touchdown and six catches for 25 yards, while Owens six catches for 60 yards and one touchdown and had four rushes for eight yards. Kues was 21-of-45 passing for 183 yards and one touchdown.
Defensively, the Saints were led by junior linebacker Nick Gramke (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) and freshman defensive back Shaquille Jinks (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller), who each had 11 tackles, including a half tackle for a loss. Junior linebacker Elijah Anglim (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) added seven tackles.
The Saints will close out the regular-season next Saturday (November 12) when they travel to Cincinnnati, Ohio to play across-the-river rival, the College of Mount St. Joseph in Bridge Bowl XVI at 1 p.m. at Schueler Field.
