(CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky.) - The Thomas More College football team defeated Waynesburg University, 49-28, today (Saturday, September 28, 2013) in its home opener at The Bank of Kentucky Field in Crestview Hills, Kentucky.
With the win, the Saints remain undefeated at 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC). With the loss, the Yellow Jackets fall to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the PAC.
Waynesburg took a 7-0 lead with 8:47 to play in the first quarter when Carter Hill connected on a 16-yard touchdown pass to Josh Tolliver and Alex Henry added the point-after-attempt.
Thomas More tied the game at 7-7 when sophomore quarterback Jensen Gebhardt (Kings Mills, Ohio/Kings) threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Goose Cohorn (Independence, Ky./Dixie Height) and senior place kicker Tim Gormly, Jr. (Cincinnati, Ohio/McNicholas) added the PAT with 5:05 to play in the first quarter.
The Saints took their first lead of the game at 14-7 with 9:39 to play in the second quarter when Gebhardt connected on a 38-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Tyler Vogelpohl (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) and Gormly added the PAT.
With 4:56 to play in the second quarter, junior running Domonique Hayden (Lexington, Ky./Lexington Christian Academy) scored on a five yard run and Gormly added the PAT to extend Thomas More's lead to 21-7.
Thomas More extended the lead to 28-7 when sophomore defensive back Kyle Fuller (Taylor Mill, Ky./Holy Cross) returned an interception 75-yards for a touchdown and Gormly added the PAT with 1:20 to play in the first half.
The Yellow Jackets cut the lead to 28-14 at halftime when Willie Leavel scored on a five-yard touchdown pass from Hill and Henry added the PAT with 16-seconds to play in the second quarter.
In the third quarter, Thomas More increased the lead to 35-14 when Hayden scored on a 36-yard pass from Gebhardt and Gormly added the PAT with 9:40 to play in the quarter.
With 7:17 to play in the third quarter, Cohorn threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Ryan Winkler (Independence, Ky./Simon Kenton) and Gormly added the kick to extend the Saints' lead to 42-14.
Waynesburg cut the lead to 42-21 with 4:08 to play in the third quarter when Leavell scored on a 28-yard run and Henry added the PAT.
Thomas More came right back with a 44-yard touchdown run from Hayden and freshman place kicker/punter Andrew Coe (Union, Ky./Scott) added the PAT to increase the lead to 49-21 with 3:00 to play in the third quarter.
Waynesburg's Jordan Voitus scored on a four-yard touchdown pass from Carter and Henry added the PAT with 8:36 to play in the game for the final score of 49-28.
Gebhardt finished the game 12-of-20 passing for 236 yard and three touchdowns to lead the Saints' offense. Hayden had 24 carries for 212 yard and two touchdowns and also caught one pass for 36 yards and a touchdown. Cohorn led the receivers with five catches for 111 yards and one touchdown, while Vogelpohl had three catches for 58 yards and one touchdown.
Fuller led the Saints' defense with seven tackles (five solo, two assisted) and one interception returned for a touchdown. Freshman linebacker Dylan Ruter (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller) had seven tackles (five solo, and two assisted), including one sack, junior linebacker Nate Dorsey (Henderson, Ky./Henderson County) had seven tackles (four solo, three assisted), including one sack, senior defensive back Adam Rauch (Yorkville, Ky./East Central) had seven tackles (three solo, four assisted) and junior defensive back Shaquille Jinks (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller) had seven tackles (three solo and four assisted).
Thomas More returns to action next Saturday (October 5) when it hosts Geneva College on Homecoming Saturday at The Bank of Kentucky Field. The game is scheduled to kick off at 1:30 p.m.