(NEW WILMINGTON, Pa.) – The Thomas More College football team defeated Westminster College, 31-0, tonight (Saturday, September 21, 2013) in its Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) primetime debut at Harold Burry Stadium in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania.
With the win, the Saints improve to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the PAC. With the loss, the Titans fall to 0-2 overall and 0-1 in the PAC. The game marked the first time the Saints have played a night game in PAC play since joining the conference in 2005.
Thomas More led 14-0 after one quarter, 17-0 at halftime and 24-0 after three quarters. The Saints posted their second straight shutout in as many games in 2013 as they defeated Capital University, 20-0, in their season opener two weeks ago.
The Saints took an early 7-0 lead when sophomore quarterback Jensen Gebhardt (Kings Mills, Ohio/Kings) threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Bobby Leonard (Edgewood, Ky./Dixie Heights) and senior place kicker Tim Gormly, Jr. (Cincinnati, Ohio/McNicholas) made the point-after-attempt with 6:52 to play in the first quarter.
Thomas More extend the lead to 14-0 with 3:17 to play in the opening quarter when Gebhardt connected on a 40-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Ryan Winkler (Independence, Ky./Simon Kenton) and Gormly added the PAT.
In the second quarter, sophomore place kicker Tommy Budke (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain) made a 19-yard field goal to increase the lead to 17-0 with 7:33 to play in the half.
The Saints increased the lead to 24-0 with 11:42 to play in the third quarter when junior running back Domonique Hayden (Lexington, Ky./Lexington Christian Academy) scored on a 71-yard touchdown run and Gormly added the PAT.
Gebhardt connected on a 27-yard touchdown pass to Winkler and Gormly added the PAT to increase the lead to 31-0 with 13:34 to play in the fourth quarter.
Gebhardt led the offense as he was 12-of-17 passing for 216 yards and three touchdowns. Hayden led the team on the ground with 17 carries for 178 yards and a touchdown. Winkler led the team in receiving with six receptions for 112 yards and two touchdowns, while Leonard had two receptions for 47 yards and a touchdown.
Sophomore defensive back Kyle Fuller (Taylor Mill, Ky./Holy Cross) led the defense with nine tackles. Junior linebacker Nate Dorsey (Henderson, Ky./Henderson County) had seven tackles, including a half tackle for a loss, sophomore defensive back Trey Wells (Louisville, Ky./DuPont Manual) had five tackles and junior defensive end Erick Butler (Eminence, Ky./Henry County) had five tackles, including a sack.
Thomas More returns to action next Saturday (September 28) when it hosts Waynesburg University in its home opener. The game will kickoff at 1:30 p.m. at The Bank of Kentucky Field in Crestview Hills, Kentucky.
