(CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky.) – The Thomas More University football team won the final game of their 2022 season in blowout fashion over the visiting University of the Cumberlands Patriots, 43-10.
After neither team got anything going over their first few drives,
Jared Bulluck recovered a fumble by Cumberlands quarterback Stevie Orr to give them the ball at the Patriots 39. Five plays later and
Roques Dowdy was standing in the endzone after a pitch and catch of 27 yards from
Blaine Espinosa for a 6-0 lead.
The Saints would pick up a safety on the ensuing Patriots drive, after a high snap on the punt turned into their punter kicking the ball through the endzone to make it 8-0. With the ball at the Patriots 43, a
Maleek Jarrett seven-yard run followed by another Dowdy 36-yard score made it 15-0 with 5:43 to play in the first quarter.
The Patriots would make it 15-7 before Espinosa hit
Freddie Johnson late in the first quarter for a 42-yard score to put them up 22-7 after the first quarter. The 22 points were the most scored in a quarter for Thomas More this season.
Cumberlands kicked a field goal in the second to make it 22-10, but a late interception by
Isaac Abdon put the Saints at the Patriots six and set up a pass to
Craig Wills for another touchdown and a 29-10 halftime lead.
The second half was more of the same for Thomas More, as Espinosa found Dowdy for a third time on their first drive of the second half, a 30-yard score to go up 36-10. On the kickoff,
Davon Earle forced a fumble that was recovered by
Ely Emmons and turned into more Saints points. After completions to Dowdy and
Trenton Hatfield, Espinosa punched it in from the three-yard line to go up 43-10 with 9:54 to go in the third. This score would hold as the Saints ran the clock out from there in a dominant victory.
- Espinosa tied a program record with five passing touchdowns in a single game, throwing for 254 yards and running for 23 and a touchdown. Justin Post most recently accomplished this feat on Aug. 31, 2019, against Kentucky Christian.
- The Saints allowed just 24 yards offensively by the Patriots, setting a school record for least amount of yards gained by an opponent, breaking the 29-year-old record by 24 yards (48 yards vs. Franklin in 1993).
- Dowdy recorded his second three-touchdown game of the season, catching seven passes for 97 yards to lead the game.
- Johnson caught four passes for 70 yards and a score while Wills caught five passes for 57 yards and a touchdown.
- Jarrett rushed for 80 yards on 23 carries, setting a season high.
- Del Thomas led the defense with nine tackles (five solo, four assisted), three tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
- Ross Halverstadt had seven tackles (three solo, four assisted), with a sack.
- To go along with his interception, Abdon had six tackles (four solo, two assisted), and half a sack.
- The team had nine tackles for loss, tying a season-high from earlier this season against Duquesne.
This concludes the Saints 2022 season at 5-6 overall and 4-4 in the Mid-South Conference. They will return to the field in 2023 as part of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
