(NEW WILMINGTON, Pa.) – The No. 13 ranked Thomas More College football team remained undefeated today (Saturday, September 26, 2015) as it defeated Westminster College, 45-14, in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game at Harold Burry Stadium in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania.
With the win, the Saints improve to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the PAC. With the loss, the Titans fall to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the PAC.
Thomas More never trailed in the game as it led 10-0 at halftime and 38-0 after three quarters.
After a scoreless first quarter, Thomas More took a 7-0 lead with 6:39 to play in the second quarter when sophomore running back C.T. Tarrant (Hamilton, Ohio/Hamilton) scored on a seven-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Jensen Gebhardt (Kings Mills, Ohio/Kings) and senior place kicker Tommy Budke (Colerain, Ohio/Colerain) added the point-after-attempt.
The Saints took a 10-0 lead into halftime when Budke connected on a 39-yard field goal with 25-seconds to play in the first half.
In the third quarter, Gehbardt connected on a 58-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Daylin Garland II (Newport, Ky./Newport) and Budke added the PAT as the Saints increased the lead to 24-0 with 13:54 to play in the quarter.
Thomas More would extended the lead to 24-0 with 69:11 to play in the third quarter when Tarrant scored on a one-yard run and Budke added the PAT.
Senior defensive back Ian Gunn (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown and Budke added the as the Saints led 31-0 with 6:56 to play in the third quarter.
Thomas More increased the lead to 38-0 with 2:55 to play in the third quarter when junior full back Bryan Schmidt (Brownsburg, Ind./Cardinal Ritter) scored on a four-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Brenan Kuntz (Independence, Ky./Simon Kenton) and Budke added the PAT.
Freshman running back Hjavier Pitts (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mt. Healthy) opened the fourth quarter with a three-yard touchdown run and Buke added the PAC to extended the lead to 45-0 with 13:41 to play in the game.
Westminster scored two touchdowns and added two PAT in the final 5:13 for the final score of 45-14.
The Saints out-gained the Titans 418 yards (107rushing/311 passing) to 281 yards (111 rushing/170 passing).
Gebhardt was 15-of-22 passing for 307 yards and one touchdown, while Tarrant rushed for 45 yards and one touchdown on 16 carries and added two catches for seven yards and a touchdown. Pitts finished the day with four carries for 42 yards and a touchdown. Senior wide receiver Tyler Vogelpohl (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) led the receivers with 94 yards on four catches, while senior wide receiver Goose Cohorn (Independence, Ky./Dixie Heights) had three catches for 91 yards and Garland had 80 yards and a touchdown on three catches.
Defensively, senior linebacker Nick Pennekamp (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) had seven tackles (five solo, two assisted) and one interception, junior linebacker Austin Copeland (Cincinnati, Ohio/Kings) had seven tackles (four solo, three assisted) and senior defensive back Kyle Fuller (Taylor Mill, Ky./Holy Cross) had seven tackles (four solo, three assisted), including one and a half sacks for a loss of 23 yards.
Thomas More returns home next Saturday (October 3) when it hosts No. 14 ranked Washington & Jefferson College at 1 p.m. at BB&T Field in Crestview Hills, Kentucky.