GREENVILLE, Pa.--Graduate student running back Ryan Gomes (Tampa, Fla., Walter L. Sickles) finished with 106 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns in his season debut Saturday afternoon, helping lead Westminster College to a 58-6 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) victory over Thiel College at Alumni Stadium at Stoeber Field.
Westminster improved to 3-0 this season. It was the program's eighth-straight win in the series and fourth-straight victory in Greenville.
Gomes rushed 12 times for 60 yards with a pair of touchdowns. He gave Westminster an early 7-0 lead after scoring on a 46-yard screen pass from junior quarterback Ty McGowan (Moon Township, Pa., Moon) with 10:47 to go in the first. His three-yard touchdown pushed the lead to 21-0 less than minute in the second quarter and scored on a two-yard run four-and-a-half minutes into the third quarter that stretched Westminster's lead to 38-0.
McGowan completed 14-of-19 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed three times for 31 yards. Through three games McGowan owns a 78 percent completion percentage and is averaging 197.3 passing yards per game.
Westminster rolled up 185 rushing yards. Freshman quarterback Sean O'Shea (Cranberry Township, Pa., Seneca Valley) rushed four times for 31 yards while sophomore wide receiver Clayton Cannon Jr. (Parkland, Fla., Marjory Stoneman Douglas) had 23 yards on five carries. Junior running back Demere White (Manalapan, N.J., DePaul Catholic) scored from a yard out midway through the third and sophomore running back Damarion Collins (Porter, Texas, Humble) scored on a two-yard plunge with under six minutes left in the game.
Westminster has 11 rushing touchdowns this season, compared to just three for its opponents.
Graduate student tight end Alex Shaughnessy (Canonsburg, Pa., Seton LaSalle) hauled in three passes for 11 yards, including a three-yard touchdown grab with 15 seconds remaining in the first half. It was the second receiving touchdown of his career. Freshman wide receiver/defensive back Brite Cannon (Parkland, Fla., Monarch) caught four passes for 32 yards while senior wide receiver Jalen Washington (Orlando, Fla., Dr. Phillips) had three catches for 17 yards.
Senior safety Brice Butler (Farrell, Pa., Farrell) and Cannon each returned punts for touchdowns. Butler's career long 64-yard return with six-and-a-half minutes to go in the first quarter gave Westminster a 14-0 lead. It was the first punt return for a touchdown of his career and his sixth return for a score (5 interceptions returned, 1 punt returned). Cannon's 42-yard return for a score came with just over three minutes left in the game.
Westminster scored on all six of its red zone chances, converting five trips into touchdowns to go along with a 35-yard field goal by freshman Andrew Caranna (Copley, Ohio, Revere) in the second quarter. Titans also finished 5-of-10 on third down conversions.
Senior defensive back Kevin Wright (West Palm Beach, Fla., Seminole Ridge) totaled five tackles (3 solo) and 1.5 tackles for loss. Junior linebacker Dylan Sleva (Moon Township, Pa., Moon) finished with five tackles (1 solo). Westminster had five players register sacks on Saturday. Freshman defensive end Wes Donner (Bastrop, Texas, Manor) recorded three tackles (3 solo), 2.0 tackles for loss and a sack. Senior defensive tackle Jean Garry Joseph (North Miami, Fla., Ebenezer Christian) had three tackles (3 solo) and a sack while sophomore defensive tackle Jayden Jackson (Fort Pierce, Fla., Centennial), junior defensive end Solomon Davis (Ashburn, Va., Stone Bridge) and senior defensive end Keenan Heeter (Knox, Pa., Keystone) each had sacks.
The Titan defense limited the Tomcats to just 135 yards of total offense (36 rush, 99 pass). Westminster is allowing just 7.7 points per game this season.
Westminster was whistled for just two penalties for 25 yards.
Up Next
Westminster will host Washington & Jefferson College next Saturday. Kickoff at Memorial Field inside Harold Burry Stadium is scheduled for 1 p.m.