(CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky.) – Thomas More College senior running back Domonique Hayden (Lexington, Ky./Lexington Christian Academy) set two records and head coach Jim Hilvert reached a milestone today (Saturday, September 27, 2014) as the 20th-ranked Saints defeated Westminster College, 49-6, in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game at The Bank of Kentucky Field in Crestview Hills, Kentucky.
Hayden set the new Thomas More single-game rushing yardage record with 336 yards today and also set the Thomas More career rushing yardage record as he now has 4,788 career yards on the ground. The win was Hilvert's 62nd win at Thomas More, which is the most by any Thomas More football coach in the program's 25-year history. The previous mark was 61 wins, which was held by Vic Clark (1990-98).
Thomas More set a team record for rushing yards in a game with 537 yards on the ground.
With the win, the Saints improve to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the PAC. With the loss, the Titans fall to 0-4 overall and 0-2 in the PAC.
Thomas More never trailed in the game as it led 14-0 after one quarter, 21-6 at halftime and 35-6 after three quarters.
The Saints took an early 7-0 lead when Hayden scored on a 52-yard run and junior place kicker Tommy Budke (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain) added the point-after-attempt with 12:54 to play in the quarter.
With 2:50 to play in the opening quarter Hayden scored on a two-yard run and Budke added the PAT to increase Thomas More's lead to 14-0.
Westminster cut the lead to 14-6 as Justin Dayl made a 33-yard field goal with 9:10 to play in the second quarter and a 27-yard field goal at the 6:41 mark of the second quarter.
Thomas More extended the lead to 21-6 at halftime as senior wide receiver Ryan Winkler (Independence, Ky./Simon Kenton) scored on a seven yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Jensen Gebhardt (Kings Mills, Ohio/Kings) and Budke added the PAT with 4:45 to play in the second quarter.
Hayden scored on 70-yard touchdown run and Budke added the PAT with 12:58 to play in the third quarter to increase the lead to 28-6.
The Saints extended the lead to 35-6 when Hayden scored on a 45-yard run and Budke added the PAT with 1:58 to play in the third quarter.
Junior defensive lineman Tyler Ellis (Harrison, Ohio/Harrison) returned a fumble 40 yards and Budke added the PAT to give the Saints a 42-6 lead with 9:30 to play in the game.
Thomas More closed out the scoring with 1:51 to play in the fourth quarter as sophomore running back Gabe Rice (Cincinnati, Ohio/Norwood) scored on a five yard run and freshman kicker Zach Bryant (Milford, Ohio/Milford) made the PAT for the final score of 49-6.
Thomas More out-gained Westminster, 623 (537 rushing/86 passing) to 263 (136 rushing/127 passing).
Hayden finished the game with 336 yards rushing and four touchdowns, while he also had one catch for 13 yards. Freshman running back CT Tarrant (Pittsburgh, Pa./Hamilton (Ohio)) added 102 yards on the ground on nine carries, while sophomore Myron Fears, Jr. (Atlanta, Ga./Heritage) had two carries for 61 yards. Gebhardt was 10-of-22 passing for 86 yards and one touchdown and Winkler led the receiving corps with five catches for 45 yards and a touchdown.
The defense was led by junior defensive end Erick Butler (Eminence, Ky./Henry County) with eight tackles (three solo, five assisted), including one sack for a loss of 14 yards and one forced fumble. Sophomore Danny Scholz, Jr. (Cincinnati, Ohio/New Richmond) had six tackles (four solo, two assisted), sophomore linebacker Austin Copeland (Cincinnati, Ohio/Kings) had six tackles (one solo, five assisted), while junior linebacker Nick Pennekamp (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) had five tackles (two solo, three assisted), including one sack for five yards and sophomore defensive lineman Houston Krause (Fairfield, Ohio/Badin) had five tackles (one solo, four assisted), including a half sack.
Thomas More returns to action next Saturday (October 4) when it travels to Washington, Pennsylvania to play PAC rival Washington & Jefferson College at 7 p.m. at Cameron Stadium.