(CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky.) - The 11th-ranked Thomas More College football team held across-the-river rival, the College of Mount St. Joseph to 127 yards as it defeated the Lions, 33-0, today (Saturday, November 13, 2010) in Bridge Bowl XV at The Bank of Kentucky Field in Crestview Hills, Kentucky.
With the win, the Saints improve to 10-0 and end the regular season undefeated for the fifth time in the 21-year history of the program. With the loss, the Lions end the season at 5-5.
Thomas More never trailed in the game as it led 9-0 after one quarter, 23-0 at halftime and 33-0 after three quarters.
Thomas More led 6-0 with 11:01 to play in the first quarter when freshman running back Domonique Hayden (Lexington, Ky./Lexington Christian Academy) scored on a one-yard touchdown runs and senior place kicker Dustin Zink's (Cold Spring, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) point-after-attempt failed.
The Saints increased the lead to 9-0 when Zink connected on a 24-yard field goal with 5:46 to play in the opening quarter.
With 10:17 to play in the second quarter sophomore quarterback Robert Kues (Fort Thomas, Ky./Newport Central Catholic) connected on a 13-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Austin Studer (Alexandria, Ky./Campbell County) and Zink added the PAT to increase the lead to 16-0.
The Saints increased the lead to 23-0 at halftime when Kues scored on an 11-yard touchdown run and Zink added the PAT with 5:15 to play in the first half.
In the third quarter, Zink connected on a 31-yard field goal to increase the lead to 26-0 with 9:10 to play in the quarter.
Thomas More extended the lead to 33-0 with 2:35 to play in the third quarter when Kues connected on a 32-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Mercier Doucette (Florence, Ky./Boone County) and Zink added the PAT. Both teams weren't able to score in the fourth quarter and the Saints went onto the 33-0 win.
The Saints' defense held the Lions to 127 yards of total offense, while the offense rolled up 451 yards of total offense.
Offensively, the Saints were led by Kues, who was 17-of-30 passing for 195 yards and two touchdowns and had 14 rushes for 21 yards and one touchdown. Hayden crossed the century mark on the ground as he had 157 yards on 17 carries and had one touchdown and also had three catches for nine yards. Junior running back Kendall Owens (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) had 11 rushes for 58 yard and also had four catches for 77 yards.
Defensively, the Saints were led by senior defensive end Justin Smith (Fort Thomas, Ky./Newport Central Catholic), who had seven tackles (three solo, four assisted), including two and a half for a loss and one sack. Senior linebacker Greg Dixon (Fort Wright, Ky./Covington Catholic) had six tackles (four solo, two assisted), including one for a loss, sophomore linebacker NIck Gramke (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) had five tackles (three solo, two assisted), including one for a loss and junior defensive end Jay Volker (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) had three tackles (all solo), including three for a loss and two sacks.
The Saints will find out their NCAA Division III Championship first round opponent and the site of next Saturday's game tomorrow (Sunday, November 14, 2010) when the NCAA Division III Football Committee releases the NCAA Division III Football Championship brackets sometime between 3 and 3:30 p.m. on ESPNews. The brackets will also be released on the NCAA's Championship website (www.ncaa.com) and the College's athletic website (www.thomasmore.edu/athletics) when they become available.