The 12th-ranked Thomas More College football team claimed its seventh Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) title and an undefeated regular season Saturday as it rallied to defeat 18th-ranked Case Western Reserve University 36-32 at DiSanto Field in Cleveland, Ohio.
With the win, the Saints end the regular season 10-0 and 8-0 in the PAC. The undefeated regular season is the sixth in the program’s 26-year history.
With the PAC Championship the Saints claim the PAC’s automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Division III Playoffs. It will mark the seventh time that Thomas More will be making an appearance in the NCAA playoffs and first since the 2011 season. With the loss, the Spartans fall to 7-2 overall and 6-1 in the PAC.
The Saints, who are idle next week, will find out their opponent and location of their first round game next Sunday at 6 p.m. with a selection show on the NCAA’s Championship website (www.ncaa.com).
Thomas More led 7-0 after one quarter and 14-13 at halftime and the Spartans led 26-21 after three quarters.
Thomas More took a 27-26 lead when Jensen Gebhardt connected on a five-yard pass to senior wide receiver Goose Cohorn (Independence, Ky./Dixie Heights) and the two-point conversation failed with 14:56 to play in the fourth quarter.
The Spartans retook the lead at 32-27 on a Cuda two-yard run with 10:13 to play in the fourth quarter. On Case Western Reserve’s two-point try, Cuda fumbled the ball and senior linebacker Kyle Fuller (Taylor Mill, Ky./Holy Cross) returned the ball to the other endzone for two points and to cut the lead to 32-29.
Thomas More took a 36-32 lead with 5:17 to play in the game when freshman running back Luke Zajac (Edgewood, Ky./Dixie Heights) scored on a one-yard run and Budke added the PAT. On the ensuing drive sophomore defensive back Johnny Lammers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) intercepted a Cuda pass and the Saints ran the clock out for the 36-32 victory.
Gebhardt finished the game 13-of-26 passing for 223 yards and two touchdowns, while Pitts led the team on the ground with 22 carries for 84 yards and one touchdown. Vogelpohl had six catches for 108 yards and a touchdown, while Cohorn had six catches for 104 yards and a touchdown.
The defense was led by sophomore linebacker Tre’ Tunstill (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) with 10 catches (six solo, four assisted), including a half tackle, senior defensive lineman Erick Butler (Eminence, Ky./Henry County) with 10 tackles (five solo, five assisted), including one and a half sacks and two and a half tackles for a loss, a forced fumble and a fumble recovering and Lammers with 10 tackles (five solo, five assisted) and an interception.
Fuller finished with nine tackles (seven solo, two assisted) and senior linebacker Nick Pennekamp (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) with eight tackles (four solo, four assisted), while senior defensive back Ian Gunn (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) had two interceptions.
From TMC Athletics