Thomas More rushes past Hanover on Saturday, 27-18, gives Stellman first coaching victory

NKyTribune staff

Hjavier Pitts rushed for 140 yards and two touchdowns Saturday afternoon as Thomas More gave head coach Trevor Stellman his first career victory with a 27-18 win at Hanover.

Luke Zajac added 112 yards on the ground for Thomas More, which finished with 487 yards of total offense. The Saints (1-1) built a 14-6 halftime lead and increased that advantage to 20-6 midway through the third quarter on quarterback Justin Post’s rushing touchdown.

Hanover (0-2) sliced the Thomas More lead to 20-12 with 5:08 left in the third quarter when quarterback Noah Wezensky found receiver Jared Frank for a 14-yard touchdown pass. The Saints responded with a 38-yard touchdown run by Pitts to increase their advantage to 27-12 and coasted to the road win.

Thomas More is now 12-5 all-time against Hanover and has won the last seven meetings. Prior to Saturday, the two schools had not played since 2015, when Thomas More rolled to an 84-7 win at Crestview Hills.

Post was 19-of-31 passing for 207 yards, and he added eight rushes for 28 yards and two touchdowns. Mitchell Hogue finished with eight receptions for 72 yards for Thomas More.

The Thomas More defense held Hanover to just 93 yards on the ground and intercepted Wezensky three times. The Panthers gained 243 yards through the air and totaled 336 yards of total offense.

Stellman, in his first year as Thomas More’s head coach, was a four-year letter winner for the Saints. He led Thomas More to a pair of Presidents’ Athletic Conference titles as a quarterback, setting school records for touchdown passes in a season (26) and a game (four). Stellman then spent eight years as an assistant coach for the Saints, including six seasons as offensive coordinator.

Thomas More plays host to Wisconsin-Platteville next Saturday at noon at BB&T Field in Crestview Hills.

Thomas More….7-7-13-0—27
Hanover……….. 6-0-6-6—18

Scoring Summary:
TM-Justin Post 11 yd run (Cole Mathias kick)
HC-Jackson Daugher 71 yd pass from Noah Wezensky (Dozier Combs kick failed)
TM-Hjavier Pitts 1 yd run (Cole Mathias kick)
TM-Justin Post 7 yd run (Cole Mathias kick failed)
HC-Jared Frank 14 yd pass from Noah Wezensky (Dozier Combs kick failed)
TM-Hjavier Pitts 38 yd run (Cole Mathias kick)
HC-Jared Frank 23 yd pass from Noah Wezensky (Noah Wezensky pass failed)

(Information compiled from Thomas More Athletic Communications and staff reports)