Kentucky Christian scores in final seconds, spoils Thomas More’s NAIA football debut, 54-49

By Don Owen
NKyTribune reporter

With less than three minutes remaining in the game Saturday night, it appeared Thomas More had engineered the biggest come-from-behind victory in program history.

The Saints — who had rallied from a 34-7 deficit — owned a 49-48 lead against visiting Kentucky Christian in the first-ever night football game at BB&T Field. A crowd of 5,622 cheered loudly as Thomas More faced a third-and-3 play at the Kentucky Christian 42-yard-line.

Quarterback Justin Post dropped back and looked to pass, but Kentucky Christian cornerback Demetric McGrue blitzed in untouched from the blind side and sacked Post with a bone-jarring hit, causing a fumble that was recovered by the Knights’ Chris Draper at the Thomas More 48.

“They made a great call for what we had going on that play,” Thomas More head coach Trevor Stellman said. “They figured that bringing two defenders off that back edge was going to leave somebody running fairly free. That’s good coaching on their part. Great thing about football is both teams get coached. On that play, they got us and it turned out to be the difference in the game.”

It did indeed. Kentucky Christian proceeded to drive 48 yards in eight plays, capped by Jakwon Roberts’ 1-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Devon McCoy with 9.1 seconds remaining in the game that lifted the Knights to a wild 54-49 victory.

The heartbreaking defeat spoiled an otherwise memorable evening for Thomas More, which was making its debut in the NAIA and playing a home game at night for the first time in history.

Kentucky Christian (1-0) amassed 707 yards of total offense under the newly installed lights at BB&T Field. The Knights built a 34-7 lead with 8:05 remaining before halftime when quarterback Dorian Isaak found wide receiver Anton Wheeler for an 80-yard touchdown pass.

Thomas More responded by going 75 yards in seven plays, with Post finding Da’marco Canty for a 29-yard touchdown to cut the Kentucky Christian lead to 34-14. It also marked the beginning of a huge comeback for Thomas More.

“Offensively, we found some things that we could exploit that (Kentucky Christian) was doing,” Stellman said. “Our players picked it up quickly, once we told them what to expect. It allowed us to be more in control of the perimeter, where we needed to be. It hurt us in the running game. Teams will realize running is what we want to do. Hopefully this game shows we’re just as capable of passing as well.”

Isaak threw for 367 yards and four touchdowns before leaving the game with an injury early in the third quarter. By that time, the Knights still owned a 34-21 lead and appeared in control. A southpaw, Isaak completed 17 passes in 29 attempts to a corps of talented receivers.

“The hard part about these first games is both teams are kind of brand new,” Stellman said. “You can exchange as much film as you want from the previous year, but teams are always going to be different. It’s more about executing. Just as we took advantage of them in the second half, they took advantage of some things that they found early in the first half on us and made us pay for it.”

With the momentum shifting after Isaak’s injury, Thomas More dominated the third quarter and took a 35-34 lead when Post found Johnny McNally behind the Kentucky Christian secondary for a 62-yard scoring pass. The Saints extended their advantage to 42-34 early in the fourth quarter on Dillon Powell’s 5-yard touchdown run, and it appeared Thomas More’s debut in the NAIA would result in a victory.

Post ignited the Thomas More rally by throwing for a school-record 436 yards and five touchdowns. The senior quarterback completed 23 passes in 43 attempts with three interceptions, and he also rushed for 28 yards.

“Justin Post was a warrior,” Stellman said. “I know he’s not pleased with his performance because in his mind he thinks of the turnovers. But I know what was going on around him, and the fact he broke the school record tonight for passing yards says a great deal. He was taking hits all over the place and cramping up, but he never missed a play.”

Canty finished with five receptions for 172 yards and two touchdowns, while McNally caught seven passes for 163 yards and a pair of scores. Thomas More gained 554 total yards — 301 of those yards in the second half.

Roberts, who relieved Isaak at quarterback, finished 20-of-27 passing for 156 yards and three touchdowns. McCoy caught 16 passes for 155 yards and three touchdowns, including the winning score in the final seconds on a fade route in the end zone when he used his 6-foot-6 frame to haul in the pass over 5-foot-5 cornerback Isaiah Hendley.

Wheeler added eight receptions for 225 yards and three touchdowns for the Knights, while Kris Lewis caught 11 passes for 114 yards. On the ground, De’Anta Sipp powered his way for 140 yards and a score.

“You could see tonight there’s a difference of who’s been at this level (NAIA) for a little bit longer than us,” Stellman said of his team’s NAIA debut after moving up from the non-scholarship NCAA Division III level. “That’s not going to change. That’s not going to change next week, and it’s not going to change by the end of the season. It’s a matter of us fighting the way we did in the second half to prove we belong here.”

Thomas More is scheduled to travel to Florida next Saturday to meet St. Thomas University in the Bobcats’ first-ever college football game. St. Thomas, which will compete in the NAIA and the Mid-South Conference, is located in Miami Gardens.

That game will also reunite Thomas More with its former president, Davis Armstrong. Now the president of St. Thomas, Armstrong spearheaded the launch of the Florida school’s football and marching band programs. Prior to that, he spent five years as the president of Thomas More.

Due to Hurricane Dorian and the potential damage in Florida, Thomas More officials said a conference call would be held Monday with the St. Thomas administration to determine if the game will be played next Saturday.

KENTUCKY CHRISTIAN 54, THOMAS MORE 49
Score by quarter…..1- 2- 3- 4- F
Kentucky Christian.. 21 13 0 20 54
Thomas More………. 7 7 21 14 49

Scoring Summary:
KCU-Devon McCoy 6 yd pass from Dorian Isaak (Eric Parra kick)
TM-Da’marco Canty 75 yd pass from Justin Post (Alexander Haley kick)
KCU-Anton Wheeler 55 yd pass from Dorian Isaak (Eric Parra kick)
KCU-Kris Lewis 54 yd pass from Dorian Isaak (Eric Parra kick)
KCU-De’Anta Sipp 1 yd run (Eric Parra kick)
KCU-Anton Wheeler 80 yd pass from Dorian Isaak (Eric Parra kick failed)
TM-Da’marco Canty 29 yd pass from Justin Post (Alexander Haley kick)
TM-Johnny McNally 21 yd pass from Justin Post (Alexander Haley kick)
TM-Justin Durham 4 yd pass from Justin Post (Alexander Haley kick)
TM-Johnny McNally 62 yd pass from Justin Post (Alexander Haley kick)
TM-Dillon Powell 5 yd run (Alexander Haley kick)
KCU-Anton Wheeler 18 yd pass from Jakwon Roberts (Lewis Davalos pass from Jakwon Roberts)
TM-Monalo Caldwell 1 yd run (Alexander Haley kick)
KCU-Devon McCoy 4 yd pass from Jakwon Roberts (TEAM rush fumbld)
KCU-Devon McCoy 1 yd pass from Jakwon Roberts (Jakwon Roberts pass intcpt)
RECORDS: Kentucky Christian 1-0, Thomas More 0-1

Contact Don Owen at don@nkytrib.com and follow him on Twitter at @dontribunesport