Saints football moves above .500 at Homecoming
For the first time in his young coaching career, first-year TMU coach Chris Norwell has his career mark on the right side of the ledger as the now 4-3 Saints defeated Cumberland University (Tenn.) 24-16 Saturday afternoon. The win also has TMU 3-1 in the Mid-South Conference.
Coming off his three-passing-TD performance a week ago, QB Blaine Espinosa got things going with a 66-yard run, longest in his career, on the second play of the game. After a 23-yard Luke Iden field goal and a Cumberland TD, the Saints manufactured one of those season-changing, certainly game-changing moments, on a Cumberland 47-yard field goal attempt late in the first half.
But that was not to be as TMU’s Jackson Gear got a big rush and his right hand on the kick, allowing Colton Sandhas to pull off a 70-yard scoop and score. Instead of a possible 10-9 TMU lead, it was TMU 17, Cumberland 6 at halftime. But a quick score after intermission and then a drive to the TMU 9 had Cumberland poised to take their first lead before the Saints stopped the drive, allowing only a field goal to cut the lead to 17-16.
Thomas More ended Cumberland’s next drive with a Jackson Belk interception, the first of his career, at the 43-yard line that he returned 47 yards to the Cumberland 14. In just three plays, Espinosa took it into the end zone for his second TD and a 24-16 TMU lead that held up the rest of the way. This was Espinosa’s second game of the season with two rushing TDs.
FOOTNOTED: Trey Brausch led TMU with seven tackles (four solo, three assisted) . . . Amos Griffith and Ross Halverstadt each had a tackle for loss and a sack with Halverstadt now owning three sacks this season while Griffith has two . . . the Saints have now blocked a kick in back-to-back home games.
UP NEXT: Thomas More will head back on the road next week to play NAIA No. 6 Bethel (Tenn.) Wildcats in McKenzie, Tenn. The Saints beat Bethel 24-14 on the road last season.
Women’s soccer falls at NAIA No. 7 UT Southern
NAIA power UT Southern was too much for the TMU women Saturday at Pulaski, Tenn., beating the Saints 4-1. The loss drops TMU to 9-4-2 and 4-4 in the Mid-South. UT Southern jumped out in the first minute on an Anais Stephany goal and never really looked back. TMU junior Ryann Meddings scored in the 61st minute to put the Saints within one (2-1) before a pair of final goals gave UT Southern the final three-goal margin.
UP NEXT: The Saints return to the field Wednesday against NAIA No. 4 Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Ky.
Saints women finish 1st at Wilmington
TMU women’s cross-country team finished first at the Jenna Strong Invitational in Wilmington, Ohio, with three top 10 finishers and 13 in the top 75 for a total of 49 points. First-year Dyllan Hasler, a Scott grad from Independence, led the Saints, finishing second with a time of 19:06.9.
Here’s how the rest of the Saints’ lineup placed: Savannah Faught, sixth, 19:23.3; Jess Sanders, 10th, 19:52.9; Sarah Bertsch (a Newport Central Catholic grad from Wilder), 14th, 20:07.2; Marlee Ross, 17th, 20:12.2; Ashley Akins (a Walton-Verona grad from Verona), 18th, 20:18.1; Bethany Althauser, 26th, 20:51.7; Caileigh Waters (a Walton-Verona grad from Walton), 36th, 21:03.8; Jenna Cayze (a Notre Dame grad from Florence), 38th, 21:05.3; Ashley Albrinck, 39th, 21:08; Alana Hinton, 64th, 21:57.5; Mya Bross, 68th, 22:03.9; Caroline Kleman (a Notre Dame grad from Lakeside Park), 75th, 22:17.9.
UP NEXT: The Saints head to the NAIA Great Lakes Challenge in Grand Rapids, Mich., Saturday.
Saints volleyballers sweep Central State
The Thomas More women’s volleyball team swept the visiting Central State University Marauders 3-0 at home Thursday to improve to 14-8 on the season. The scores were 25-17, 25-13, 25-14.
Down 11-8 in the first set, TMU put together a 12-2 run to take over the match momentum led by a pair of Jess Gearries kills and a pair of Sam McClanahan aces. Sydney Hilderbran would add have a pair of kills down the stretch.
Hilderbran had four kills in the second set while Gearries and Brenna Young each had three. TMU used a final 6-0 run to finish off the third set and the match as Gearries had four more kills while Sawyer Lorentz had three.
NOTABLE: Gearries finished with a match-high 11 kills, her sixth match this season with double-digit kills while hitting a season-best .526 . . . Asia Ferrando had a match-high 17 digs, her 20th time this season with double-digit digs and 18th with 15 or more digs . . . McClanahan had a match-high 25 assists, her 21st match this season with 25 or more assists . . . the Saints recorded 11 aces, the fourth match this season with 11 or more.
UP NEXT: Thomas More moves back into MSC play Thursday in Portsmouth, Ohio at Shawnee State. TMU beat Shawnee State 3-1 Sep. 15 in the MSC opener.