Football 2018: Week #6 at Emory and Henry

Another Saturday, another big game at a school we had never ben to before. Emory and Henry is in the hills where Kentucky, West Virginia, and Virginia all collide. Absolutely beautiful campus, one of the best I have ever seen, about six hours from our campus. Half the trip was off the highways, as we winded through hills and hollows, and crossed and drove along more than a few rivers. It was a beautiful ride, and after last weekends 12-hour trip back from St. Lawrence it went by relatively quickly.

I’ve been to many campuses both big and small in my day and Emery and Henry is one of the most beautiful. Located on hills, it is a cluster of brick buildings connected by cobblestone walkways. Lots of trees, a duck pond, plenty of green space.

They had a good crowd at the game, and one of the best DIII bands I have ever heard. It made a for a great environment, too bad for them that we lead the whole way on some explosive plays that put us up early and kept us there. Our kicker had a 47-yard field goal and all eight kickoffs went in the end zone, and our tailback had over 200 yards rushing.

On Sunday our team volunteered for the Special Olympics Flag Football State Championships, which took place in our stadium. It was a warm, sunny day with a nice crowd and some great kids participating. As I left our coaching meeting around 2:30 I went out and observed for a while and I could tell most of our kids were really enjoying it and not just putting time in.

The official game report once again courtesy of ThomasMoreSaints.com:

 The Thomas More University football team extended its winning streak to five games as it defeated Emory & Henry College, 41-27, today (Saturday, October 6, 2018) at Fred Selfe Stadium in Emory, Virginia.

• Thomas More took a 7-0 lead when sophomore tight end Jaeison Jefferson (Northport, Ala./Tuscaloosa County) scored on a 12-yard touchdown pass from  junior quarterback Justin Post (Macedonia, Ohio/Nordonia) and junior kicker Cole Mathias (Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) added the PAT with 13:10 to play in the quarter.
• The Wasps tied the game with 8:25 to play in the opening quarter when Tyree Ward scored on a one-yard run and Matt Seals added the PAT.
• Mathias connected on a 33-yard field goal and the Saints led 10-7 with 6:14 to play in the quarter.
• Thomas More extended the lead to 17-7 with 1:38 to play in the game when Post connected on a 27-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Logan Winkler(Independence, Ky./Simon Kenton) and Mathias added the PAT.

• Seals made a 21-yard field goal for Emory & Henry to cut the lead to 17-7 with 11:09 to play in the quarter.
• Thomas More answered with 10:47 to play in the second quarter when senior running back Hjavier Pitts (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mt. Healthy) scored on a 63-yard touchdown run and Mathis made the PAT to me the score 24-10.
• Emory & Henry cut the lead to 24-13 at halftime when Seals made a 21-yard field goal with two-seconds to play in the quarter.

• Emory & Henry cut the lead to 24-20 with 10:12 to play in the quarter when Derrick Yates scored on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Hunter Taylor and Seals added the PAT.
• The Saints answered quickly when Post connected on a 61-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Da'marco Canty (Bogart, Ga./North Oconee) and Mathias made the PAT to increase the lead to 31-20 with 9:19 to play in the quarter.

• Mathias gave the Saints a 34-20 lead with 10:00 to play in the game when he made a school record-tying 47-yard field goal.
• Thomas More increased the lead to 41-20 with 3:44 to play in the game when Pitts scored on a 35-yard touchdown run and Mathias added the PAT.
• Emory & Henry's Yates scored on a seven-yard touchdown pass from Taylor and Seals added the PAT with 12-seconds to play, but it wasn't enough as the Saints posted the 41-27 victory.

• Thomas More improves to 5-1 and Emory & Henry falls to 2-2.
• The Saints out-gained the Wasps 471 yards (291 rushing/180 passing) to 446 yards (174 rushing/272 passing).
• Post was 10-of-19 passing for 180 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing the ball six times for 62 yards.
• Pitts carried the ball 21 times for a career-high 204 yards and two touchdowns.
• Canty finished the game with one catch for 61 yards and a touchdown.
• Winkler pulled in two catches for 36 yards and a touchdown.
• Junior linebacker Cody Coffey (Anderson, Ohio/Anderson) led the team with 12 tackles (eight solo/four assisted), including a tackle for a loss.
• Junior defensive back Thomas Williams (Oregonia, Ohio/Clinton-Massie) had 11 tackles (seven solo/four assisted) and a forced fumble.
• First-year linebacker Peyton Van Horn (Hebron, Ky./Conner) finished the game with nine tackles (five solo/four assisted), including a tackle for a loss.

On Sunday, after another long road trip to Virginia and back, our team spent the afternoon volunteering at the Kentucky State Championship of Special Olympics Touch Football in our stadium. 

On Sunday, after another long road trip to Virginia and back, our team spent the afternoon volunteering at the Kentucky State Championship of Special Olympics Touch Football in our stadium.