OPA LOCKA, Fla. – The
thing that slowed ninth-ranked Keiser down was a two-to-three-hour weather delay which took place in the third quarter of its 49-10 win over St. Thomas on Sept. 26.
Save for a few plays and drives later in the second half, it was all Keiser as the road team simply had its way with St. Thomas in their second-ever meeting in NAIA Sun/Mid-South Conference play.
Seahawks defensive back Sage Chen-Young caught a pick with 10:55 left in the first quarter, setting his team up for a potential score to open the game up.
At the 6:24 mark, running back Marques Burgess (2,000+ career all-purpose yards; 20 career rushing touchdowns) ran past the Bobcats defence en route to a 20-yard rushing touchdown.
With an extra point by kicker Logan Robinson, Keiser (3-0; 3-0 Sun Division/Mid-South Conference) went up 7-0 over St. Thomas (0-2; 0-2 Sun/Mid-South).
The score would hold until the 11:28 mark of the second quarter, when Keiser quarterback Eli Matthews (164 passing yards, 2 touchdowns) found wide receiver Jerson Jacques in the end zone. Robinson’s second extra point extended Keiser’s lead to 14-0.
At the 5:47 mark of the second quarter, Seahawks running back Antwione Sims (136 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns) scored his first touchdown on the ground to help his team get a 21-0 lead over the Bobcats.
And with 30.8 seconds left in the second quarter, Matthews (4,000+ career passing yards) connected with wide receiver Traionn Jones for a 4-yard passing score.
Robinson, who hit four extra points in the first half, sent Keiser into halftime with a 28-0 lead.
The start of the second half was much of the same, as Burgess reached the end zone for a second time to extend Keiser’s lead to 35-0. This occurred at the 12:11 mark.
But later in the third, St. Thomas got on the board with a field goal made at the 4:01 mark.
Contributing to the Bobcats field goal run was running back Robert Armes, who hit paydirt on several runs in his team’s drive that was highlighted by one which got to the Seahawks 7-yard line.
Armes spoke on the drive that cut Keiser’s lead to 35-3.
“That wouldn’t have happened without my o-line,” Armes said. “They’re fighting every play, regardless of what the score is. They’re not going to give up on me, so I’m not going to give up on them.”
Bobcats offensive lineman and captain Joey Suarez chimed in on the scoring drive as well.
“It’s extremely important to get people like Bobby (Robert Armes) the ball,” Suarez said. “If the line isn’t the way it is as a unit, we’re not gonna be able to run the ball. We had good tempo, which put us in good positions. Bobby ran the ball really hard, and [quarterback] Tyler [Thomas] put us in a pretty good situation. It was a difficult defense, but we did pretty well on that drive.”
St. Thomas played reasonably well the rest of the way, save for another touchdown run early in the fourth quarter by Sims, who had a 3-yard touchdown run at the 14:53 mark that gave Keiser a 42-3 lead.
After Keiser backup quarterback Logan Good found wide receiver Carlos Sylencieux in the end zone (49-3 lead; 10:45 left in the fourth), it was all about St. Thomas until the final buzzer.
Thomas was in control on the Bobcats final drive of the game. He marched his team down the field and later found wide receiver John Israel-Cooper for a 14-yard touchdown pass at the 4:30 mark.
As Thomas was looking for an open man in the end zone, he spun his way out of a jam to avoid being sacked by the Seahawks defense.
The Thomas touchdown pass and extra point proved to be the final score of the game at 49-10.
“It was a good job by Tyler coming in and giving himself a chance,” St. Thomas head coach Bill Rychal said. “I thought for sure he was gonna get sacked there…He did a great job of moving around in the pocket, keeping his eyes up, and giving us an opportunity to at least score a touchdown there.”
Rychal on his team’s second-half adjustments after the weather delay:
“When you play tentative football against a good team, it will bite you every time,” Rychal said.
“We were just getting our guys to come out and not necessarily care about making mistakes,” Rychal continued. “Don’t play too cautious; that’s where we’re at right now. [We’re] a team that needs to just fight every play and correct some of those mistakes.”
TOTAL YARDS: Keiser (513), St. Thomas (244)
NEXT GAME FOR ST. THOMAS: Road game at Warner; Saturday, Oct. 3, 1 p.m. kickoff
NEXT GAME FOR KEISER: Road game at Florida Memorial; Saturday, Oct. 3, 1:30 p.m. kickoff
PHOTO CREDITS: Keiser Football
