CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. – Senior wide receiver Tyler Vogelpohl (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) set a single-game school record with 207-yards receiving as the No. 23-ranked Thomas More College football team opened the Regis Scafe era with a 48-0 shutout win over No. 19-ranked St. John Fisher College today (Saturday, September 5, 2015) in a non-conference game at BB&T Field in Crestview Hills, Kentucky.
The Saints start the season at 1-0 and the Cardinals are 0-1. Thomas More led 10-0 after one quarter, 27-0 at halftime and 34-0 after three quarters. It was the first time Thomas More had shut out an opponent since November 2, 2013 when it shutout Saint Vincent College, 31-0. The last time St. John Fisher was held scoreless was during the 2001 season against Ithaca College.
Thomas More took an early 7-0 lead when Vogelpohl scored on a 17-yard pass from senior quarterback Jensen Gebhardt (Kings Mills, Ohio/Kings) and senior placekicker Tommy Budke (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain) added the point-after-attempt with 11:42 to play in the first quarter.
Budke connected on a 22-yard field goal with 5:35 to play in the opening quarter to increase the lead to 10-0.
The Saints extended the lead to 17-0 with 12:07 to play in the second quarter when Gebhardt connected on a two-yard touchdown pass to sophomore fullback Cam Evans (Indianapolis, Ind./Decatur Central) and Budke added the PAT.
Gebhardt threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Michael Bernecker (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) and Budke added the PAT with 1:11 to play in the second quarter to increase the lead to 24-0.
Budke made a 28-yard field goal as time expired at halftime to give the Saints a 27-0 lead at intermission.
In the third quarter, Thomas More extended the lead to 34-0 with 11:11 to play in the quarter when Vogelpohl caught a 50-yard touchdown pass from Gebhardt and Budke added the PAT.
The Saints increased the lead to 41-0 when senior wide receiver Jeremy Duncan (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller) caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Brenan Kuntz (Independence, Ky./Simon Kenton) and Budke added the PAT with 7:31 to play in the fourth quarter.
Thomas More closed out the scoring with 3:26 to play in the final quarter when Kuntz connected on a 77-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Matt Betustak (Avon, Ind./Avon) and Budke added the PAT for the final score of 48-0.
Thomas More out-gained St. John Fisher 607 yards (171 passing/436 passing) to 205 yards (77 rushing/128 passing).
Gebhardt was 18-of-29 passing with 332 yards and four touchdowns, while Kuntz was four-of-seven passing for 104 yards and two touchdowns.
Freshman running back Hjavier Pitts (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mt. Healthy) led the team on the ground with 90 yards on 11 carries and sophomore running back C.T. Tarrant (Hamilton, Ohio/Hamilton) had 12 carries for 77 yards. Vogelpohl led the receiving corps with eight catches for the school-record 207 yards and two touchdowns.
Senior defensive end Erick Butler (Eminence, Ky./Henry County) led the Saints' defense with seven tackles (four solo, three assisted), including one sack and one and a half tackles for a loss. Junior linebacker Austin Copeland (Cincinnati, Ohio/Kings) has six tackles (four solo, two assisted), including one sack and two tackles for a loss and sophomore Tre' Tunstill (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) had six tackles (two solo, four assisted). Sophomore defensive back Johnny Lammers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) had one interception, which he returned 40-yards.
Thomas More remains at home next Saturday (September 12) when it hosts traditional rival Hanover College. Kick-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. at BB&T Field in Crestview Hills, Kentucky.