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Thomas More notebook: Lights, camera, plenty of action at BB&T Field in Saints’ NAIA debut


By Don Owen
NKyTribune reporter

Thomas More unveiled lights for football at BB&T Field on Saturday night in its NAIA debut. Kentucky Christian, meanwhile, unleashed an overpowering offensive performance during a season-opening 54-49 victory against the Saints.

Kentucky Christian finished with 707 yards of total offense, including 523 yards in the air. The Knights scored on passing plays of 55, 54 and 80 yards during the first half when they built a 34-7 lead. By halftime, Kentucky Christian had gained 435 total yards and owned a 34-14 advantage.

“The hard part about these first games is both teams are kind of brand new,” Thomas More head coach Trevor 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.”

Thomas More senior Da’marco Canty finished with five receptions for 172 yards and two touchdowns on Saturday, including a 75-yard pass that resulted in the Saints’ first-ever NAIA scoring play. (Photo by Jeff McCurry)

Thomas More, in fact, stormed from behind with 28 consecutive points to take a 35-34 lead when quarterback Justin Post found Johnny McNally behind the Kentucky Christian secondary for a 62-yard scoring pass. The Saints later extended their advantage to 42-34 early in the fourth quarter on Dillon Powell’s 5-yard touchdown run.

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.

CANTY’S CAN-DO PERFORMANCE: Thomas More senior wide receiver Da’marco Canty finished with five receptions for 172 yards and two touchdowns, including a 75-yard pass from Post that resulted in the Saints’ first-ever NAIA scoring play. Canty also hauled in a 29-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.

“Da’marco Canty had a great game,” Stellman said. “He was outstanding with the five catches and the big yardage. Johnny McNally also had a great game with seven catches and 163 yards. It’s rare for us to have one receiver gain 100 yards in a game.

“To have two players get 100 yards receiving is something I’m very happy about and it means we spread the ball around. Our receiving corps did an admirable job of keeping us in the game.”

ON THE GROUND: Powell led Thomas More on the ground with 31 yards on 14 carries. Justin Durham added 30 yards on five carries for the Saints, who averaged 3.7 yards per carry.

Kentucky Christian finished with 184 yards on the ground and averaged 5.0 yards per carry. De’Anta Sipp led the Knights with 140 yards rushing (6.1 yards per carry) and a touchdown.

VOLLEYBALL SHOWDOWN: The Thomas More volleyball team plays host to Mid-South Conference rival Georgetown (Ky.) at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Connor Convocation Center. Thomas More, which won its Mid-South Conference opener last week at Shawnee State in five sets, enters Tuesday night with a 5-0 record.

Jessica Tapp

Georgetown features former Scott High School standout Jessica Tapp, who earned Region 10 Player of the Year honors twice. Tapp, a senior outside hitter, has 697 career kills going into Tuesday night.

Before suffering a season-ending injury last fall, Tapp had recorded 174 kills and was attacking at a .323 clip during her junior year.

Georgetown, a perennial power in the Mid-South Conference, owns a 3-6 record entering Tuesday’s match. The Tigers are coming off a 25-16, 25-23, 25-20 victory against Brescia on Thursday.

Thomas More sophomore outside hitter Emily Mohs is sixth nationally in the NAIA in both hitting percentage (.366) and kills per set (4.56). Mohs, who earned first-team All-America honors last season while Thomas More competed at the NCAA Division III level, has a total of 82 kills this year.

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


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