In the first game of the 2022 season, the St. Thomas University (STU) Football team (0-1) took NCAA Division I Butler University (1-0) down to the wire on Saturday afternoon from Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl. The Bulldogs would end up taking the game with a fourth quarter comeback for a final score of 31-26.
The Bobcats brought out the sunshine through the rain in the first half. STU had the first possession and marched their way down on seven plays for 73-yards to find the red zone. Butler would gain the first possession with an interception in the endzone. The defense however came in on a mission and forced a three and out. On the punt attempt, Kendall Wilson II, came through and blocked the kick giving STU great field position for the second drive.
St. Thomas quickly took advantage of the blocked punt and turned it into a scoring drive. It took Rontavious Farmer just two rushes for 13 -yards to find the endzone. Alejandro Prado hit the extra point to make it 7-0 in the first quarter. The defense continued to push Butler and forced a turnover on downs for the second drive.
The second quarter saw Butler score first as the Bulldogs hit a 19-yard field goal after being stumped at the one-yard line on third down. St. Thomas was able to get one more score in before the half ended. The drive started on our own eight-year line and after 17 plays in seven minutes for 92-yard, the Bobcats found the endzone on the other end of the field. The drive was highlighted by two 21-yard completions up the middle from Tyler Thomas to C'Quan Jnopierre. The drive ended with an easy break through the middle rush from Damian Heller for his first career touchdown.
Butler started the second half with the ball on their own 30. The Bulldogs scored on seven plays in their first drive to make it a 14-10 game. St. Thomas returned the favor of a scoring drive for themselves. Heller broke out for a 33-yard rush on the right side of the field for his second rushing touchdown of the game. This made it a 20-10 advantage Bobcats.
The momentum was all St. Thomas again as the defense forced another three and out punt for the Bulldogs. Butler did score on their following drive on the first play to bring it back within one score at 20-17.
The fourth quarter opened with back-to-back score for Butler as they took their first lead of the game at 31-20. The fight would not quit as STU rallied the offense to score in two plays of the following drive as Thomas found Jnopierre for an 82-yard connection. This would make the game 31-26 after a failed two-point conversion.
St. Thomas would have one final hope as Lionel Dunbar had one of the biggest plays of the game forcing a fumble to give the offense one last chance to tie it up. The Bobcats however would not be able to rally one more score in the final drive.
Box Score Notables
C'Quan Jnopierre - seven catches, 197 yards, one touchdown
Rontavious Farmer – 20 carries, 103 yards, one touchdown
Damian Heller – five carries, 48 yards, two touchdowns
Sidney Porter – 10 tackles, two tackles for loss, two quarterback hurries
Caleb Walker – nine tackles, one interception
Up Next
St. Thomas will stay on the road for week two to take on NAIA Top-15 opponent, Saint Xavier University in Chicago, Ill.
Original source can be found here.
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