MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (November 4, 2023) - St. Thomas Football (7-3, 5-1 SUN) used a huge second quarter to take down the Southeastern Fire (4-5, 3-3 SUN) from AutoNation Field on Saturday afternoon.
The Fire blanked the Bobcats for the first time this season in the first quarter going up 14-0. It was the first time the Bobcats trailed in a game since October 7th.
In the second quarter, STU took advantage of a plethora of SEU penalties and a blocked field goal by Jhaqwori Austin to get the momentum going. That next drive brought exactly that as Keely Watson connected in four of five passes to get the Bobcats marching downfield. A 44-yard breakaway pass to Khalitri Zow put STU on the board for the first score of the day and to cut the lead in half.
The defense forced two punts in the quarter, one on a three and out drive.
St. Thomas scores in all three drives of the quarter. The second drive of the quarter was more of a non-tradition drive for the Bobcats as they used 10 plays to make it 56-yards into the end zone. Ashton Davis was the lucky winner in the drive scoring on a 10-yard rush. This tied the game up at 14 all with two minutes on the clock.
The Bobcats used just 54-seconds to score their next touchdown as the pass game continued to be prolific. Watson connected with Zow for back-to-back plays to gain 26 yards. Watson then found David Hayes for two more plays going for 41 total yards, one being a five yard touchdown reception.
This put STU up 21-14 at the half. The Bobcats came back and scored 27 unanswered points after trailing 14-0 to start out.
The defense kept the pressure as Jaden Fox-Harrington and Kendall Wilson II took advantage of a fumbled punt attempt to get a turnover on downs that put the offense in the SEU-30.
Alejandro Prado came in and what he does best knocking down a 22-yard field goal attempt to put STU up 24-14. The very next drive the defense once again forced a three and out punt. The third quarter would come to a close with another field goal from Prado, this one from 29-yards out. It put St. Thomas up 27-14 heading into the final frame.
Southeastern was able to put up a touchdown in the first drive of the fourth which brought the game within a score at 27-21. It was the first score in two quarters for SEU.
The teams traded off scoreless drives until Jhaqwori Austin was able to get an interception on third and long for the Fire. This gave the the offense another drive with 3:04 left in the fourth to try and get some insurance. Starting at the STU-27, Watson was able to see the perfect opening in the middle of the field finding C'quan Jnopierre on third and eight for a 71-yard touchdown reception. STU went for the two-point conversion but failed. This had the Bobcats up 33-21 giving SEU a little over two minutes on offense.
With hopes in sight for the Fire to get a miracle drive going, Omilio Savage quickly crushed that hope being involved in all four plays of the final drive. Savage got back to back sacks for a total loss of 12-yards. Savage then had an assisted tackle with Wilson to keep the Fire at third and long. The Senior had the fumble recovery on the final play of the Fire drive to set up the offense for victory formation.
Kendall Wilson II had another career performance with a new high in tackles at 13. This puts him at 89 for the second most in program history in a single season. He is five shy of the record.
Keely Watson had a career day going 25-of-35 for 360 passing yards. Watson had his second three touchdown game, second 70-plus percent completion game, and second 300-plus passing yard game.
Khalitri Zow also had a career day with 10 receptions, the most in a game by any Bobcat single the inaugural season. Zow had 130 reviving yards for just his second career game over 100 and season high. He has also set a new career high in receiving yards at 605 for his first over 600. The senior has tied his season high in touchdowns in a season at four.
St. Thomas secured their seventh win of the season and improved to 5-1 in SUN play. They win conclude the regular season next week against the newest football conference member, Thomas and celebrate Senior Day. Kick off is set for 12 p.m. on AutoNation Field.
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