MIAMI GARDENS FLA. (May 17, 2023)- The St. Thomas University Flag Football team travelled up to Atlanta Georgia, to play in the 2023 National Tournament in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Bobcats will face the Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes. The matchup will take place at 12:30pm tomorrow Thursday May 18^th.
 
This game will be no easy task for the Bobcats. The Bobcats had a great year however going 12-4 overall, with a 7-3 record in the highly competitive Sun Conference. The STU offense led by individual such as Holly Neher, Jada Graham, Tashumba Washington, and Kailey Miller. The Bobcats can go many directions to attack the Coyotes on the offensive side of the ball. As a heavy passing team the Bobcats have two receivers Jada Graham and Kailey Miller with over 700 receiving yards on the season.
 
As a whole the Bobcats average 22.54 points per game, to their opponents 13.85 points per game. The Coyotes are a very good rushing team so the STU defense will have to be aware of that. Rushing this season the Bobcats have 296 yards to the opponents 471 rushing yards. However the Bobcats have an average of 239.38 passing yards to 186.08 from their opponents. Holly Neher has been very efficient passing the ball in 2023 with 2349 passing yards, 30 touchdowns, averaging 180.6 yards per game, and only giving up 12 interceptions for how much she passes the ball.
 
The defense led by Mayerli Cayon with 85 solo tackles and 1 sack in all 13 games played is a rock in the center of the field for the Bobcats. Miranda Ferradaz in just 11 games played had 69 solo tackles and 3 assists totaling 72, along with 4 interceptions and 14 pass breakups. Someone to look out for covering the perimeter is Tyler Bryant who has 41 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 9 breakups all while teams try and avoid of her side of the field. Anchoring the back end of the defense is Tashumba Washington who only has 13 tackles at the safety position, but the Bobcats defense does a great job of keeping everything in front of them. Washington has 11 interceptions, and 14 pass breakups.
 
Kansas Wesleyan on the other hand had a solid season going 13-4 overall, and 8-2 in the KCAC. After losing the first game of the season to the top ranked Ottawa University 33-6, the Coyotes responded winning three straight only giving up 6 points in those games. Against Campbellsville, Brianna Hernandez-Sil the Coyote quarterback threw for 185 yards and 2 touchdowns, and receiver Ciaran DeCuir reeled in 3 catches for 55 yards which led the team.
 
The next game versus Reinhardt Brianna Hernandez-Sil took over throwing for 171 yards and 4 touchdowns. Ciaran DeCuir was her main target once again with 56 yards. Expect to see these two try to get on the same page early versus the Bobcats. Angel Roman was another main target for Hernandez-Sil with 51 yards in that game.
 
When the Coyotes faced Bethel College, the Threshers were no match. The game was a blowout in which Wesleyan won 60-0. Although Brianna Hernandez-Sil had 143 yards passing which you think would be more in a game that was that much of a blowout, the Coyotes got a lot of it done on the ground with 104 yards of offense.
 
After losing the next one to Florida Gateway College, the Coyotes responded winning the next three the first one beating Fort Scott, the next to a tough Midland team, and a blowout win over Cottey College 53-0. Matching up again against the top ranked Ottawa University the Coyotes put up a valiant effort against the Braves losing only 28-20.
 
The Coyotes would win out the remainder of the regular season, winning five straight, 3 of those scoring 50 or more. In the KCAC Tournament they beat Midland University 18-7 moving on to the Championship against Ottawa University once again where they lost 34-14.
 
The Coyotes average points per game is 34, while only allowing an average of 10.8 points per game to opponents. They have 72 total touchdowns to their opponents 23, along with 2648 passing yards and 1094 rushing yards. This is a balanced offense in which will try to get the Bobcats guessing every play. The Coyotes have two 600+ receivers in #4 Ciaran DeCuir with 674 yards, and #0 Angel Roman with 616 yards. This offense either runs through those two receivers, or quarterback #2 Brianna Hernandez-Sil with 837 yards on the ground in 2023.