MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The St. Thomas (STU) Bobcats built an early lead and survived a second-half push from the Florida Memorial Lions to claim a 44–37 rivalry win on Saturday, a game defined by explosive plays, special-teams swings, and a dramatic final quarter.

St. Thomas opened the scoring with a 14-play drive capped by a 28-yard field goal from Zach Alvarez at the 8:43 mark of the first quarter. Just 48 seconds later, the Bobcats struck again—this time in one play. Quarterback Keely Watson hit Justin Anderson in stride for a 51-yard touchdown, pushing the lead to 10–0.

Alvarez added a 26-yard field goal midway through the second quarter, stretching the lead to 13–0, and moments later the Bobcats delivered one of their biggest highlights of the day: a 55-yard punt return touchdown by Jerome Mitchell to go up 20–0.

Down three scores, Florida Memorial responded with back-to-back touchdown drives. But St. Thomas stole back momentum on the final play of the half. After a short drive, Alvarez drilled a 48-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Bobcats a 23–14 lead going into the locker room.

The Bobcats opened the second half with another game-changing special-teams moment. A blocked punt was scooped up by Zach Marino and returned for a touchdown, putting St. Thomas ahead 30–14 just 1:06 into the third quarter.

Still, the Lions refused to go away. The Lions capped an 84-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 30–21, but St. Thomas answered with a grinding 13-play march that ended in a 2-yard scoring run by Isaiah Lopez.

Lopez wasn't done. Early in the fourth quarter, he ripped off a 53-yard touchdown run—the longest play from scrimmage for STU—to give the Bobcats their largest lead of the afternoon at 44–21.

FMU's Last Push Comes Up Short

Down 23, Florida Memorial mounted one more rally, as the FMU quarterback scrambled for a 10-yard touchdown with 4:46 left, then led a lightning-quick 90-yard drive in the final minutes, ending with a 13-yard touchdown pass with 12 seconds remaining. Both conversions were successful, bringing the Lions within one score.

But the Bobcats recovered the ensuing kickoff, sealing a hard-fought 44–37 victory.