CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – The Campbellsville University Tigers challenged Thomas More University in a Mid-South Conference match-up Saturday evening. Despite their valiant effort to fight back into the game, Campbellsville dropped the contest 44-36.
The Tigers' first drive lasted just five plays. Swapping sides, the Tigers stopped the Saints offense from scoring and kept their stint short. When Campbellsville was awarded possession again, they fought valiantly for a total of ten plays.
Joshua Meglis opted for swift passes to ensure first downs. The accumulation of plays resulted in a nine-yard rush from
Tre' Bass for a Tiger touchdown. The first quarter's time dwindled down and Campbellsville took a 7-0 lead.
Early into the second quarter, the Saints fortified a touchdown to even the score at 7. When Campbellsville was granted their opportunity at offense, a Tiger fumble bounced to the Saints' possession. After moving down the field, the Saints stood on the Campbellsville three-yard line with a third down. Thomas More was able to advance 14-7 as they pushed through the Tigers' defense. Campbellsville's D attempted to hold Thomas More to two touchdowns, but the Saints found a way to acquire a field goal. Campbellsville's last drive was prolonged over 13 plays and ended in a field goal by
Devin Neally. The first half ended 17-10 with the Saints leading.
At halftime, the statistics between Campbellsville and Thomas More were quite balanced. However, the Saints led in third down efficiency 57% to the Tiger's 38%. Campbellsville accumulated 135 passing yards in comparison to the Saints' 98 yards. Rushing yards fell in Thomas More's favor with their total of 91 yards compared to the Tigers' 33 yards. Defensively, both
Jacoby Miguel and
Ha'keem Dillard led the Tigers in tackles with five.
In the third quarter, the Saints put up another touchdown within the first two minutes of play. Thomas More, after a rush for no gain, a pass went for 85 yards with no Tigers defense to stop them. At 24-10, Campbellsville struggled to find the endzone for a touchdown in response. With options slim, Neally kicked a field goal to decrease the Tigers' discrepancy. The next Thomas More drive resulted in another touchdown and increased the Tigers' trail 31-13. The Saints were in position to score again but Campbellsville's
De'Angelo Davenport turned over possession with an interception. The Tigers capitalized off the turnover as Meglis' pass for
Andre Siler resulted in a touchdown. However, the Saints doubled back and collected another touchdown of their own in response.
The final quarter began with a failed drive attempt from Campbellsville. Thomas More returned to the endzone with another touchdown, 44-20. The Tigers clawed their way toward paydirt finding a score of their own. Meglis completed a 30-yard pass to
Zachary Cole to gain 30 yards. Moments later, Meglis completed another 20-yard pass to Cole to put the Tigers on the four-yard line. Bass capped off the drive with a touchdown run and the Tigers capitalized on a two-point opportunity decreasing the Saints' lead to 44-28, just a two touchdown game. Campbellsville's next drive cumulated in a Meglis pass to
Patrick Oden and yet another successful two-point conversion pushed the Tigers forward to a one score affair. Opting to kick a squib instead of an onside, the Tigers defense could not hold the Saints to one set of downs. The clock ran out and the Tigers fell short to the Saints, 44-36.
By the end of the game, the Saints tallied 215 net rushing yards compared to the Tigers' 38. Thomas More attempted to rush 42 total times whereas Campbellsville attempted only 25 times, the Saints' averaging 5.1 yards per rush whereas Campbellsville averaged just 1.5.
DeAgo Brumfield, Miguel, and
Grover Russell led defensively in tackles for the Tigers. Meglis threw two touchdowns by game's end while Bass collected the others two touchdowns of the team's four total.
The Tigers will travel Highway 55 to face #3 Lindsey Wilson College. Campbellsville will be on the road next Saturday, September 24
th and the contest is set to begin at 7pm ET.
