Hillburn, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Sprint Football team opened its 2023 season, falling to the United States Naval Academy, 27-14 on Saturday afternoon at the Torne Valley Sports Complex.
STAC slips to 0-1 on the year, while Navy moves to 1-0.
A raucous crowd would come together to celebrate the opening of a new Sprint Football season, with the Athletic Department also recognizing the dedication and unwavering support shown to our student-athletes by the college's employees with Faculty & Staff Appreciation Day ceremonies at halftime.
STAC HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES
- Reno Molina led the way with five receptions for 56 yards, with his longest catch being a 24 yarder.
- Bo Maroney garnered seven rushing attempts for 20 total yards.
- Donnell White, Jr. and Christopher Jones registered six tackles apiece in the game.
- Starting quarterback Ryan Kenny completed 15 of 21 passes, for 192 yards, while throwing a touchdown and an interception. He also had 12 rushing attempts in the contest.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
- Navy opened the scoring on a Mychal Golden 21-yard field goal to make it 3-0.
- St. Thomas Aquinas took 6-3 lead on a Reno Molina 63-yard run to the end zone (2pt Conversion No Good).
- A Brandon Atwood 15-yard touchdown pass to Kai Sasaki (Mychal Golden Extra Point Good) put the Midshipmen back ahead 10-6.
Second Quarter
- Tyron Francis' 10-yard TD reception from Brandon Atwood (Mychal Golden Extra Point Good) increased Navy's lead to 17-6.
- The Midshipmen closed the first half scoring on 10-yard touchdown reception by Andrew Margiotta from Brandon Atwood (Mychal Golden Extra Point Good) gave the visitors a commanding 24-6 lead.
Fourth Quarter
- A Mychal Golden 36-yard field goal closed the scoring on the day and put Navy up 27-6.
- STAC's final points would come via a Jayden Bennermon 6-yard TD reception from Ryan Kenny, with a subsequent 2-point conversion pass from Kenny to the aforementioned Bennermon to make it 27-14.
UP NEXT
St. Thomas Aquinas visits Caldwell University on Saturday, September 30, kickoff between the Spartans and Cougars set for 7:00 p.m. at James Caldwell High School in West Caldwell, New Jersey.