St. Thomas Aquinas

Hillburn, N.Y. - Jayden Bennermon caught three touchdown passes and ran into the end zone for a fourth score, as the St. Thomas Aquinas College Sprint Football team used a second half surge to defeat Chestnut Hill University, 46-28 on Friday evening at the Torne Valley Sports Complex.

STAC moves to 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the CSFL South Division, while Chestnut Hill slips to 1-2 and 1-1.

STAC HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

• Jayden Bennermon led the way with four receptions for 107 yards and three touchdowns, while garnering two rushing attempts for 97 yards and another touchdown.
• Nyir Jones and Phillip Meikle also added to the touchdown totals on the scoreboard with a score apiece.
• Starting quarterback Ryan Kenny completed 19 of 35 passes, for 342 yards, while throwing five touchdowns. He also had four rushing attempts in the contest.
• JT Perry and Donnell White, Jr. registered 13 tackles apiece in the game.
• Christopher Jones and Raul Ramirez each picked off Griffins quarterback Anthony Cancellare in the game.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Quarter

• STAC opened the scoring with an early 6-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Kenny to Jayden Bennermon (Bo Maroney Kick Good) to give the hosts a 7-0 lead.
• The visiting Griffins tied the score at 7-7 on a Xavier Hendricks 6-yard TD reception from Anthony Cancellare (Brady Reynolds Kick Good).
• Jayden Bennermon picked up his second score of the game, this one on an 82-yard run (Bo Maroney Kick Good) to put the Spartans back ahead 14-7.
• Just before the close of the opening quarter, Anthony Cancellare made his way to the end zone on an 8-yard scamper to re-tie the game at 14 all.

Second Quarter

• Chestnut Hill took its first lead of the evening on a Lawrence Howard 2-yard run (Brady Reynolds Kick Good) to make it 21-14.
• A Ryan Kenny 59-yard TD strike to Jayden Bennermon (Bo Maroney Kick Good) knotted the game at 21-21. 

Third Quarter

• Phillip Meikle got himself on the stat sheet with just under 10 minutes to play in the third quarter, via a 23-yard touchdown catch from Ryan Kenny (Bo Maroney Kick Blocked) to give STAC the 27-21 lead.
• The Griffins took the lead once again on a Kindrik Branch 12-yard TD pass play by Anthony Cancellare (Brady Reynolds Kick Good), making it 28-27.
• Jayden Bennermon's fourth score of the night came just before the end of the stanza, when he took in a 28-yard pass from Ryan Kenny (2pt Conversion from Ryan Kenny Failed) to put the Spartans ahead for the fourth time in the game, 33-28.

Fourth Quarter

• Nyir Jones 30-yard TD reception from Ryan Kenny (Bo Maroney Kick Good) put the maroon and gold up by two scores, 40-28.
• Bo Maroney added to the point totals with two made field goals (37-yards & 43-yards) in the final five minutes of the contest to close out the scoring at 46-28.

UP NEXT

St. Thomas Aquinas hits the road for its next two contests, first visiting the University of Pennsylvania on Friday, October 13. Kickoff between the Spartans and Quakers is set for 7:00 p.m. at historic Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pa.