NORTH CANTON, Ohio – Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College relied on a fast start and a strong defensive effort to top Walsh University 48-16 on Friday night.
With the victory, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods secured a place in the Midwest Sprint Football League regular season championship game next weekend. The Pomeroys will host Calumet St. Joseph at West Vigo High School at 3 pm on Oct. 26 to determine the MSFL regular season champion and the No. 1 seed for the MSFL's four-team playoffs.
Jeremiah Tosky tossed three first half touchdown passes, and the Pomeroy defense held Walsh without a point in three first half trips to the red zone to set an early tone.
Tosky connected with
Devron Johnson on a 39-yard touchdown pass on the opening drive to put SMWC ahead 7-0.
Marques Reese turned a catch and run into a 74-yard touchdown strike from Tosky to increase the lead to 14-0.
Derron Hazzard added a third first-quarter touchdown on a 2-yard run to push the SMWC lead to 21-0. Tosky connected with
Corbyn Cleveland on a 47-yard touchdown pass to wrap up the first half scoring, with
Connor Wardlaw providing his fourth extra point of the half to give the Pomeroys a 28-0 lead at the break.
The Saint Mary-of-the-Woods defense was a key story in the opening half. Walsh had three drives reach the red zone, before the SMWC forced turnovers on downs on each possession. The Pomeroys held from the 19, 9 and 7 yard lines to keep Walsh off the scoreboard in the opening 30 minutes.
The second half was the
Xander Hunt show, as the reserve quarterback scored on three touchdown rushes to increase the SMWC lead to 48-0. Hunt scored from 6, 17 and 21 yards out to bolster the Pomeroy offense in the second half.
After Saint Mary-of-the-Woods forced another Walsh red zone trip without points, the Cavaliers finally dented the scoreboard with a pair of late fourth quarter touchdown passes.
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods improved to 5-0 heading into the RSC regular season championship game next weekend. Walsh dropped to 1-4 on the campaign. Saint Mary-of-the-Woods has already secured a first round home game in the MSFL Playoffs and will host semifinal action on Nov. 2 at West Vigo High School regardless of next week's outcome.
