THOMASVILLE, Ga. – The grudge match for the Thomas University flag football team was a success Thursday evening, as the Night Hawks shut out the St. Thomas Bobcats 13-0 at TU Soccer Complex.
 
TU (9-1, 5-1 SUN) was fueled by its defensive performance, accumulating 20 flag pulls with four sacks and four pass breakups. On offense, the Night Hawks went 10-for-22 for 119 yards and two scores, as Junior Shelby Hartley and Freshman Kiana Acol led the way under center.
 
After St. Thomas (4-3, 3-3 SUN) went three-and-out on its first possession, the Green & White literally wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, as Hartley threw a 23-yard seam to Freshman Kiera Knight on Thomas' first play of offense to go ahead 6-0 after a failed extra point attempt.
 
The Bobcats would make progress on its next offensive possession, securing a first down before being stopped by a rejuvenated Thomas defense.  On the ensuing possession, TU worked its way down the field before extending its lead 13-0 on a 19-yard strike from Hartley to Graduate Brittney Delva.  Acol would follow the play with a successful extra point after running a left boot leg to pay dirt.
 
Following the Thomas touchdown, both teams experienced shades of its earlier meeting in Miami Gardens, as the contest remained in a deadlock for the remainder of the day.
 
In the final minute of the first half, TU was fortunate to receive an opportunity to push its lead to three touchdowns thanks to a defensive holding penalty from STU's Tyler Bryant to give the Night Hawks four downs in the red zone.  The Bobcats had Bryant's back, as a fourth-down pass breakup from Rayonna Baker ended the half to keep the contest to a two-score difference.
 
With 6:13 in the fourth quarter, Thomas appeared to have the game on ice before an Acol pitch intended for Sophomore Janae Scott was picked off by Miranda Ferradaz and returned to the TU 19 to set up the Bobcats' first trip of the day to the red zone.  St. Thomas used the first two downs to reach the Night Hawks' 4-yard line before incomplete passes on third and fourth down turned the ball over back to the Green & White.
 
With approximately four and a half minutes remaining, the Night Hawks ran out all but 50 seconds of game clock through the ground attack, giving the Bobcats one last shot to score points before time ran out to secure TU's 13-0 win.
 
TU by the Numbers
0:        Points allowed
1:        Extra points converted
2:        Touchdowns
4:        Shutouts on the season
5:        SUN Conference wins
6:        Players registering flag pulls
9:        Overall wins
62:      Rushing yards
119:    Passing yards
 
Thomas will have a week off before travelling to West Palm Beach, Fla. to take on Keiser April 7th.  Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
 
For up-to-date information on games and other TU Athletics, visit http://www.TUNightHawks.com. Stay up-to-date with news, scores, photos, game summaries, play-by-play, and feature stories of your TU women's flag team by following them via Twitter and/or Instagram at @NightHawksWFlag.