THOMASVILLE, Ga. - The Thomas Night Hawks fell in a matchup with the No. 21 Southeastern Fire on Saturday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
The Fire opened the scoring with a 95-yard kickoff return on the game's first play. Then added a 75-yard punt return in the first quarter. A pair of interceptions for touchdowns added onto the lead. Those four plays accounted for 28 of Southeastern's 51 points.
Thomas outgained and outpossessed in a way the scoreboard might suggest. The Night Hawks ran 70 plays to Southeastern's 55 and held the ball for 33:39, but managed 220 yards, 3.1 per play. While going 3 of 16 on third down.
Southeastern led 38-0 at halftime. Its offense produced 23 points on two touchdowns and three field goals from 30, 50 and 25 yards. The Fire missed a second 50-yard try in the third quarter.
On offense for the Night Hawks, Connor Langford completed 16 of 31 passes for 101 yards. Gray Jennings went 4 of 10 for 28 yards and added 16 yards rushing in the fourth quarter. Jennings led the Night Hawks' deepest drive of the night, a 50-yard, 11-play march to the Southeastern 25 that ended on downs.
Roshaun Dudley led Thomas on the ground with 38 yards on 10 carries. Tymir Jones added 33 yards on eight carries. Thomas rushed for 91 net yards as a team. Jaden Paulk caught seven passes for 45 yards, and De'Vijion Woodie had two catches for 37.
The Night Hawks defense held Southeastern to 240 yards and 2 of 11 on third down. Mustapha Kromah led Thomas with 10 tackles, and Joe Miracle III had eight along with two tackles for loss. Kendall Hinton recorded the team's lone sack, for 8 yards, and had two tackles for loss totaling 18 yards. Sehki Ashley forced a fumble that Southeastern recovered, and Thomas finished with four tackles for loss and five pass breakups.
Wyatt Waddell punted seven times for a 29.4-yard average.
Thomas will head on the road for the first time since the season opener as they travel to face Ave Maria on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m.
Stay connected with Thomas University Athletics all season long! Follow @tunighthawks on Instagram, X and like the Thomas University Athletics Facebook page.
Catch every score, highlight, announcement, and behind‑the‑scenes moment wherever you go. #GDTBANH #TalonUp
