GREENVILLE, Pa. (Oct. 11) -- Thiel College freshman quarterback
Keller Herzberger (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake Senior), in his first collegiate start, set a single-game program record with 447 passing yards in Football's Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) loss to Geneva College 51-38 Saturday afternoon from Alumni Stadium at Stoeber Field.
Herzberger's passing-yards mark is the eighth most in the history of the conference. He threw five touchdowns, the second most in program history, and ran for one to account for six TD's, which is tied for the most in Thiel history.
Herzberger completed the fourth most passes in Thiel history (31) on 52 attempts, which is tied for fourth most in program lore.
The Tomcats drop to 0-5 (0-3) as there 38 points are the most in a game since Nov. 12, 2016 when they topped Grove City 47-41 to win the Mercer County Cup. The Golden Tornadoes rise to 3-3 (3-1).
The visitors jumped to a 24-0 lead midway through the second quarter before the home side got on the board as Herzberger connected with
Riley Dunbar (Lyons, Ohio/Evergreen) for a 28-yard score to make it 28-6. The Thiel defense stymied Geneva on the ensuing drive as the score remained the same at the half.
Dunbar set career highs in catches (nine), receiving yards (147) and touchdowns (two). His mark in receiving yards is the most by a Tomcat since DeShawon Bracy had 218 at Grove City in 2016.
The Tomcats made it a two-score game with a 14-play, 67-yard drive that spanned over 7 minutes to open the second half as Herzberger found
Jaylen Benjamin (Hartsville, S.C./Hartsville) for a 12-yard touchdown to make it 28-13.
Benjamin had five grabs and a career-best 84 receiving yards.
Geneva answered with a score on the following drive to lead 31-13. Looking to extend the lead later in the quarter,
Da'Mier Clark (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport) picked off Caleb Romano for his second interception of the game, a career best.
Herzberger connected with Dunbar again early in the fourth quarter to make it a two-score game at 31-20. Geneva answered with back-to-back scores to pull back ahead by 25 at 45-20.
The Blue and Gold countered back with a three-play, 62-yard drive in 1:23 as Herzberger found
Deon Logan (Richmond, Va./James River) in the flat for a 5-yard score. The 2-point try was no good as the score stayed 45-26.
Logan totaled four catches for 63 yards, his most since 2022 when he had 76, also against Geneva, and ran for 15 yards.
Geneva added one more touchdown on the next possession, but the PAT was blocked by Mehki Carroll. Herzberger threw his fifth touchdown of the game, this time to
Adam Kreais (Fostoria, Ohio/Hopewell - Loudon), from 8 yards out, to make it 51-32. Herzberger logged a 1-yard tush-push score in the final 2 minutes to spell the 51-38 final.
Kreais' marks in catches (five) and receiving yards (37) were both career highs.
CK Kershaw (Bristow, Va./Patriot) had three grabs for a career-high 58 yards.
Jayveerh White (Sharon, Pa./Sharon) hauled in five grabs for a season-best 58 yards.
The Tomcats defense forced four turnovers as Clark had two interceptions and
Joshua Daniel (Pompano Beach, Fla./Blanche Ely) had one interception, forced fumble and fumble recovery each. Thiel totaled 7.0 tackles for loss as a team.
Matt Jordan (New Castle, Pa./Kennedy Catholic) had a game-best 11 tackles (six solo) while Daniel had eight (four solo), 1.0 TFL and a QB hurry.
Nayshaun Davis (Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Township) made three tackles and had a trio of pass breakups.
The Tomcats were 6-of-6 in the red zone and 5-of-6 on fourth downs.
Thiel is back in action for a 1 p.m. kickoff at PAC-foe Westminster next Saturday.