GREENVILLE, Pa. (Sept. 12) -- The Thiel College Football team battled RV Adrian College Saturday afternoon at Alumni Stadium at Stoeber Field in its 2026 home opener. The Cats showed promising signs as they ultimately fell 48-7.
The Tomcats dip to 0-2 while the Bulldogs rise to 2-0.
The Thiel defense stepped up big early as the visitors had the ball at the Thiel 10 on their opening drive. Jamal Walker (New Orleans, La./West Jefferson) had a pass breakup and Dwayne Simpkins (Hopewell, Va./Prince George) registered a 5-yard tackle for loss, ultimately leading to an Adrian field goal.
Walker made a game-high 12 tackles and had two pass breakups while Simpkins had five tackles and a pair of tackles for loss.
On the ensuing drive, Thiel milked over eight minutes off the clock with a meticulous drive that saw the Cats convert on 3rd and 9 and 3rd and 10. Isaiah Gladney (Jackson, Ala./Jackson) had 30 receiving yards on the drive before a missed field goal thwarted the Cats' momentum.
Gladney led Thiel with eight catches for 96 yards along with a fourth-quarter touchdown.
Primed to extend its lead, Adrian drove inside the Thiel 10 before Kenneth Hudson (Twinsburg, Ohio/Twinsburg) forced a fumble at the 1-yard line that was recovered by Deangelo Baker (Memphis, Tenn./Kingsbury) to keep the contest at 3-0. Baker finished with six tackles and two QB hurries while Hudson had two tackles.
Adrian went on to tack on a trio of scores to lead 21-0. The Bulldogs attempted a fire-drill field goal with under 10 seconds remaining in the first half, but Mekhi Carroll (East Syracuse, N.Y./East Syracuse-Minoa Central) blocked the attempt to keep it a three-score game at the break.
Carroll made seven tackles and had three TFLs along with a sack. Kenterrio Scott (Saraland, Ala./Saraland) also logged a sack.
The visitors logged scores on all three of their third-quarter possessions to climb ahead 41-0.
The Thiel offense found its groove with a 12-play, 67-yard drive with Braxton Dente (Akron, Ohio/Tallmadge) at quarterback in the fourth that resulted in a Gladney touchdown.
Dente completed 10-of-14 passes for 79 yards.
Na'Jier Howard (Youngstown, Ohio/Struthers) started for Thiel at quarterback and went 5-of-17 for 71 yards. He reeled off a 65-yard scramble in the third quarter and finished with a career- and game-high 94 yards on the ground.
The Tomcats will jump into conference action next Saturday for a 2 p.m. clash at Bethany.
