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Casey throws seven TDs to lead Bees to second straight win

Casey throws seven TDs to lead Bees to second straight win

Tom Casey tied a school record with seven touchdown passes as the Bees rolled to a second straight win, a 58-22 victory over Judson Saturday at Brady Street Stadium.

Unlike last week, when Casey connected with Yemi Ward for a 70-yard touchdown on the game's first play from scrimmage, it took until the second quarter for the junior quarterback to throw for his first score. With SAU (2-3, 2-0 MSFA) leading 3-0 thanks to a 21-yard Joe Namio field goal in the opening frame, Casey completed a short toss to Nolan Bielskis, who raced around the end for a 17-yard touchdown seconds into the second period.

Then the floodgates opened.

Casey threw scoring strikes of three yards to Justin Wright and nine yards to Ward later in the quarter to build a 24-0 lead at the half.

He added three more touchdown passes in the third. Ward caught the first one, a 21-yarder, before Casey and Israel Taylor hooked up on scores of 29 and six yards to extend the lead to 44-6.

In the fourth, Casey found Ward for their eighth touchdown connection over the last three weks. The 35-yard scoring play allowed Casey to match Eric Williamson's school-record seven-touchdown performance in a 2012 game against Olivet Nazarene.

Jeremiah Crawford ended the scoring with a 76-yard kickoff return for St. Ambrose in the closing minutes.

Casey finished 16-of-23 for 250 yards and the seven TDs. Ward (85 yards) and Ben Gilbert (65 yards) each had five receptions. Taylor caught three balls for 72 yards while Bielskis, Wright and Kaden King each had a catch.

Casey's big day overshadowed other strong performances for the Bees.

King set the tone early, carrying the ball 13 times for 44 yards in the first quarter. He carried the ball eight times on SAU's opening possession, leading to Namio's short field goal. King finished with 93 yards on 27 attempts. T'Nahleg Hall ran for 54 yards on 12 carries. Ray Bouye III and Austin Kalar each had a pair of runs.

And while the St. Ambrose offense finished with 403 total yards, the Bee defense limited the Eagles to 300 yards, much of that coming when the game had been decided.

Judson (1-4, 0-2 MSFA) didn't get on the scoreboard until the final five minutes of the third quarter when SAU had already built a 37-0 lead. Judson added a pair of touchdowns in the final frame.

The Bees totaled 13 tackles for loss, including six sacks, and allowed just 13 total first downs.

Zak Alberts led the defense with 13 total tackles, including a sack, and he forced a fumble. De'Viann Titus-Porter and Max Gourley were each in on six tackles and split a sack. Titus-Porter was credited with 2.5 tackles for loss and Gourley had 1.5. Two of Drew Ackman's four tackles came behind the line of scrimmage, including a sack. DJ Oshin, Rolando Sepulveda and Anthony Brown also each recorded a sack. George Litgen III registered four total tackles in the win.

Jackson Hunsicker wasn't called on often, but he delivered, averaging 37.3 yards on three punts, placing two of them inside the 20. Judson punters combined to average 26.9 yards on eight punts.

St. Ambrose, which has averaged 53.5 points over its last two games, will look to extend its winning streak to three when the Bees host Olivet Nazarene next Saturday.