Lindsey Wilson University Football Team Beats No. 8 St. Thomas 52-24
Two Blue Raider running backs rush for more than 100 yards each, Tate Rice throws four touchdowns as LWU starts the season 3-0.
COLUMBIA, Ky. (09/14/2025) — Two Lindsey Wilson University running backs rushed for more than 100 yards each and sophomore quarterback Tate Rice threw four touchdown passes as the Blue Raiders beat No. 8-ranked St. Thomas (Florida) University 52-24 on Saturday, Sept. 13, at Parnell Family Stadium.
The Blue Raiders are 3-0 for the first time since 2022, and they have recorded a win over a top-10 team in two of those victories.
Junior running backs Davontaye Saunders of Eminence, Kentucky, and Stevin Mack of Hendersonville, Tennessee, led the Blue Raider ground attack with 161 and 128 yards, respectively. It was the first time since Nov. 6, 2021, that two Blue Raiders rushed for over 100 yards in a game.
Rice, who started the season as a backup on the roster, completed 11 of 20 passes for 205 yards. The Manchester, Kentucky, native threw four touchdown passes for the second consecutive week.
Lindsey Wilson's next game is at 1 p.m. CT on Saturday, Sept. 20, at Reinhardt (Georgia) University. The Blue Raiders' next home game is Oct. 11 against University of the Cumberlands (Kentucky.)
Lindsey Wilson University is a vibrant liberal arts university in Columbia, Kentucky. Founded in 1903 and affiliated with The United Methodist Church, the mission of Lindsey Wilson is to serve the educational needs of students by providing a living-learning environment within an atmosphere of active caring and Christian concern where every student, every day, learns and grows and feels like a real human being. Lindsey Wilson offers 28 undergraduate majors, five graduate programs and a doctoral program. The university's 29 intercollegiate varsity athletic teams have won more than 120 team and individual national championships.
Media Attachments
The Blue Raider sideline celebrates as Lindsey Wilson University freshman wide receiver Max Gainey of Louisville, Kentucky, takes one last look at the St. Thomas (Florida) University defenders before completing a 67-yard touchdown pass play from sophomore quarterback Tate Rice of Manchester, Kentucky, to give LWU a 52-17 lead with 7:25 left in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game at Parnell Family Stadium. Lindsey Wilson defeated No. 8-ranked St. Thomas 52-24 to give the Blue Raiders a 3-0 start on the season for the first time since 2022. Lindsey Wilson’s next home game is Oct. 11 against University of the Cumberlands (Kentucky).
Lindsey Wilson University junior running back Stevin Mack of Hendersonville, Tennessee, sprints toward the end zone on a 15-yard touchdown pass play from sophomore quarterback Tate Rice of Manchester, Kentucky, to give LWU a 31-3 lead over St. Thomas (Florida) University with 23 seconds left in the first half of Saturday’s game at Parnell Family Stadium. Lindsey Wilson defeated No. 8-ranked St. Thomas 52-24 to give the Blue Raiders a 3-0 start on the season for the first time since 2022. Lindsey Wilson’s next home game is Oct. 11 against University of the Cumberlands (Kentucky).
Lindsey Wilson University junior running back Davontaye Saunders of Eminence, Kentucky, pulls away from St. Thomas (Florida) University defenders on a 79-yard touchdown run to give the Blue Raiders a 14-0 lead with 5:45 left in the first quarter of Saturday’s game at Parnell Family Stadium. Saunders’ run was the fourth-longest touchdown run in Blue Raider program history, and Lindsey Wilson defeated No. 8-ranked St. Thomas 52-24 to give the Blue Raiders a 3-0 start on the season for the first time since 2022. Lindsey Wilson’s next home game is Oct. 11 against University of the Cumberlands (Kentucky).
Lindsey Wilson University graduate student Khia Sherrard of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, gets the Blue Raiders on the scoreboard first with a 32-yard touchdown pass play from sophomore quarterback Tate Rice of Manchester, Kentucky, to give LWU a 7-0 lead over St. Thomas (Florida) University with 10:19 left in the first quarter of Saturday’s game at Parnell Family Stadium. Lindsey Wilson defeated No. 8-ranked St. Thomas 52-24 to give the Blue Raiders a 3-0 start on the season for the first time since 2022. Lindsey Wilson’s next home game is Oct. 11 against University of the Cumberlands (Kentucky).
Rory Kleckler rushes onto the field to congratulate his father, Lindsey Wilson University football coach Phil Kleckler, after the Blue Raiders' 52-24 win over No. 8-ranked St. Thomas (Florida) University on Saturday afternoon at Parnell Family Stadium. The Blue Raiders have started the season 3-0 for the first time since 2022. Lindsey Wilson’s next home game is Oct. 11 against University of the Cumberlands (Kentucky).