Sophomore running back Aaron Terrell-Byrd’s 1-yard touchdown run early in the first quarter opened the scoring as No. 4 St. Thomas leads No. 9 Bethel 24-0 at halftime on a rainy afternoon at O’Shaughnessy Stadium on Oct. 13.

After going 3-and-out on its first possession, senior cornerback Ryan Dietz recovered a muffed punt at the Bethel 14 yard line with 11:29 remaining in the first quarter. Three plays later, sophomore running back Aaron Terrell-Byrd ran in from 1-yard, giving the Tommies a 7-0 lead.

The touchdown marked the sixth consecutive opening drive the Tommies have scored on this season.

With 5:29 remaining in first quarter, sophomore wide receiver Dan Noehring recovered sophomore quarterback Matt O’Connell’s fumble in the end zone, extending the Tommie lead to 14-0.

The Tommies held the potent Royal offense to five successive 3-and-outs to begin the game. Bethel, who came into the game averaging 300 yards per game, amassed only 19 yards of offense in the half (11 pass, 8 rush) and no first downs.

Junior kicker Griffin Snyder extended the St. Thomas lead to 17-0 with 5:29 remaining in the half. The field goal capped off a methodical, 14-play drive taking over six minutes.

With 8.8 seconds remaining in the half, O’Connell found sophomore tight end Cole Kelly in the right corner of the end zone, giving St. Thomas a 13-play drive.

The Royals entered the game with the No. 1-ranked defense in the conference, having scored only 11 points per contest.

St. Thomas received the ball to begin the second half.

Check back later for full game coverage.

Ross Schreck can be reached at schr8250@stthomas.edu.