St. Thomas University hungry to upset No. 1 Keiser in clash of top-ranked teams
At 6-2 and 335 pounds, St. Thomas University defensive tackle D’Andre Lake may be the biggest and toughest culinary student around.
“I like eating,” said Lake in what seems like an understatement, “and I love cooking.”
On Saturday, Lake hopes to gobble up, metaphorically speaking, Keiser University running backs.
With a noon kickoff, STU will host a mega matchup between two of the top six NAIA teams in the country. Keiser (3-0), the reigning national champions, is ranked No. 1. STU (3-0) is ranked sixth.
The STU Bobcats have a problem, however.
Since starting their football program in 2019, the Bobcats are 0-6 against Keiser, including once in the playoffs last year. Of those six losses, half have come in games decided by seven points or less, adding to STU’s frustration.
“We need to be more consistent,” said Bill Rychel, the only head coach in STU history. “We need to eliminate penalties and take advantage of our opportunities.”
Keiser, based in West Palm Beach, had just one coach – Doug Socha – since starting its program in 2018.
Socha led Keiser to a second-place national finish in 2022. Last year, Keiser won the national title by beating Northwestern (Iowa), 31-21, in Durham, North Carolina.
After last season, Socha left Keiser to coach Lenoir-Rhyne, an NCAA Division II school. Myles Russ, who. has served as Keiser’s running backs coach the past six years, is the new head coach.
“Myles is a good coach,” Rychel said. “Keiser has always had a strong running game, and I don’t see that changing.”
The Bobcats know plenty about a strong running game.
STU’s Rontavious Farmer has led the nation in rushing in each of the past two years, gaining 1,553 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2022 and 1,537 yards and 23 TDs last year.
But Farmer, a senior, is 0-4 against Keiser.
“They’re very disciplined and consistent,” said Farmer when asked what makes Keiser such a power. “They don’t quit.
“We need to do the same things they do but better.”
Keiser, which has won 14 straight games, is coming off what turned out to be a bye week due to the hurricane in Georgia. Keiser’s first two wins this season came against an NCAA Division II team, North Greenville, 23-20, in overtime; and over NCAA Division III Newberry College, 42-33.
STU is coming off a 45-17 win over host Florida Memorial in the annual “Battle of Miami Gardens”.
For the season, STU is led by quarterback Keely Watson, Farmer at running back and wide receiver David Hayes.
Watson is completing 64.8 percent of his passes for 808 yards, 10 TDs and zero interceptions.
Farmer has rushed for 430 yards, a 6.1 average and five touchdowns.
Hayes has caught 18 passes for 283 yards, a 15.7 average and three TDs.
On defense, linebacker Kendall Wilson II leads STU in tackles (18) and stops for losses (four).
As for Lake, he’s a late bloomer. Lake didn’t play organized football until he made his debut as an offensive lineman his freshman year at Nova High.
He switched to defensive tackle as a prep senior, which means this is just his fourth season playing this position. It’s also his second year as a college starter.
“My biggest adjustment early on was waking up for 6 a.m. practice,” said Lake, a 20-year-old from Miami Gardens. “I had teammates call me in the morning to make sure I was up.”
Lake, who has a 3.6 grade-point average, wants to be a sports nutritionist in the short term. In the longer term, he wants to own a restaurant, serving American and Jamaican food, the latter as a nod to his parents’ heritage.
But that’s down the road. For now, Lake and his teammates are focused on finally beating Kaiser.
“This time it’s going to be different,” Lake said. “We’ve beaten ourselves in the past. But knowing how we’ve been playing this season, I believe we’re going to come out with a win.”