In a breakout performance, Thomas turned on the burners against Malone by helping anchor the ground game to bury the Pioneers in conference play.
The rookie speedster threatened the single-game conference rushing record held by a former Kentucky Wesleyan running back, Josiah Israel (237 yards in 2016), by racking up 220 on 26 carries.
Thomas dashed for three touchdowns, including long scoring runs of 51 and 58 yards, as the Panthers totaled almost 450 yards of total offense. He became just the eighth player since 2016 to score three rushing TD’s.
His first rushing score was from 51 yards out to give KWC a 14-7 in the first quarter. He capped a six-play drive with an 18-yard run in the red zone at the start of the second quarter. The big-play ability was again on display with a game-tying 58-yard rumble in the third that put KWC and Malone even at 31-31.
Thomas’ rushing yardage total is the fourth best in conference history behind Israel and Brandon Jones (Alderson Broaddus), who ran for 232 and 230 as a senior.
Thomas is now third in the conference in rushing while averaging 73.8 yards per game on 44 carries. He is averaging 6.7 yards per carry.