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The Saint Vincent football team stayed with nationally ranked Thomas More for much of the game, but fell by a score of 24-6 on the road in Kentucky.

Things didn't start out well for the Bearcats, as they went three-and-out on their first possession of the day, then the Saints marched right down the field, taking the ball from their own 29 to the Bearcat 15 in just five plays.  However, the SVC defense then dug in and held the #9-ranked Saints to just a field goal, as Dustin Zink hit a 35-yard attempt that made the score 3-0.

On the ensuing possession, Aaron Smetanka completed passes to Tom Quirin and Christian Sutton, moving the ball to the Saints' 24-yard line.  The Bearcats then appeared to be in a prime position when Smetanka carried several tacklers on his back all the way to the Thomas More 8, but the play was called back due to a holding penalty, moving the ball all the way back to the 34-yard line, changing the momentum of the game.

While SVC was kept off the board, the Bearcat defense rose to the occasion, forcing the Saints to punt on their next possession.  After a Bearcat punt, SVC got the ball back again courtesy of a Trevor Wezkiewicz interception.  After SVC was stopped on a fourth down play, the Saints drove back down the field, but again the defense came up with a stop inside the red zone, and this time Zink's 30 yard field goal attempt hit the upright, and the score remained 3-0 with under six minutes left in the first half.

Later, however, the Saints did manage to put together an 8-play drive, and scored on a two-yard pass to go in front 10-0 at the half.

The Saints scored again on the opening drive of the second half to take a 17-0 lead, but midway through the quarter Smetanka hit Christian Sutton with a 44-yard strike to put the Bearcats in scoring position at the Thomas More 13.  Two plays later, Cody Strelick caught a Smetanka pass over the middle and powered his way into the end zone for a Bearcat touchdown that made the score 17-6.

The Saints added another score in the fourth, and SVC was unable to find the end zone again, falling by a score of 24-6.

On the day, Thomas More outgained SVC 442-278, with the big margin coming on the ground.  Thomas More rushed for 315 yards, compared to just 66 for Saint Vincent.  The Saints recorded 28 first downs while SVC had 16.

Individually, Smetanka led the Bearcats with 17 yards rushing, and was 21-33 through the air for 252 yards.  However, he was sacked 5 times by a tough Saint defense, four times in the first half.

Sutton was the top target, catching 5 passes for 101 yards, while Quirin had four catches.

Defensively, Jeff Graham, despite playing with an injured elbow, recorded 8 tackles, as did Armando Fortunato.

The Bearcats return home next weekend, hosting Grove City College at Chuck Noll Field.  Kickoff is set for 1PM.