Despite a record-breaking performance on the ground, the Bearcats were edged 27-23 by Geneva College at Chuck Noll Field.

Saint Vincent gained a school-record 297 yards rushing for the game, and out-gained the Golden Tornadoes 394-345 in total offense, but Geneva put the game away with three touchdowns in a wild second quarter.

Mike Kale led the Bearcats with 102 rushing yards on 20 carries, while Joe Yezovich ran 12 times for 83 yards and Aaron Smetanka gained 49 yards on five runs.

After the two teams traded scoreless possessions to open up the first quarter, the Bearcats took advantage of a botched Geneva punt that set up an SVC first down on the Geneva 16.

On the very first play of the drive, Brandon Hamilton motored 16 yards into the end zone for the first score of the day, with Aaron Jones' extra point putting the Bearcats in front 7-0 with 10 minutes left in the opening quarter.

Geneva came right back, with David Girardi hooking up with Corey O'Patchen for a 44-yard pass play on the first play of the drive to set up first-and-goal inside the one-yard-line.  Gerard Muschette then bowled into the end zone, and after the extra point, the game was tied 7-7 with 9:01 left in the first quarter.

The SVC offense continued to click, as the Bearcats gained 55 yards - all on the ground - on an 11-yard drive to set up a 22-yard field goal by Jones to go ahead by three with 4:05 left in the quarter.

Girardi then led another successful drive for the GT's, completing six passes for 62 yards, capped off with a nine-yard scoring strike to O'Patchen that gave Geneva its first lead of the day, 13-10, with 13:47 left in the second quarter.

On the ensuing drive, the Bearcats again kept it on the ground, with Yezovich doing the bulk of the damage, as the burly fullback ran four times for 37 yards to set up a first-and-goal on the Geneva 10.  The drive was capped off with a screen pass from Jake Smith to Hamilton, who scored his second touchdown of the game to allow SVC to regain the lead, 17-13, with 8:40 left in the half.

The lead was short-lived, as Geneva went ahead 20-17 on Muschette's second score of the day, this one a seven-yard run, with 2:27 remaining, but again the Bearcats came back.

On their next drive, Yezovich ran three times for 16 yards, advancing the ball to the Geneva 37.  A false start penalty backed the Bearcats up five yards, but Aaron Smetanka then threw a bomb down the sideline and into the arms of Chace Ginyard for his first career touchdown with 19 seconds left in the half.  The extra point was blocked, but the Bearcats were back in front 23-20.

The lead was once again short lived, as the frenetic second quarter was closed out on a 53-yard touchdown pass from Girardi to O'Patchen with no time left on the clock, sending the Golden Tornadoes into the intermission ahead 27-23.

The two teams combined for 480 yards of offense over the first half, including 151 on the ground for SVC and 218 in the air for Geneva.  However, things would change in the second half.

On their first drive of the third quarter, the Bearcats chewed five minutes off the clock, with Kale rushing for 45 yards on six tries, eventually moving the ball to the Geneva 17.  The drive would stall, however, sending Jones onto the field for his second field goal try of the afternoon.  The 41-yard attempt had the distance, but clanged off the left upright, allowing Geneva to maintain its four-point lead.

The ensuing Geneva drive was ended prematurely, when Girardi was intercepted by Bryan Santos, but the Bearcats couldn't take advantage of the turnover, going three-and-out.

SVC again looked poised to take the lead on its next possession, with three Kale runs for 28 yards setting up a first down on the Geneva 29, before a Smetanka pass was intercepted in the end zone by Jon Baldwin to end the third quarter.

Geneva gave the ball right back to start the final stanza, as Santos sacked Girardi, knocking the ball loose with the fumble recovered by SVC's Alex Zupanovich at the Geneva 28.  The GT defense held the Bearcats, and a field goal try by Jones was blocked with 14:03 left in regulation.

Each of the next three possessions ended in punts, before the Bearcat defense forced a Geneva turnover on downs with 20 seconds left.  Smetanka ran for 19 yards to start the final drive, advancing to the SVC 43, before Geneva broke up two passes in the end zone to end the game.

Despite the team's success on the ground, the Bearcat passing game struggled, managing just 97 yards on five completions, led by Smetanka's 87 yards on 4-of-13 passing.  Ginyard was the lone Bearcat to record multiple catches, ending the day with two grabs for 47 yards.

Girardi finished 20-for-32 for 261 yards and two touchdowns, both to O'Patchen, who finished with six catches for 144 yards.  Muschette gained a game-high 106 rushing yards, including 94 in the second half, on 22 carries.

Defensively, the Bearcats were paced by the linebacker duo of Armando Fortunato and Anthony Johnson, who each posted nine tackles.  Fortunato had a sack, and Johnson 2.5 tackles for loss, while Santos made four tackles with a sack, forced fumble, and interception.

Gary Walstrom made a game-high 12 tackles for Geneva, with teammate Marcus Costanza chipping in 10 and Baldwin nine.

The loss drops SVC's record to 1-3 on the season, and the team will return to action next Saturday, traveling to Presidents' Athletic Conference foe Washington & Jefferson College for a 2pm game.