VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

The Bearcats suffered their first Presidents' Athletic Conference defeat of the season, falling 31-20 to Washington & Jefferson College.

Despite a strong effort from quarterback Aaron Smetanka, Saint Vincent was unable to overcome an early 17-0 deficit.

The Bearcats, who were out-gained 402-371 for the game, were led offensively by Smetanka, who completed 28 of 39 passes for 282 yards and three touchdowns, establishing a new modern-day record for TDs in a game.

Three other SVC players entered the record books in defeat.  Offensively, Tom Quirin and Ricky Douglas each made seven catches, tying the school's single-game mark, with Quirin gaining 93 yards and Douglas 59. 

Defensively, junior linebacker Anthony Johnson made 17 tackles, breaking the single-game record of 15 previously held by classmate Armando Fortunato.

However, it was the game's opening kickoff that set the tempo for the first half, as W&J's Ben Hoffer returned the ball 51 yards to the Bearcat 35.  Four plays later, Presidents QB Gino Rometo hit Alex Baroffio with a touchdown pass from 8 yards out, and the hosts held a 7-0 lead just 1:17 into play.

After SVC was stopped on its opening drive, W&J drove 79 yards in 10 plays, getting to the SVC one yard line, but Sean Hufgard came up with a big stop on third down, resulting in a three-yard loss.  The Presidents had to settle for a field goal, and carried a 10-0 lead into the second quarter.

A short punt by the Bearcats gave W&J excellent field position on their first possession of the third quarter, and they made the most of it, scoring on a 5-yard run by Tim McNerney that made the score 17-0.

Smetanka then drove SVC down the field with his arm and his legs, rushing for 30 yards on three carries and then connecting on a 32-yard touchdown pass to Quirin with 7:31 left in the half.

However, the Presidents scored on their next drive, as Rometo hit Jordan Roycroft with a 20-yard scoring pass that made the score 24-7.

Saint Vincent appeared poised to score again before the half ended, thanks to a 28-yard pass that Christian Sutton hauled in with one hand, giving the Bearcats the ball on the Presidents' 29 yard line with 38 seconds left.  Unfortunately, the drive stalled, and a 40-yard field goal attempt at the end of the half was wide left.

In the third quarter, the SVC defense helped set up a Bearcat touchdown when Quillian Reid leaped over the W&J receiver's shoulder to intercept a Rometo pass.  Five plays later, Smetanka lobbed a pass to the corner of the end zone, where Sheldon Loughner grabbed it for a Saint Vincent touchdown that cut the margin to ten, 24-14.

Once again, the kickoff return put the Presidents in prime position, as Craig Sedunov eluded several tackle attempts to return the ball 61 yards to the SVC 23.  Rometo then completed the scoring drive with his third touchdown pass of the day, this one to Adam Domenick from 7 yards out, and the score was 31-14.

Saint Vincent added a score with three minutes left in the game, when Smetanka and Sutton connected on a 35 yard strike, but most of the fourth quarter belonged to W&J's McNerney, who ate up ground and the clock, rushing for the bulk of his 135 yards in the final 15 minutes. 

For SVC, Smetanka was also the leading rusher, carrying 13 times for 43 yards, while Mike Kale rushed 8 times for 38 yards.  In addition to Quirin and Douglas grabbing 7 passes each, Sutton added six catches for 85 yards, while Loughner caught four passes for 50 yards.

Rometo was 18-25 passing for 211 yards, and Roycroft was his favorite target, catching 7 passes for 80 yards. 

Saint Vincent is now 1-4 on the year, 1-1 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference, while W&J improves to 3-2 (3-1).  SVC will return to action on the 16th at Thomas More College in Kentucky.