Box Score

Photo Gallery

The Bearcats overcame a 21-0 deficit to tie the game, 28-28 with five minutes left in the game, but the Bethany Bison recovered for a 35-28 victory in the annual season-ending Green Game in West Virginia.

In the first quarter, Saint Vincent appeared poised to score on back to back drives, only to turn the ball over deep in Bethany territory -- a fumble at the 14 and an interception at the four.

Following the interception, Bethany drove down the field and scored when Matt Grimard completed a pass to Chris Collins for a 27-yard touchdown, and Bethany carried a 7-0 lead into the second quarter.

Early the second, a 9-yard Eric Walker run made it 14-0, and the teams went into the half that way.

The Bison received the second half kickoff and marched right down the field, with Grimard completing two straight long passes - 33 yards to CJ Thomas and a 23-yard scoring pass to Nico Irizarry - that made the score 21-0.

After Zach Mihalko returned the kickoff 24 yards to the Bearcat 36, Mihalko came up with another 24-yard gain on a third-down screen pass from Aaron Smetanka, moving the ball into Bison territory at the 33..  Three plays later, Mike Kale scampered 31 yards to get Saint Vincent on the board.

The Bearcat defense stopped Bethany on their next drive, and after a punt, Smetanka went to the air on first down, connecting on a 55-yard bomb to Sheldon Loughner for a touchdown that made it 21-14.

However, near the end of the third quarter, the home team came back, as Grimard hit Thomas for a 33-yard touchdown that made it 28-14.

On the ensuing drive, Saint Vincent came right back, with Smetanka hitting Tom Quirin with a 34-yard pass that took the ball to the three yard line, setting up a 3-yard scoring run by Kale.  The extra point attempt failed, leaving the score 28-20.

After another defensive stand by SVC, Smetanka went back to his senior receivers, Loughner and Quirin.  First, Loughner caught a 30-yard pass that took the ball to the Bethany 32, then after a three-yard run by Kale, Smetanka connected with Quirin in the end zone to cut the margin to two, 28-26.  Coach Bob Colbert elected to go for the two-point conversion, and the Bison were called for pass interference in the end zone on the team's first attempt.  With the ball moved closer to the goal line, Kale forced his way in for the successful 2-point conversion to tie the game, 28-28, with 5:28 left.

However, the Bison wasted no time taking back the lead, going 65 yards in just five plays, with Eric Walker scoring from 2 yards out for the game-winning touchdown, with 3:04 left on the clock.

Saint Vincent had two more opportunities, but were unable to find the end zone, and finished the season with a 35-28 loss, a 3-7 record overall, and a 3-4 mark in the Presidents' Athletic Conference.

For the Bearcats, Kale ran the ball 22 times for 146 yards, while Quirin caught 5 passes for 110.  Loughner had three catches for 123 yards, while Mihalko had a pair of catches for 72.  Smetanka was 15-for-27 for 326 yards and a pair of first half interceptions.

Defensively, Anthony Johnson tallied 17 tackles on the day, while Josh Diamond had ten, and Armando Fortunato recorded nine.