The Saint Vincent Bearcats took the game to the final seconds, but were unable to complete a comeback, falling to Fairleigh Dickinson-Florham by a score of 28-23 on the road in New Jersey.

SVC was forced to play catch-up throughout much of the game, as the Devils scored on their first play from scrimmage. Quarterback Matt Jeffers found Anthony Fruncillo, who was all alone after tangling feet with a Bearcat defender. The pass covered 65 yards and the hosts had the early lead.

The Bearcats appeared to tie the game just two possessions later, as Bryan Santos returned a punt all the way to the end zone. However, SVC was called for running into the kicker, negating the touchdown. Midway through the first, Bearcat quarterback Aaron Smetanka, who rotated with Jake Smith on every other possession, caught Tom Quirin in stride on a slant pattern, and Quirin took it the rest of the way for a 51-yard score. The Aaron Jones extra point tied the game at 7-7, and the first quarter ended that way.

Just over a minute into the second, Jeffers connected with Brendon Griffin for an 8-yard touchdown pass, completing a nine-play, 53-yard drive and giving the Devils a 14-7 lead. Neither team was able to score the rest of the half, as both defenses were strong, and the Bearcats went into the locker room down by a touchdown. “We weren't doing very well on offense the first half,” said Coach Bob Colbert. “Half of our offensive plays went for negative yards. Obviously, we didn't play well but we weren't down that much. Their receiver made some great plays.” He added, “I was disappointed. We had a terrible Friday practice, and it carried over to the first half.”

On just the second play of the second half, Jeffers completed a pass over the middle to Doug Van Orden, who was then hit by SVC cornerback Rob James. As Van Orden was being tackled to the ground, his knees landed on James, but not the turf. The receiver then spun off the Bearcat defender and took the ball the remaining 30 yards into the end zone, putting the hosts ahead, 21-7.

Saint Vincent answered right back. Jairus Marlow returned the kickoff 22 yards to the Bearcat 38, and the team quickly got into scoring position. James came into the game at wide receiver, then took a handoff from Jake Smith, stopped and threw a 41-yard pass to Quirin that put put the Bearcats on the Devils' 9-yard line. However, the defense held, and SVC had to settle for a 21 yard field goal from Jones that made the score 21-10.

However, on the ensuing possession, the Devils' Fruncillo made the play of the day, leaping over James in the end zone and pulling down a one-handed, 30-yard touchdown pass. The acrobatic catch put the Bearcats down by 18 points, but not out of the game. Saint Vincent drove quickly down the field, with Smetanka connecting with Sheldon Loughner for 23 yards and Cody Strelick for another 16, but the drive stalled at the 9-yard line, when SVC was stopped on fourth down and turned the ball over on downs.

After the defense held the Devils and forced a punt, Smith and Quirin teamed up for a 13-yard and then a 38-yard pass, to get the ball into Florham territory. Smith then hit Christian Sutton for a 21-yard gain to the 8-yard line, and two plays later, passed to Strelick in the end zone for a Bearcat score. Jones' kick made it 28-17, and the Bearcats then successfully attempted an onside kick, recovering the ball at their own 41 yard line. On the seventh play of the drive, Smetanka threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Douglas to make the score 28-23, but the Bearcats were unable to add the 2-point conversion.

With 7:07 left, the Devils' took the ball back, but the drive ended just over 90 seconds later when James intercepted Jeffers along the sideline, but SVC was unable to move the ball and had to punt with 4:05 remaining. The defense stopped a key fourth down play near midfield, and the Bearcats took over possession again with 3:03 left. On second down, Smetanka and Strelick teamed for a 7 yard pass that turned into an 18-yard gain when a roughing the passer call was made, giving SVC the ball at the Florham 30.

After a sack left Saint Vincent with a fourth-and-13 with less than 90 seconds remaining, Smetanka found Christian Sutton for a 17-yard gain to keep the drive alive. Unfortunately, the Bearcats were stopped on their final attempts, ultimately throwing an interception in the end zone on a fourth-down play with 35 seconds left on the clock, giving the Devils the win.

“Determination was the key to the second half,” said Colbert. “We didn't give in. The defense kept believing, they gave up just one big play, and their player made spectacular catch. We have to give it to our defense. They were a big, strong team. We were a little undersized but our kids fought. We're not going to match up size-wise with a lot of teams so we have to play smarter, and our guys did. “It went right down to the wire, but no excuses, we just have to play better.”

Offensively, Saint Vincent outgained FDU-Florham by a 317-287 margin and posted 19 first downs compared to 16 for the hosts. Mike Kale led all rushers in the game with 13 carries for 57 yards, while Jake Smith carried the ball five times for 35 yards. Smetanka was 13-27 through the air for 177 yards and two touchdowns, while Smith was 8-15 for 99 yards. Quirin set a modern-day Bearcat record with 151 yards receiving on six catches, while Strelick and Chace Ginyard each had four grabs.

Defensively, Armando Fortunato had 11 tackles (9 solo, two assists), including three for losses, while Anthony Johnson had seven. Jeff Graham recorded the Bearcats' lone sack. For the Devils, Jeffers was 16-26 passing for 287 yards, with Fruncillo accounting for five catches and 131 yards. Florham managed just 64 yards rushing against the Bearcat defense on the day.