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The Bearcats opened the 2010 season with a narrow 19-14 loss to Bridgewater College at Chuck Noll Field.

The Eagles took a 10-0 lead into halftime, but the Bearcats scored two second half touchdowns before the Eagles put the game away with a late safety to escape Latrobe with the win. A pair of Bearcats entered the school record books, as junior Anthony Johnson made a modern day high 14 tackles, while senior Sheldon Loughner caught a pair of touchdown receptions, the eighth and ninth of his career, establishing a new career record.

In the opening quarter, Bridgewater rode halfback Thomas Tate to embark on a long drive to start things, as the bruising senior gained 21 yards on three carries to give the Eagles a first-and-goal at the eight yardline. The Bearcat defense held, however, holding Tate to a no gain, before forcing a pair of incomplete passes.

The Eagle field goal unit took the field, but kicker Will Davis missed the 29 yard attempt to keep the game scoreless. SVC's offense went three-and-out, and on the ensuing possession, the Eagles again gave the Bearcat defense a heavy dose of Tate, as he carried the ball seven straight times, gaining 34 yards, and setting up another first-and-goal on the five yardline.

As was the case earlier, the Bearcat defense again came up big, forcing two more incomplete passes to send the field goal unit back on the field. The Eagles again came out of the long drive without any points, as Davis' field goal from 22 yards out was blocked by SVC's Rob James. Sean Hufgard recovered the ball at the five, and the Bearcats took over to close out the first quarter.

The Bearcat offense was again forced to punt, and on the Eagles' third play of the drive, receiver Darrin McKenzie took an end around run 53 yards into the end zone to open the day's scoring. The extra point was good, giving Bridgewater the 7-0 lead with 12 minutes left in the second quarter. After another SVC punt, Bridgewater took over at the SVC 40, and quarterback Hagan Driskell completed a pair of passes for 30 yards to set up another first-and-goal for the Eagles.

Bearcat defensive linemen John Jackson and Jeff Graham stopped Tate on back-to-back plays resulting in no gain, but this time, the Bridgewater field goal unit converted, with Jordan Thacker making good on a 23-yard attempt to give the Eagles a 10-0 advantage with just over six minutes left in the second quarter. With under a minute left, facing a fourth-and-six, the Bearcats attempted a fake punt, with a direct snap to the up man Mike Speal. He was dropped for no gain, and the Eagles took over at the SVC 46. On the next play, however, the Bearcats' Chaz Coleman intercepted a Driskell pass a the SVC 31, to send the game into the intermission with the hosts trailing 10-0.

The two teams traded scoreless possessions to open up the third quarter, with the Bearcats' Aaron Jones coming up just short on a 44-yard field goal attempt. Johnson then came up big on a pair of plays, dropping Tate for a loss in the backfield, before intercepting a Driskell pass on the very next play and returning it 30 yards to the Bridgewater 37. A personal foul on the Eagles then added onto the return, setting up first down for the Bearcats 22 yards from paydirt. SVC then went to work, with Jake Smith hooking up with Loughner for an 18-yard gain, before the quarterback hit the receiver in the middle of the end zone from four yards out to give the Bearcats their first points of the 2010 season. Jones extra point was good, and SVC trailed just 10-7 with 4:13 left in the third quarter.

The momentum was short lived, however, as Bridgewater's Tyler Beiler returned the ensuing kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown. The extra point was good, and the BC lead was back up 10, at 17-7. On their first possession of the fourth quarter, the Bearcats again went to work, led by Aaron Smetanka, on in relief of Smith under center. In his first action in a Bearcat uniform, Smetanka completed his first three passes for 53 yards, with the big gainer a 37-yarder to Tom Quirin, who made a fingertip grab inside the one-yard line, setting up another first-and-goal for the Bearcats.

After a penalty backed SVC up to the eight, Smetanka found Loughner in the end zone for his second touchdown catch of the day, and with Jones' extra point, the Bearcats were again down by just three, at 17-14. Bridgewater embarked on a lengthy drive, chewing up five minutes of clock, but were unable to advance past the SVC 41. Eagles punter Thomas Kessler then came up big, sending a kick inside the SVC 10. Two plays later, a scrambling Smetanka was sacked just inside the goalline by Joel Francis, giving the Eagles a safety and a 19-14 lead. The free kick gave the Eagles the ball at their own 46, and Bridgewater again went to Tate, as he ran the ball four straight times for 32 yards.

On third down, Driskell found Beiler on the sideline for what appeared to be a first down, but the officials called for a measurement, and deemed the wide receiver just inches short of a first down. Looking to put the game away for good, the Eagles went back to Tate on fourth down, but he was dropped for a yard loss by SVC's Jim Muraco, giving the Bearcats the ball back at their own 30 with two minutes left. A personal foul backed up the Bearcats to their own 15 on first-and-25, and they weren't able to make any headway, giving the ball back to Bridgewater on downs with 1:30 left.  The Eagles then ran out the clock to seal the opening day victory.

Statistically, the game turned out to be a defensive struggle, as SVC managed 239 yards from scrimmage to the Eagles' 290. Smith completed eight of 16 passes for 101 yards and a score, while Smetanka went 5-for-9 for 53 yards and one touchdown. Loughner and Brandon Hamilton shared the team lead with three receptions apiece, with Loughner gaining 30 yards and Hamilton 16. In all, seven receivers made at least one catch.

Mike Kale led the Bearcat ground game, gaining 46 yards on four tries, while Tate was a workhorse for the Eagles, gaining 111 yards on 25 carries. Driskell ended the day 13-for-24 for 128 yards and two interceptions, with his favorite target Beiler, who made five grabs for 66 yards.

Defensively, Johnson led both sides with his 14 tackles, while teammate Armando Fortunato made 10 and Bryan Santos seven in his collegiate debut. TJ Montague led the Eagle defense with 10 tackles, with Scottie Littles and Stephen Howard posting seven apiece.

The Bearcats (0-1) will return to action next Saturday, traveling to the New York City area to take on Fairleigh Dickinson-Florham in a non-conference matchup beginning at 1pm. Live audio will be available on www.redzonemedia.com.