BOX SCORE

PHOTO GALLERY

The Saint Vincent Bearcats battled #6-ranked Thomas More College to the game's final play, but lost by a score of 20-17 at Chuck Noll Field.

Despite four costly turnovers on the day, Saint Vincent was down by just three points and got the ball back with no time outs and 2:16 remaining on the clock in the fourth quarter.  On a fourth down play from their own 22, SVC completed a key pass play from Aaron Smetanka to Carl Jeune for 24 yards to keep the drive alive.  Three more completions by Smetanka drove the ball to the Saints' 32-yard-line in the closing seconds, but Saint Vincent was unable to get off a play, with an illegal shift resulting in a game-ending penalty and allowing the Saints to escape Latrobe with the win.

Things appeared to start on the right foot for Saint Vincent (3-3), as Zach Mihalko took the opening kickoff 57 yards well into Saint territory, but the return was called back for a blocking penalty, and the SVC opening drive resulted in a punt.

Later in the first, a fumble by the Bearcats gave the Saints the ball at the SVC 16, and Thomas More's Dominique Hayden scored three plays later on a four-yard run, giving the visitors a 7-0 lead.

The Bearcats later drove to the Saints 13 before being stopped on a third-and-three run, but Morgan Porter connected on a 30-yard field goal to get the hosts on the board, cutting the margin to 7-3 to end the first quarter.

Early in the second, SVC drove to the Thomas More 6-yard-line, but Alex Taylor intercepted a Smetanka pass in the end zone to end the scoring threat.

However, the Bearcats came back later in the second quarter, as Smetanka connected with Jairus Marlow on a 43-yard bomb to the 1-yard line.  Smetanka then scored on a quarterback keeper on the next play, and the Bearcats held a 10-7 advantage at halftime.

Each team's first two possessions of the third quarter resulted in punts, but the Saints broke things open with a big play on their third drive.  Adam Rauch scampered 68 yards down the sideline for the go-ahead touchdown, making the score 14-10.

Once again, the Bearcats responded with a solid drive, but another interception by Taylor at the Saints' 27 late in the third set up a touchdown pass from Robert Kues to Rauch at the beginning of the fourth quarter, stretching the Thomas More lead to 20-10.

Mihalko then seemed to spark SVC with another strong kickoff return, but once again his effort - a 32-yard runback - was called back due to a blocking penalty.  This time, the Bearcats bounced back, with Huey Ehredt catching a 19-yard pass from Smetanka on the drive's opening play.  After three more completions - two to Matt Duffey and one to Ricky Douglas, SVC had driven to the Saints' 43 for a key third down play, and reached into the playbook for a first down.  Smetanka pitched the ball to running back Mike Kale, who then completed a pass to Smetanka, who made an acrobatic catch in traffic at the Saints 36.

Four plays later, Kale scored on a three-yard run to cut the gap to just three, 20-17, with 7:39 remaining.

After the Bearcat defense stopped the Saints to force a punt with just under six minutes remaining, a costly defensive offsides penalty was called on a punt, giving the ball back to the visitors.  Two minutes later, the Bearcat defense once again forced a punt, taking over at their own 20 yard line with just under three minutes left.

On the first play from scrimmage, Smetanka completed a pass, but the Bearcat receiver was stripped of the ball, and the Saints recovered at the SVC 29.  The defense once again held, stopping Hayden on a fourth-down run at the 24 yard line, setting up SVC's final series.

For the day, the final stats showed each team's game plan.  Thomas More posted 220 yards of rushing compared to just 58 through the air, while Saint Vincent had 276 yards passing compared to 85 on the ground.  Saint Vincent outgained the Saints 361-278 overall, and held a 20-10 advantage in first downs.  However, the key statistic for the day was the turnover margin, as SVC committed four turnovers compared to two for the Saints. 

Individually, Ehredt gained 54 yards on 17 carries for Saint Vincent, while Kale added 36 yards on 9 rushes.  Smetanka was 23 of 36 through the air for 267 yards.  Carl Jeune caught four passes for 48 yards, while Ricky Douglas had four receptions for 25 yards.  Christian Sutton added three catches for 60 yards.  In all, 11 different receivers caught passes on the day for Saint Vincent.

Defensively, Armando Fortunato and Anthony Johnson each recorded 10 tackles.

For the Saints (6-0), Rauch led the running game with 5 carries for 79 yards, while Kues was 10-19 passing.  Taylor had 12 tackles to go along with two interceptions.

Saint Vincent returns to action next Saturday, October 22, with a 1:30 contest at Grove City College.