BOX SCORE

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The Saint Vincent College football team dropped a defensive battle to the Thiel College Tomcats at Chuck Noll Field on Homecoming Weekend by a final score of 14-7.

A five-yard touchdown pass from Thiel quarterback Andrew Smith to Zane Garza broke a 7-7 tie with three seconds remaining in the first half and gave Thiel a 14-7 lead they would not relinquish the rest of the afternoon.

The Bearcats' offense opened the day fast. On second-and-nine from the Thiel 37, freshman running back Ryan Crawford caught a swing pass from sophomore quarterback Matt Deakins and scampered to the end zone to give Saint Vincent the 7-0 lead with 12:24 remaining in the first quarter.
That was all the offense either team was able to manage for a while as both defenses were stout in the early goings.

Midway through the second quarter, the Thiel defense came up with a momentum-shifting play. After Saint Vincent forced a Tomcats' three-and-out, the Bearcats were set-up at the Thiel 34-yard line. On third-and-six, Thiel linebacker Ethan Ludwig intercepted a Deakins pass and raced 31 yards for the score to knot the game at 7 with just under seven minutes left to play.

Both defenses continued their dominance after the turnover. The teams were forced to trade punts on the next four possessions before Thiel was able to force another Bearcats turnover. On second-and-ten at their own 40-yard line Deakins was picked-off for the second time in the half, this time by Rob Edwards, who returned the interception 29 yards to set the Tomcats up deep in Saint Vincent territory at the Bearcats' 23-yard line.

Four plays later and with time winding down in the first half, Smith connected with Garza to break the scoreless tie and put Thiel ahead for good.

The Bearcats got a spark on the opening drive of the second half when Saint Vincent freshman linebacker Renny Larue-Holloman forced a Thiel fumble deep in Bearcats territory. The Saint Vincent offense was unable to capitalize on the turnover and punted the ball back to Thiel.

That was the story for both offenses for the remainder of the game as neither team was able to muster a long drive. Thiel and Saint Vincent combined for 19 punts in the contest.

Defensively, Larue-Holloman and senior linebacker Jovaughn Johnson led the Bearcats with 10 stops apiece and Johnson added a sack for a loss of six yards.

The Tomcats defense was led by sophomore linebacker Jack Sindlinger who had a game-high 13 tackles (nine solo) and Ludwig chipped-in with 11 (seven solo).

Deakins finished 16-31 for 161 yards to go along with one touchdown and two picks. Smith finished 14-24 for 132 yards and the go-ahead score. Saint Vincent senior wide receiver Ricky Douglas led all pass catchers with seven grabs for 67 yards.

The Bearcats, now 0-5 (0-3 PAC), return to action next Saturday, October 13 at 1pm at home for a PAC matchup with Geneva College.