BOX SCORE

BEAVER FALLS, Pa. (Oct. 19) - Junior quarterback Andy Borgen threw for 289 yards and three touchdowns, but it wasn't enough as the Saint Vincent football team dropped a 40-30 decision at Geneva and Reeves Field in Presidents' Athletic Conference action.

With the loss, the Bearcats fall to 0-6 overall and 0-4 in the PAC, while the Golden Tornadoes improve to 4-2 this year and 3-1 in the conference.

Saint Vincent received the opening kickoff and went three-and-out before a Morgan Porter punt gave Geneva the ball for the first time. The Golden Tornadoes used a seven-play, 44-yard drive which was capped off by a two-yard Rocco Colavecchia run to score the game's first points after 3:50 had elapsed.

On the ensuing drive, which started on the SVC 25-yard line, Borgen found Dan Wirkowski for a 38-yard completion on second down to move into Geneva territory for the first time, but a fumble two plays later halted the drive and scoring threat. Geneva scored just five plays later on a five-yard rush by quarterback Zack Hayward that was set up by two passes over 25 yards to build a 14-0 lead with 7:44 to play in the first quarter.

SVC again went three-and-out on the next drive, but took over after just one play when Darrell Burrell forced a fumble that was recovered by Nick Nitowski at the Geneva 25. On the first play following the fumble recovery, Borgen hit Wirkowski for a 25-yard touchdown pass and following the Steven Scherer extra point, SVC trailed just 14-7 with 6:24 to play in the first quarter.

After the two teams traded possessions, SVC took over with 2:49 to play in the first period and proceeded to go 78 yards in six plays and 1:59 to tie the game, 14-14, with 50 seconds left in the first 15 minutes. The end result was a 10-yard touchdown pass from Borgen to tight end Rob O'Hearn, but the big play was a 57-yard rush by Manuel Brown on second down that got SVC inside the red zone.

Geneva was able to answer right back, finding the end zone on the next drive and just 38 seconds into the second quarter when Hayward hit Lemuel Fuller for a 22-yard touchdown on third down, 21-14. SVC answered the call on the following drive to tie the game once again, 21-21, on a two-yard scamper by Borgen with 11:19 to play in the first half. The drive was highlighted by 24- and 28-yard receptions by Matt Duffey and David Butler, respectively.

The Golden Tornadoes needed just 2:41 before they found the end zone once again, 28-21, this time following an eight-play, 52-yard drive that was set up by a 38-yard kickoff return by Josh Guiser.

SVC had a drive end with a turnover on downs deep in Geneva territory with 1:35 left and then Taylor Hayes-Leak intercepted Hayward with 54 seconds to play in the half. SVC advanced the ball to the Geneva 10-yard line and a Scherer field-goal attempt as time expired hit the right upright. The Golden Tornadoes took a 28-21 lead into the locker room.

The first drive of the third quarter for Geneva lasted 15 plays and 6:08, but ended on a missed field-goal attempt from 21 yards out. The GT's controlled the ball for 11:11 of the 15 minutes of the quarter, but neither team put points on the board in the period.

Hayward capped off a 14-play, 80-yard drive with a 17-yard TD pass to Zachary Taylor just 50 seconds into the fourth quarter to stretch the lead to 34-21. Mitchell DePellegrini blocked the extra-point attempt and Dwayne Brown picked the ball up and ran it the length of the field for two points for Saint Vincent to make the score 34-23.

The two teams traded touchdowns in the final half of the fourth quarter, with Geneva missing the point after and SVC making its attempt following a Borgen five-yard TD pass to Dustin Lowman to send the Bearcats home with a hard-fought 40-30 loss.

For the game, SVC finished with a season-high 407 yards of total offense (289 yards passing, 118 yards rushing).

Borgen completed 21-of-35 passes for 289 and three touchdowns. He also led SVC with 50 rushing yards on 21 attempts. Manuel Brown finished with 49 yards on seven carries. Butler led SVC with 80 yards on five catches while Duffey finished with five catches for 60 yards.

Wirkowski and Renny LaRue-Holloman led SVC with nine tackles apiece, with LaRue-Holloman also contributed a tackle for loss. Matt Jenkins and Matt McCarthy each posted eight tackles and DePellegrini made four stops including 1.5 TFL and a sack along with blocking a kick.

SVC will return home for a two-game homestand, with the first coming on Saturday, Oct. 26 when Washington & Jefferson comes to Chuck Noll Field for a 1 p.m. kickoff.