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GREENVILLE, Pa. (Oct. 4) - The Saint Vincent College football team took a 17-7 lead into the halftime break, but the Thiel Tomcats responded with a strong second half to defeat the Bearcats, 21-20, in Greenville, Pa. The loss was the Bearcats (2-3, 2-1) first this season in PAC play and snapped a two-game winning streak for SVC. With the win, the Tomcats (2-3, 1-2) snapped a three-game losing streak and earned their first PAC victory of the season. 

Early on it looked as if the Bearcats would continue their recent strong play, as they took an early 7-0 lead. Saint Vincent got the game's initial touchdown when sophomore DJ Oceant-Kelly rushed from three yards out for his first touchdown as a Bearcat. Senior kicker Morgan Porter tacked on the PAT for SVC. The touchdown was set up by more terrific defensive play from the Bearcats, as junior linebacker Matt Jenkins intercepted Thiel's Ryan Radke and returned it 21 yards to the Thiel 5 yard line. 

The Bearcats extended their lead early in the second quarter when senior quarterback Matt Deakins connected with senior receiver Matt Duffey for a 22-yard touchdown strike. Porter tacked on the PAT and that pushed the Bearcats lead to 14-0. 

However, Thiel responded on the very next drive as Radke kept it himself, rushing 55 yards out of the backfield and wasn't tackled down until he made it all the way to the Saint Vincent 10-yard line. Thiel running back Branden Dice finished off the scoring drive on the very next play with a 10-yard touchdown run. Thiel made the extra point and cut the SVC lead to 14-7 with 11:15 to play in the second quarter. 

Saint Vincent answered back with the final points of the first half when Porter nailed a 20-yard field goal to push the Bearcats lead back to double figures at 17-7. The scoring drive was 12 plays and totaled 78 yards over 4 minutes and 58 seconds of action.

The second half has been kind to the Bearcats the past two weeks. However, that wasn't the case against Thiel. The Tomcats outscored the Bearcats 14-3 after halftime. Thiel got to work on the comeback trail on the very first drive of the third quarter. Radke again played a major role, capping up the drive with a touchdown pass to Rich Smallwood from seven yards out. Thiel added the PAT to make it 17-14. 

SVC game right back, answering with a field goal from Porter from 28 yards out, to push the Bearcats lead to 20-14. The Bearcat defense forced a Thiel turnover on downs and appeared to have built some momentum back but senior quarterback Andy Borgen was intercepted late in the third quarter and that allowed Thiel to set up shop deep in the Bearcats end of the field. 

Thiel picked up a big third down conversion when SVC was flagged for a pass interference penalty to keep the drive alive. The very next play Dice rushed in from two yards out to tie the contest. Jon Fennick tacked on the extra point and Thiel had its first lead of the game, at 21-20, with 14:52 left to play in the fourth quarter.

Saint Vincent had a few golden opportunities to reclaim the lead but couldn't do so. Porter missed a 30-yard field goal attempt wide left on the very next drive and had a 42-yard attempt blocked on the very next possession for SVC. The second of which gave Thiel the opportunity to run out the clock and that is exactly what they did. The Tomcats converted three third down attempts and milked the clock to erase the final 6:27 and sneak away with the victory.

Thiel outgained SVC 372-to-322 in total yards and a big part of that was Radke. The Bearcats held the Tomcats signal caller in check through the air, allowing him to complete just 7-of-20 passes for 62 yards. However, the lefty QB, did damage on the ground, rushing for a game-best 148 yards. Thiel running back Taylor Fink added 147 yards on the ground as TC totaled 310 rushing yards, in what really was the difference in the game.

Saint Vincent only was able to muster 77 rushing yards as a team, Borgen had the team-high with 44 yards on the ground. Deakins and Borgen combined to go 16-for-30 through the air for 247 yards and a touchdown and interception. Sophomore Shavonta Craft led SVC with five catches for 64 yards. Dustin Lowman pulled down three passes for 72 yards. Defensively, Jenkins led the way with a team-best nine tackles and the previously mentioned interception. Sophomore linebacker Matt McCarthy chipped in eight tackles and a pass breakup. Defensive lineman Andrew Geisler continued his strong play, totaling six tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss.

After playing five straight weeks to start the season, Saint Vincent now will enter their bye week before traveling to Crestview Hills, Ky. to face Thomas More on Saturday, Oct. 18. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m.