BOX SCORE

The Saint Vincent football team ended its 2014 season with a come-from-behind upset victory over Bethany College by a score of 41-35 in West Virginia.

SVC's offense struggled in the early going, failing to convert back-to-back fourth down plays on their first two drives.  After the Bearcats' second drive, the Bison took over at the SVC 26 and scored five plays later, taking a 7-0 lead.

After a Bearcat punt, a 55-yard run by Jalen Holmes doubled the lead for Bethany.

The Saint Vincent offense then came to life, with Matt Deakins completing four passes to three different receivers, and Shavonta Craft carrying the ball four times on the drive, capped by a Craft three-yard scoring run.  Steven Scherer added the extra point to make it 14-7 with just under a minute left in the first quarter.

Late in the second quarter, after a Bearcat defensive stop, Nick Revis blocked a Bethany punt, and Deakins ended the 23-yard drive with a touchdown pass to Damon Black from 7 yards out that tied the game, 14-14.

The hosts had one last chance to score before the half, but a Cody Lambert interception proved to be the final play of the half, sending the teams into the locker room tied.

Bethany's first drive of the second half ended in similar fashion, with an interception by Darius Brown giving the Bearcats the ball at their own 35.  Deakins hit Lazaro Garcia for a 30 yard pass play that moved the ball to just outside the red zone, and Craft did the rest of the work, scoring on a 10-yard run to give the Bearcats their first lead of the day, 20-14 with 12:02 left in the third quarter.

After a drive of more than eight minutes, the Bison attempted a field goal, but Brown blocked the kick.

The ensuing SVC drive carried over into the fourth quarter, with Deakins connecting with Garcia for an 18-yard scoring strike for the Bearcats' fourth touchdown of the game, making the score 27-14.

Despite giving up 27 straight points, Bethany refused to give up, fighting back for a score on their next drive on a one-yard run that made the score 27-21 with 10:14 left in the fourth.

Brown then returned the ensuing kickoff 47 yards, and a personal foul penalty on the return moved the ball all the way to the Bethany 18.  After a two-yard loss on the first play of the drive, Deakins hit Damon Black for a 20-yard touchdown pass that made the score 34-21 with 9:17 to go.

Once again, the Bison struck quickly, as Brian Vales scampered 49 yards for a touchdown on the fourth play of the drive, cutting the margin to 34-28.

Yet again, the Bearcat offense responded, as Deakins completed a 7-play, 74-yard drive with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Dustin Lowman that made the score 41-28.

The hosts responded with a 10-play drive of their own, as Holmes ran it in from 2 yards out to make the score 41-35 with 1:46 remaining.  The onside kickoff attempt was collared by SVC's Darrell Burrell, seemingly ending the threat.  However, the Bethany defense stopped SVC, and the Bison utilized time outs to get one last shot, taking over possession at their own 19 yard line with 1:19 to go.

The Saint Vincent defense again held, forcing a turnover on downs and sealing the victory.

Deakins ended his SVC career with perhaps his finest day, completing 28 of 41 passes for 304 yards and four touchdowns.  Damon Black was his favorite target, catching 9 passes for 119 yards and a pair of scores.  Garcia added four catches for 68 yards.  On the ground, Craft carried the ball 36 times for 123 yards and two touchdowns.  

Defensively, Matt McCarthy had 14 tackles, while Revis added 12.  Tom Mackowick had a quarterback sack, and Darius Brown broke up four passes.

Saint Vincent ends the season with a 4-6 overall record, 4-4 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference.  The road victory was the team's first since October of 2011, a span of 16 games.

Bethany ends the year with a record of 6-4 (5-3 PAC).