PHOTO GALLERY
The Saint Vincent football team led from start to finish, defeating Waynesburg University by a score of 30-12 on Senior Day in Latrobe.
After the Bearcat defense stopped Waynesburg on the game's opening possession, SVC quarterback
Derek Stewart went right to work, completing a 45-yard pass to
Damon Black Jr on the first play from scrimmage, moving the ball to the Waynesburg 20. Â However, the drive stalled and
Sam Elliott had to come on and kick a 24-yard field goal to put the Bearcats in front, 3-0.
Following another Waynesburg punt, Stewart hit
Dalton Dietrich with a 34-yard pass that gave the Bearcats the ball at the Waynesburg 18. Â Later in the drive, Stewart found Black in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard score. Â The Elliott point after gave the Bearcats a 10-0 lead. Â
The Yellow Jackets drove the ball downfield on their next possession. Â Quarterback Tyler Perone's pass to Kevin Barnes moved the ball near the goal line, but
Emanuel Flores made the touchdown-saving tackle on a second down play. Â
Matt Jenkins then made the stop on a rushing play on third and goal. Â Waynesburg lined up for a fourth-down play, but a false start penalty moved the ball back to the six yard line, and Mike Ryhal came on and hit a 22-yard field goal to make it a 10-3 game at the end of the first quarter.
With 5:07 left in the second quarter, Perone attempted a pass to start a drive, but
Kim Ornis intercepted at the Waynesburg 44.  On the first play from scrimmage,
Quincy Mays ran for 21 yards on his first carry of the season. Â The SVC offense was unable to move the ball, bringing out Elliott for a field goal attempt on fourth-and-12. Â Elliott took the snap directly, and threw a 24-yard pass to Black, who hauled it in at the one-yard line. Â On the next play,
Shavonta Craft  took it the final three feet into the end zone.  The PAT was blocked, leaving the Bearcats with a 16-3 lead.  Neither team was able to score for the remainder of the half.
Waynesburg's Ryhal hit a 28-yard field goal early in the second half to cut the gap to ten, 16-6, but the Bearcats added another touchdown late in the quarter.  Starting the drive at their own 43, SVC picked up 14 yards on a quarterback keeper by Stewart.  On the next play, Stewart threw a 53-yard touchdown pass to
DJ Oceant-Kelly. Â The extra point made the score 23-6 with 41 seconds left in the third.
The visitors added a touchdown with 6:59 left in the fourth, but a 2-point conversion attempt failed. Â On the ensuing kickoff,
AJ Jean-Baptiste returned the ball 30 yards to the SVC 41. Â Two plays later, Stewart and Oceant-Kelly connected again, this time for 29 yards to the Waynesburg 30. Â Later in the drive, Craft scampered 14 yards over the right side to the end zone. Â Elliott's extra point ended the scoring for the day with SVC in front, 30-12.
Craft led the Bearcat ground game with 51 yards on 17 carries. Â Stewart was 18-30 through the air for 284 yards. Â Black caught 8 passes for 111 yards, while Oceant-Kelly had 7 catches for a game-high 148 yards. Â Defensively,
Ben Davis had 6 tackles, while
Cameron Mack,
Jean Cherilus and
Cody Henry had 5 tackles each. Â Henry recorded one sack, while Cherilus had a pair of tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
Saint Vincent is now 5-4 on the season overall, 3-4 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference. Â Waynesburg drops to 2-7, 2-5 in the PAC.
The Bearcats will complete the regular season on Saturday, November 12 at Bethany College.
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