PHOTO GALLERY

The Saint Vincent Bearcat football team earned its first victory of the season, defeating Thiel College by a score of 41-18 on the road in Greenville.

SVC was dominant on both sides of the ball, with 433 yards of total offense, and forcing Thiel into a -38 yard showing on the ground for the day.  

The Bearcats got off to a rough start, when Trou Johnson intercepted Lorenzo Cota's screen pass attempt at the 17-yard-line and had a clear path to the end zone.  Damien Charles blocked the extra point, making it a 6-0 game just five minutes into play.
 
The score remained that way until late in the first.  A Christian Witchey punt was fielded at the 9-yard-line, and Austin Kemp made the tackle on the play at the 6, for a three-yard loss.  On the first play from scrimmage, Izaak Gray got into the backfield and took down the runner for a yard loss, then on third down, Mike Turner Jr sacked quarterback Marlon Brown at the 1-yard-line, forcing a punt from the end zone.  The snap went through the punter's hands and out of the back of the end zone for a Saint Vincent safety, making the score 6-2 with less than a minute left in the first quarter.
 
After fielding the free kick following the safety, Sam Nowicki carried the ball for 14 yards, then Cota hit Phil Harding with a 10-yard pass to move the ball past midfield.  Mike Stasko then broke free for a 17-yard run, followed by a 17-yard pass to Cody Evans that moved the ball inside the 10.  Cota then kept the ball for a 9-yard run into the end zone, and Nick Srnka added the extra point, giving SVC a 9-6 lead.
 
Later in the quarter, the Bearcat defense forced a punt, and Stasko followed with a pair of carries that totaled 10 yards.  Cota then stepped back and threw a 43-yard strike to Sam Nowicki to the 1-yard-line, and Stasko took care of the rest, carrying the ball in for the final yard.  Srnka's kick put SVC in front, 16-6.
 
Following another defensive stand and a Tomcat punt, Cota went to work on the ground, with a 14-yard rush.  He then looked to the air for Evans, but a defensive pass interference penalty was called, moving the ball to the Thiel 13.  Cota then ran another keeper, finding the end zone for his second rushing touchdown of the day.  The point after made it 23-6 with 2:27 left in the half.
 
The second half didn't start well for the Bearcats, as a broken play started a rally for the Tomcats.  A bad snap left quarterback Marko Bakovic scrambling for a loose ball, which he picked up and tossed toward the end zone, where Caleb Shuler made the catch for what was officially a 19-yard scoring pass.  The two-point conversion attempt failed.
 
A short kickoff followed, but it was muffed by the Bearcats, with Thiel recovering the loose ball.  An 8-play, 38-yard scoring drive brought the score to 23-18. 
 
After SVC was unable to move the ball, Witchey sent a 51-yard punt all the way to the Tomcat 6-yard-line.  Four plays later, Stasko blocked the Thiel punt, and it rolled out of the back of the end zone for the second SVC safety of the day, making the score 25-18.

The Bearcats took over after the free kick and drove 48 yards in 7 plays, and Srnka came on to hit a 33-yard field goal near the end of the third quarter, increasing the lead to 10.
 
Early in the fourth, the Bearcats added to the lead on a 38-yard touchdown pass from Cota to Braden Hone.  Hone caught the ball near the 10 and broke free from a tackler to score.
 
Later, Jeremy Wodarek took advantage of a tipped pass, intercepting the ball at the Bearcat 45 and taking it all the way to the end zone. Srnka's kick made it a 41-18 game.

Cota finished the day 9-for-20 passing  for 163 yards and a touchdown.  He also ran for 47 yards and two scores in his first collegiate start.  Stasko ran for 126 yards on the day on 24 carries.  Nowicki caught four passes for 83 yards, while Hone had two catches for 51 yards, and one carry for 21 yards.

Defensively, Cody Henry had 8 tackles, while Cam Norris had 7.  Each recorded a sack, and Henry had four tackles behind the line of scrimmage.  Izaak Gray added three tackles behind the line.

For Thiel, Bakovic was 19-31 through the air for 227 yards, but was sacked four times.  Cameron Prebble led the defense with 10 tackles.  

Saint Vincent is now 1-4 on the season, 1-3 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference.  Thiel is now 0-5 overall, 0-4 in the PAC.  The Bearcats will return to action next Saturday, October 19, hosting Case Western Reserve University at Chuck Noll Field at 1PM.