MADISON, N.J. (Nov. 20) – The Saint Vincent football team saw its 2021 season come to a close with a 38-26 defeat to Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham in the Eastern College Athletic Conference's James Lynah Bowl.
 
The Bearcats, who were making their third all-time postseason appearance, end the season with 5-6 overall record, while the Devils end the year with a 7-4 mark.
 
Saint Vincent quarterback Brady Walker completed 13 passes for 301 yards and two touchdowns, with Molayo Irefin making 7 catches for 110 yards and a touchdown.

Both players established new team records in the loss, as Walker ends his junior season with 4,200 career passing yards, eclipsing the previous career record of 4,117 set by current head coach Aaron Smetanka. Irefin closed the season with 919 receiving yards, breaking a 5-year-old record of 881 previously held by D.J. Oceant-Kelly.
 
Most of the opening quarter was a feeling-out phase between the two teams, as they each traded two scoreless possessions over the first 12 minutes. Saint Vincent would then draw first blood, with Walker and Irefin hooking up for a 73-yard touchdown pass over the middle to make it 7-0 with 2:43 left in the first quarter.
 
The Devils ended the quarter driving and then would even the score just under three minutes into the second quarter, when Nick Santavicca's one-yard run capped off a 13-play, 71-yard drive and made the score 7-7.
 
The Bearcats answered right back, with Walker opening the ensuing drive with a 24-yard pass to Kaelib McElroy, before he hooked up with Phil Harding for a 55-yard touchdown pass over the middle. The two-point conversion try was stopped, and SVC led 13-7 with 11:05 left in the first half.
 
On the ensuing drive, the Saint Vincent defense turned the Devils over on downs on the Bearcat 15-yard-line. Faced with a long field, the offense was unable to gain much ground and was forced to punt. The kick was blocked on the 10-yard-line, and FDU needed just three plays to turn the turnover into points, with 5-yard touchdown run from Connor Perez giving FDU its first lead, 14-13, with 3:34 left in the quarter.
 
Walker began the Bearcats' ensuing drive with a 54-yard pass to Jeremy Wodarek, who was able to corral it after a deflection, to set up first down inside the red zone. The drive stalled, as FDU's defense held and forced a turnover on downs. The Devil offense would then execute the two-minute drill to cover 93 yards in eight plays and 67 seconds, ending with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Rory Sullivan with 15 seconds left in the quarter that gave the Devils a 21-13 halftime lead.
 
The Devils kept the momentum to start the second half, forcing an SVC fumble on the ensuing kickoff and then again turning the turnover into points with a 37-yard field goal to make it 24-13 with 10:48 left in the third quarter.
 
After an SVC three-and-out, the FDU offense continued to hum, with Andrew Caserta completing a 28-yard touchdown pass to Perez to cap off an 8-play, 63-yard drive and push the FDU lead to 31-14 with 5:32 to go in the third.
 
Saint Vincent committed its second turnover of the half with an interception on its next possession, and the Devils again made the Bearcats pay, with Perez scoring his third touchdown of the afternoon, a one-handed, 32-yard catch on the sideline, to give the hosts a commanding 38-13 lead at the close of the third quarter.
 
Over the decisive third stanza, the Devils held the ball for 9:42 and out-gained the Bearcat 130-24 in total offense.
 
Saint Vincent began the fourth quarter driving, taking advantage of three penalties and two passes to Harding that covered 34 yards to set up first-and-goal inside the FDU 3-yard line. The Devils held, stuffing four straight Bearcat runs to keep the 25-point lead.
 
Two plays after the turnover-on-downs, Saint Vincent forced its first turnover of the afternoon, recovering a fumble on the FDU 5-yard line. Three plays later, quarterback Devin Gleason scrambled for a touchdown to cut the score to 38-19 with 7:40 left in regulation.
 
The Bearcats' final drive of the afternoon ended with a punt, before the Devils ran out the clock for the final four minutes to close out the victory.
 
Gleason ended the afternoon as SVC's leading rusher, netting 11 yards, whie along with Irefin's 110-yard performance, Harding caught seven balls for 95 yards, and Wodarek and McElroy two each for 63 and 60 yards, respectively.
 
Defensively, Jaden Pratt and Cam Norris shared the SVC lead with 10 tackles, with Norris making 1.5 TFLs. Joanes Polynice and Jack Poling each had 7 tackles.
 
Caserta completed 22 of 34 passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns, with Perez, who was named the MVP of the James Lynah Bowl, making 8 catches for 122 yards and two scores.