LATROBE, Pa. (Oct. 28) – The Saint Vincent College football team saw its furious second half rally come up short, as the Bearcats were defeated 22-20 by Westminster College at a soggy Chuck Noll Field.
 
Trailing 22-0 four minutes into the second half, Saint Vincent erupted for three unanswered touchdowns, including two in a 2-minute span midway in the third quarter. The comeback would run out of steam late in the fourth quarter, however, as the Bearcats were handed their fourth straight loss.
 
Saint Vincent (2-6) quarterback Austin Slye completed 16 of 29 passes for a career-high 232 yards, highlighted by a 49-yard touchdown pass to Kaeilb McElroy, who finished with five catches for 107 yards. Brandon Saint-Preux ran for a season-high 74 yards on 18 totes, while Max Pisula gained 38 yards on eight carries, and scored two touchdowns.
 
Defensively, Wiley Purry posted 11 tackles to lead the Bearcats, while Robbie Labuda made nine tackles. Keshawn Davis recorded two tackles behind the line of scrimmage, and Pisula made five stops, including one TFL.
 
The teams traded punts to open up the first quarter, before the Bearcat offense went to work in the closing minutes. Saint Vincent took over at its own 12-yard line, before a 15-yard Westminster penalty, an 11-yard rush from Ty Martin and a 19-yard pass from Slye to Austin Wells moved the ball to midfield. Slye would then complete a 27-yard pass to tight end Vinny Chirdon, who made a one-handed, over-the-shoulder grab, to advance to the Westminster 33. The drive would stall, however, as the Bearcats managed just one yard over its next three plays, before an incomplete pass on fourth down gave the ball to Westminster with just over two minutes left in the quarter.
 
The SVC defense would hold on the Titans ensuing drive, but the Westminster punt on the third play of the second quarter pinned the Bearcats inside their own 5-yard line. The visitors would then capitalize on the field position, as Slye was sacked in the end zone to put the Titans ahead 2-0. After the free kick, Westminster would then march down the field, embarking on a 7-play, 64-yard scoring drive, capped off with a two-yard Ryan Gomes touchdown run, to open up a 9-0 lead with 8:58 left in the half.
 
After Slye hooked up with Wells for a 9-yard completion to open SVC's next trip, the Bearcats would go to the ground to matriculate into Westminster territory. A pair of Saint-Preux rushes netted 17 yards and moved the ball inside the Titan 40, before Pisula battered his way to 19 yards over three carries to advance inside the red zone. As was the case earlier, the Westminster defense would then stand tall, ceding just three yards over the next four plays, with the 14-play, 7-minute drive ending with an incomplete pass on fourth down.  
 
The Titans' following possession ended with a punt before a fumble would end the Bearcats' next trip on the penultimate play of the half.
 
Westminster forced its second turnover on the Bearcats' opening play of the second half, picking off an interception at the SVC 26. The miscue proved costly, as three plays later, Westminster quarterback Billy Levak completed an 18-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Royal-Eiland. The two-point try failed, and the Titans led 15-0 just 40 seconds into the third quarter.
 
Less than a minute after the Royal-Eiland touchdown, the Titans recovered another Bearcat fumble at the SVC 23-yard line, and again the Bearcats paid dearly, as five plays later, Gomes scored from four yards out to extend the lead to 22-0 with 10:35 left in the quarter.
 
Following the quick Westminster surge, Luke Levendosky put some energy back into the Saint Vincent crowd with a nifty 31-yard kick return, and Slye would then open the drive with a 25-yard completion to Keegan O'Brien to advance inside the Westminster 40. Following a 6-yard run by Saint-Preux, Slye connected with Wells for a 7-yard pass on third-and-four, before the veteran signal-caller found McElroy for a 26-yard gain to set up first and goal at the 2-yard line. Pisula would then close the drive out by bowling in from two yards out to put the Bearcats on the board, 22-7.
 
Saint Vincent would then seize the momentum by cashing in on a surprise on-side kick, with Justin Emeigh's bouncing boot recovered by a sprawling Labuda on the Westminster 47. Slye opened the drive with an 11-yard pass to McElroy, while an extra 15 yards were tacked on after a roughing the passer penalty. A 7-yard run from Saint-Preux moved the ball to the Westminster 13, and Pisula again would close it out with a pair of runs, the second a 6-yard touchdown to trim the gap to 22-14 with 6:02 left in the quarter.
 
Westminster would hold the ball for the remainder of the period, picking up five first downs and advancing inside the SVC 30. On the final play of the third quarter, however, the Bearcats' KeShawn Davis threw Gomes for a three-yard loss, before the second play of the fourth quarter saw Davis snuff out a Titan screen pass on fourth-and-five for a one-yard loss to end the visitors' 14-play drive.
 
The momentum continued to favor the Saint Vincent offense, which embarked on yet another fruitful drive. Two Saint-Preux rushes netted 14 yards, before Pisula converted a fourth-and-one with a three-yard run to move the ball to midfield. Then, on third-and-10, Slye found McElroy over the middle, the senior wideout raced into the end zone for a 49-yard touchdown, to pull the Bearcats to within two, 22-20, with 9:40 left in regulation. Saint Vincent would then try some trickery on the two-point conversion attempt, but McElroy's pass off a reverse went just off the fingertips of a sprawling Slye in the end zone.
 
Though Saint Vincent's next trip wouldn't result in points, it did end with a 60-yard punt by Kyle Murray that pinned the Titans inside their own 1-yard line. Gomes gave the Titans some breathing room with a 24-yard run on second down, but would manage just five yards on his next three tries, bringing out the Westminster punt team with 2:30 left in regulation. Saint Vincent looked to have good field position after the boot was fair caught by Levendosky at the SVC 35, but the Titans would retain possession after a roughing the kicker call.
 
The Titans went back to the ground to chew up the clock, eventually punting the ball back to SVC with 40 seconds left in regulation. Taking over at their own 13-yard line, the Bearcats were unable to close out the comeback, with the Titans coming up with their fourth turnover of the day on an interception to seal the win.
 
Along with outgaining the Titans by 76 yards, the Bearcats finished with 22 first downs to their visitors' 18, while the Bearcats averaged 5.3 yards per play to the Titans' 4.0. Saint Vincent was also an impressive 9-for-14 on third down conversions.
 
For Westminster, Gomes ran for a game-high 120 yards on 33 attempts, while Levak completed 15 of 24 passes for 132 yards and Taite Beachy led the Titan receiving corps with five catches for 49 yards. Dylan Sleva passed Westminster's defense with 11 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss, a half sack, a forced fumble and two pass break-ups. Kevin Wright and Corte Williams had the Westminster interceptions.
 
The Bearcats will be back in action on Saturday, Nov. 4, closing out their 2023 home slate with a 1 p.m. game against PAC foe Thiel College on Senior Day at Chuck Noll Field.