LATROBE, Pa. (Sept. 6)- The Saint Vincent football team dominated Hilbert in a season opening 28-7 non-conference victory at Chuck Noll Field on Saturday afternoon.

The Bearcats (1-0) led by just one score (14-7) at the half, before shutting out the Hawks (0-1) in the second half, outscoring them 14-0 to cruise to the victory in the season opener. The win is Head Coach Casey Goff's first with Saint Vincent.

Defensively, the Bearcats were led by Nathan Parker who totaled 18 tackles, the most tackles in a single game in program history. 12 of Parker's 18 tackles were solo tackles. The previous single game record holder for te Beracats was Anthony Johnson who recorded 17 total tackles twice in 2010. Parker also recorded three tackles for loss.

Saint Vincent was led by quarterback Jake Phillips who threw for 199 yards and four touchdowns in the win. Catching six of Phillips' 17 completions and two touchdowns was Chris Downs who totaled six catches for 100 yards, along with the two touchdowns.

Keegan O'Brien added four catches for 38 yards and one touchdown in the victory as well for the Bearcats. Ian Tuffs added three catches for 29 yards and Tristan Doy caught two passes 23 yards and a touchdown.

Leading the Bearcats rushing attack was Julian Walker who carried the ball nine times for 75 yards.

Andrew Gelin finished with ten tackles for SVC, including five solo, while Robbie Labuda recorded nine solo tackles and one pass breakup in the win for Saint Vincent as well. Kyle Murray recorded seven tackles, including four solo tackles and two pass break ups, while Tyler Harpst and Jonathan Puddie both recorded six tackles each.

Justin Emeigh was a perfect 4-4 on PAT's for Saint Vincent as well.

After a slow start on the opening drives for both team's, Saint Vincent got on the board first halfway through the first quarter. Saint Vincent took advantage of good field position and stationed an eight play 44-yard drive capped off by Phillips finding Doy for a 22-yard score, followed by a successful PAT from Emeigh to put SVC up 7-0.

Both teams punted on their ensuing possessions before Saint Vincent got the ball back, once again with a short field in front of them. It took the Bearcats just two plays to find the back of the end zone. This time it was a nine yard pass from Phillips to Downs, followed by a successful PAT from Emeigh to increase the Saint Vincent lead to 14-0.

About six minutes later, the Hawks cut into the Saint Vincent lead. Hilbert manufactured a seven play 26-yard drive that ended in their first touchdown of the season to cut the lead to 14-7.

Late in the opening half, Hilbert missed a field goal attempt, giving the Bearcats the ball back. After getting the ball to midfield, Phillips heaved a hail mary into the end zone, resulting in his lone interception of the game to send the game to the half.

The story in the second half was the Saint Vincent defense. SVC shut the Hawks out, forcing two turnovers, a missed field goal, and turnover on downs. 

Capitalizing on their strong defense, Phillips tossed two more touchdown passes in the second half. One was a 22-yard pass to O'Brien late in the third quarter and the other was his second of the game to Downs, this one for 11 yards.

Saint Vincent limited Hilbert to just 198 yards of total offense in the win. The Bearcats totaled 284 yards over the course of the game on their side.

The Bearcats return to action next Saturday, September 13 with their first road game of 2025 as they travel to Wooster. Kick off is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Wooster, Ohio next Saturday afternoon.