The Bearcats overcame an early deficit and a 2 1/2 hour weather delay to defeat the Thiel Tomcats on Homecoming Day in Latrobe, 35-13.
Thiel opened the game with a lengthy, 13-play drive that covered 73 yards. Nick Barca carried the ball four straight times at the end of the drive, scoring on a 1-yard run. The Chris Rosales extra point put the visitors in front, 7-0, at the 8:16 mark of the first quarter.
SVC moved the ball well on its first possession, highlighted by a 25-yard pass from Zavion Thompson to Philip Harding. However, the drive ended with a Malcolm Barclay interception in the end zone.
After the Bearcat defense forced Thiel to punt, Thompson went right to work, hitting Aaron Austin with a 45-yard strike that moved the ball to the Thiel 14. Three plays later, the Bearcats pulled out the "Statue of Liberty" play, when Thompson faked a pass then handed the ball behind his back to Ariel Martinez, who ran untouched into the end zone from 10 yards out. The Sam Elliott point after tied the game, 7-7 with 33 seconds left in the first quarter.
Early in the third, Thiel had moved to the Bearcat 36, but a fourth down sack by Izaak Gray and George Hillenturned the ball over to SVC. For Gray, the sack made him the team's single season record holder for sacks, with 5.5.
Later in the quarter, Mike Stasko recorded back to back first downs for Saint Vincent, first on a 15-yard pass, followed by a 17-yard run, moving the ball to midfield.
Three plays later, Thompson hit Martinez in the end zone for a 37-yard scoring strike, and SVC was in front, 14-7. The half ended with SVC in front by a touchdown.
The Bearcats received the second half kickoff, and wasted no time getting back on the board. Sam Nowicki returned the kickoff 42 yards to midfield, setting up the offense. On the third play of the drive, Thompson threw another 37-yard touchdown pass, this one to Shaquille Edmond.
Following the kickoff and one play by the Tomcat offense, lightning in the area forced the teams from the field. A heavy storm then moved in, and the game was delayed for 2 hours and 25 minutes.
After play resumed, Thiel's Eligah Flynn intercepted a Thompson pass and returned it 48 yards, setting up a Barca 24-yard touchdown run. Damien Charles blocked the extra point, leaving the score at 21-13.
Early in the fourth, Thompson hit Austin with a 22-yard pass that moved the ball to the Tomcat 14. Later, after a holding penalty moved the ball back to the 21, Thompson once again found Martinez in the end zone for a touchdown. Elliott's kick put SVC in front 28-13.
The defense then held the Tomcats on their next possession, forcing a punt. Lorrne Hamilton blocked the punt, and Cameron Mack picked up the ball and ran it into the end zone for a score. It was the second time this season that Mack has scored on a blocked punt. The touchdown put the Bearcats in front, 35-13, with 10:42 remaining in the fourth.
Thiel still had opportunities to get back into the game, but Jeremy Wodarek intercepted a pair of passes in the final 10 minutes, sealing the win for Saint Vincent.
The Bearcats are now 1-4 on the season, 1-3 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference. Thiel drops to 0-6 overall, 0-5 in the PAC.
Individually, Saint Vincent was led on the ground by Stasko, who carried the ball 17 times for 74 yards. Thompson completed 17 of 34 passes for 281 yards and three touchdowns. Martinez caught 7 passes for 116 yards. Nowicki had a total of 137 return yards on the day. Defensively, Collins had 7 tackles and an interception. Hauns White had six tackles. Gray finished the day with 1.5 sacks, while Cody Henry had 2 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, including a sack.
The Bearcats return to action at Case Western next Saturday, October 13. Kickoff is 1PM.
Bearcats earn Homecoming victory over Thiel, 35-13
/seasons/2018/boxscores/20181006_tsww.xml
2018
Thiel
13
St. Vincent
35
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thiel (0-6) | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 13 |
| St. Vincent (1-4) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 35 |
Oct 06, 2018