GREENVILLE, PA – The Saint Vincent College football team earned its first Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) victory in a big way, defeating host Thiel 41-7 under the lights at Alumni Stadium.
Saint Vincent (2-1, 1-1 PAC) more than doubled-up Thiel (0-4, 0-3 PAC) in total offense, gaining 422 yards to the Tomcats' 191, while five different Bearcats scored touchdowns.
Brady Walker led the Bearcat offense, connecting on 15 of 22 attempts for 275 yards and three touchdowns. A pair of Saint Vincent receivers recorded 100-yard days, as Molayo Irefin made six catches for 108 yards and Keith Kalp four grabs for 117. Both players also caught touchdowns. Irefin also gained 27 yards on the ground and ran for a touchdown, while rookie Billy Beck scored two times for SVC, improving his total to four TDs in three games.
Defensively, Joanes Polynice recorded a team-high 12 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss. Cam Norris also made 1.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage, sharing a sack with Andrew Deaton, while Nathan Sullivan recorded a pair of TFLs. Defensive backs Evan Brozenich and Marvelle Cromerdie each tallied the first interceptions of their careers.
Saint Vincent wasted little time in taking a lead, with Walker and Irefin hooking up on the team's fourth play of the night for a 25-yard touchdown to make it 7-0 just four minutes into play. After the SVC defense promptly forced Thiel to punt, the Bearcats added onto their lead on their next possession, with Walker completing a 12-yard pass to tight end Kyle Silk. Silk's first career touchdown made it 14-0 with 6:30 left in the opening quarter.
The teams traded scoreless possessions over the remainder of the first quarter and the opening minutes of the second. With just over eight minutes left in the half, SVC's Ahmad Shaw returned Thiel's fourth punt of the half deep into Thiel territory, setting up first-and-goal from the 5-yard line. On the very next play, Beck rumbled in from five yards out to give SVC the 21-0 lead with 7:35 left in the half.
Thiel would close out the half with a lengthy 12-play, 79-yard drive to score its first points of the half on a 4-yard De Anthony Pendleton touchdown with under a minute left to set the halftime score at 21-7.
The Bearcats received the opening kickoff of the second half, with Irefin returning it 37 yards to the Saint Vincent 42. Walker opened the drive with a 6-yard pass to Kalp, before the duo hooked up again on the very next play, a 52-yard touchdown to up SVC's advantage to 28-7 just 65 seconds into the third quarter.
A little more than six minutes later, Irefin scored his second touchdown of the night on a 27-yard end-around run to push the Bearcats ahead 34-7 with 7:25 to go in the quarter, before the visitors scored their third touchdown in a 9-minute span on Beck's second scoring run of the evening, this one from one yard out, to make it 41-7 with 4:49 remaining in the third.
The Saint Vincent defense would then promptly end each of Thiel's next two drives, with Cromerdie picking off a pass with 3:54 left in the quarter before Brozenich tallied his first pick on the final play of the third quarter.
Over the decisive third quarter, Saint Vincent out-gained Thiel 166-16, while forcing the Tomcat signal callers to go 0-for-8 with a pair of interceptions.
Beck's second touchdown proved to be the final points of the night for either team, and after the scoreless – and quick – fourth quarter, the Bearcats sealed their sixth straight win over the Tomcats.
The Bearcats will now prep for the Case Western Reserve Spartans, who will pay a visit to Chuck Noll Field on Saturday, Oct. 2, for Homecoming at Saint Vincent. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.
Saint Vincent earns decisive conference win
/seasons/2021/boxscores/20210925_pjak.xml
2021
St. Vincent
41
Thiel
7
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Vincent (2-1) | 14 | 7 | 20 | 0 | 41 |
| Thiel (0-4) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
Sep 25, 2021