For the first time in 45 years, football returned to Saint Vincent College, but Gallaudet University spoiled the Bearcats home opener, 32-13 in front of a packed house at Chuck Noll Field.

Sophomore receiver Rob James led the Bearcats statistically, hauling in six passes for 124 yards, including a dazzling 86-yard touchdown reception.  On the defensive side of the ball, freshman linebacker Ramsey Lesnett made eight tackles, including six solo, and one sack.

Neither team enjoyed great success offensively in the first quarter, as SVC and Gallaudet combined to punt six times in the first 15 minutes. 

The visiting Bison got on the scoreboard first, with Jason Coleman completing a 20-yard touchdown strike to Kevin Alley just seconds into the second quarter.  

Three possessions later, the Bearcats were forced to punt from their own 20.  On the play, Gallaudet's Rob Shannon burst through the line to block the kick and pounced on the bouncing ball in the endzone to put the Bison up 12-0 with six minutes left in the half.

The Bearcat offense couldn't muster any extended possessions for the remainder of the second quarter, while Gallaudet scored again on its last possession of the half with Coleman completing another touchdown pass to Alley, this one for eight yards, with five ticks remaining.

On their first possession after the break, Saint Vincent came out blazing, specifically the duo of half back Logan Small and tight end Jake Gabelt.  Gabelt, a sophomore, capped off a 10 play, 69 yard drive by hauling in an eight yard pass over the middle from quarterback Phil Hamilton for SVC's first score of the season.  On the drive, Small ran four times for 38 yards, while Gabelt caught a pair of passes for 25 yards.

SVC's defense held on the next drive, and Gallaudet's ensuing punt traveled into the endzone for a touchback.

On Saint Vincent's next trip, Hamilton was sacked for a loss of six, but on the second play, the quarterback found James over the middle, who made a circus grab off of the tipped ball and then darted down the sideline for an 86-yard strike.  Matt Houston's extra point kick was successful, and the Bearcats were down 19-13.

It was as close as Saint Vincent would get, however, as Gallaudet went on a 10 play, 66-yard drive, capped off by a Coleman touchdown pass to Shannon to put the Bison up 25-13 with two minutes left in the third quarter.

Gallaudet scored the final points of the afternoon with just over three minutes left in the fourth, with Coleman taking it himself from three yards out for the fifth Bison score of the day.  The extra point kick from Justin Wilson was good, making the score 32-13.

Coleman had an impressive day for the visitors, completing 20 of 33 passes for 227 yards and three touchdowns, while running for 25 more yards and a score.  Alley hauled in eight passes for 113 yards for Gallaudet, while Shannon made seven tackles defensively, including a pair of sacks.

Hamilton finished the day completing 15 of 25 passes for 198 yards, while Small led the Bearcats on the ground with 63 yards on 14 carries.

The visiting Westminster Titans struck early and often, defeating Saint Vincent 48-7 in front of a sold out crowd at Chuck Noll Field.

The Titans outgained Saint Vincent by a 438-175 margin, racking up 261 yards on the ground, and possessing the ball for over 41 minutes.

Westminster wasted little time finding the scoreboard, scoring its first touchdown on the fourth play from scrimmage on a Nick McKolosky dive from one yard out just 1:20 into the game.  On the drive, McKolosky ran three times for 29 yards, and finished the day with a career-high 143 yards on 25 carries, scoring three times.

On the ensuing possession, SVC started well, picking up two straight first downs, including a perfectly executed 31-yard screen pass from Phil Hamilton to Logan Small.  The drive stalled, however, and the Bearcats were forced to punt. 

On the punt attempt, punter Matt Houston handled a bouncing snap, and thwarted off a pair of Titans who reached the backfield.  Houston drove the kick into the end zone, but was penalized 15-yards for an illegal kick, and Westminster was given the ball back on the 50-yard line.

Four plays later, the Titans found the end zone once again, with Kevin Franz completing a 30-yard touchdown pass to Chad Rosatelli to give the Titans a 14-0 lead.

The Bearcats and Titans then traded scoreless possesions when special teams troubles caught up to SVC once again.  With Westminster punting from its own 43, SVC fumbled at the 18, with the ball bounding to their own two-yard line.  Two plays later, McKolosky found the end zone for the second time on the day, putting the visitors up 21-0 with two minutes left in the first quarter.

McKolosky scored his third touchdown of the day on Westminster's first possession of the second quarter, diving in from a yard out to give the Titans a 28-0 lead.

SVC looked to seize some momentum heading into halftime, with quarterback Mike Speal firing a perfectly thrown ball to wide out Dan Blaszkowski down the right hash marks.  The speedy sophomore outraced the defenders for a 63-yard touchdown reception to make the score 28-7 at the half.

After the break, momentum quickly shifted back to the Titans, as Westminster picked off Speal's first pass of the half.  The Titans then put together a lengthy 10-play, 56-yard drive, capped off by another one-yard touchdown run, this one by fullback Josh Kutzner, to give the Titans a commanding 34-7 advantage.

The score stayed that way for the rest of the third quarter, but, once again, the Titans scored on their first possession of the game's final period, with Franz completing a six-yard touchdown pass to a diving Brett Ziegler, putting Westminster up 41-7.

Another breakdown by the SVC punt team proved costly in the early stages of the fourth quarter, with Ziegler bursting through the line and getting to Houston for a 12-yard loss on fourth down.  Four plays later, Westminster's Jacob Shaffer closed out the day's scoring with a two-yard touchdown.

The Titan defense gave SVC fits all day, as the Bearcat quarterbacks combined to complete just eight of 22 passes for 119 yards and two interceptions.  Westminster also held SVC to a total of 56 yards on the ground. 

Defensively, 31 Bearcats made at least one tackle, led by linebacker Jeremy Baker, who finished with 7.5 stops on the day, and linebacker Jeff Graham, who had seven.  Defensive end Garrett Hazlett recorded two tackles for a loss, and batted down a pair of balls at the line of scrimmage.

The Saint Vincent Bearcats lost their first road game of the season, falling 66-7 to the Bethany Bison in West Virginia.

Bethany struck quickly, on just their third play from scrimmage, when Matt Cruse turned a short completion from Milton Joyner into an 83-yard touchdown to put the Bison on top, 7-0.

After a short Saint Vincent punt, Bethany took over at the 50-yard line and put together a six-play scoring drive, culminating in Nick Neratka's 9-yard touchdown run.  Matt Blumer's point after, one of nine he made on the day, made it 14-0. 

Saint Vincent's John Jackson intercepted a Joyner pass late in the first quarter, but it would be the last time in the half that the Bearcats would stop Bethany.  The Bison broke the game open in the second quarter, scoring on five consecutive possessions to make it 49-0 at the halftime break.

Saint Vincent came out strong in the second half, stopping Bethany on their first drive and taking over at their own 44.  Bearcat quarterback Phil Hamilton hit Jeff Bishop with a 12-yard pass to start the drive, and it turned into a 27-yard gain thanks to a personal foul call on the Bison.

Logan Small broke free for a 19-yard run to take the ball to the Bethany 10, and two plays later, Hamilton hit Bishop in the corner of the end zone for a Bearcat touchdown.

Bethany then went to the ground game, giving the ball to running backs Nick Czapor and Marcus Santini, as they and backup quarterback Matt Blumer gave the momentum back to the Bison.  Blumer's 7-yard touchdown rush made it 56-7, and an 8-yard run by Santini on the next drive made it 63-7.

Blumer capped a solid day both behind center and on special teams by hitting a 31-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to end the scoring.

For the day, Bethany posted 31 first downs compared to just 7 for the Bearcats.  Neratka gained 109 yards on 13 carries, while Santini tallied 85 yards and Czapor 77.  Small led SVC with 27 yards on 10 carries.

Joyner completed 12 of 16 passes for 214 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and also ran for 45 yards and two scores.   Cruse had six catches for 137 yards.

Phil Hamilton was 5-14 for SVC, while Mike Speal went 1-for-8.

Defensively, Ramsey Lesnett led the Bearcats with 9 tackles, while Jeremy Hearne was in on 7 stops.

The Bearcats fell to Waynesburg University but made strides both offensively and defensively in the 42-20 loss.

It was all Waynesburg in the early going, capitalizing on Bearcat turnovers and taking a 28-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, highlighted by a 99-yard, 12 carry first quarter effort by Yellow Jackets running back Robert Heller.  

The SVC defense played well throughout the second quarter, as neither team managed to score.

After a Waynesburg touchdown made it 35-0, the Bearcat offense kicked into gear.  Mike Speal cappted a five play, 48 yard scoring drive with an 8-yard quarterback keeper that made it 35-6.  Early in the fourth quarter, Logan Small's 1-yard run made it 35-13.

Following a Waynesburg scoring drive, SVC's Jimmy Nagle hit Mike Wampler for a 64-yard scoring pass, making it 42-20.

Heller led all rushers on the day with 20 carries for 130 yards.  Small topped SVC with 38 yards on 16 carries.  Speal was 9-for-31 passing, for 107 yards.  Tom Quirin caught 4 passes for SVC for 46 yards.  Jeff Graham led the SVC defense with 8 tackles.  TC Sawick, Justin Blatnik and Brian Smith registered 7 tackles each.  Josh Diamond had a pair of interceptions for Saint Vincent.

Visiting Thomas More College scored 27 unanswered points to hand the Bearcats a 44-17 defeat at Chuck Noll Field.

The Saints started quickly, with quarterback Joey Zerhusen finding John Resch for a 10-yard touchdown pass five minutes into the opening quarter, capping off a nine play, 58 yard drive.

Saint Vincent then answered in a big way.

Quarterback Mike Speal opened the ensuing drive with an eight yard completion to Tom Quirin, putting the ball on the SVC 31 yard line.  On the next play, half back Logan Small took an option pitch from Speal off the left end.  Three Bearcat blocks, two sharp cuts, and 69 yards later, Small was in the end zone for SVC's first points of the day.  The extra point attempt was good by Matt Houston, and the Bearcats and Saints were tied at seven.

The Bearcats then pulled out some trickery on the kickoff, when kicker Matt Houston executed a perfect on-side kick that landed right in the arms of SVC's Dan Blaszkowski, giving the Bearcats the ball back on the 50.

Speal then went back to work, twice finding Anthony Sacco for first downs on the drive before firing a 25-yard touchdown strike to Mike Wampler.  Houston's extra point was good, and SVC enjoyed a 14-7 lead with five minutes left in the first quarter.

The Saints then closed out the opening stanza with a 35-yard field goal by Dustin Zink, and after 15 minutes of play, the Bearcats were up 14-10.

On the opening Bearcat possession of the second quarter, Speal found Sacco for seven yards, before hooking up with tight end Sheldon Loughner for a 25-yard gain at the TMC 20 yard line.  An intentional grounding penalty pushed the ball back to the 30, before Speal scrambled for six yards to the 24.  Houston was then called upon for his first field goal try of the year, and the senior's 41-yard field goal attempt was good, pushing SVC's lead back up to seven.

Thomas More answered right back, with Zerhusen finding a wide open Nick Dew for a 17 yard touchdown reception and tying the game at 17 with seven minutes left in the half.

The game then turned into a defensive struggle, and Houston's fine day continued.  Doubling as the team's punter, he twice pinned the Saints deep inside their own territory, highlighted by a 56-yard punt to the Thomas More 11-yard line with under a minute left in the half.

The third quarter began much like the second quarter ended, as the teams traded punts to begin the final half.

On their third possession of the half, the Saints put together a long drive, led by halfback Corderio Collier.  The second leading rusher in the Presidents' Athletic Conference, Collier ran four times on the drive for 40 yards, taking the ball to the SVC four yard line.

On the next play, the center's snap sailed over Zerhusen's head.  He recovered, but not before losing 15 yards and setting up a second and goal on the 19 yard line.  Two plays later, Collier was stopped in the backfield for a five yard loss by Dan Mecca.  Thomas More's fourth down field goal attempt was wide left, and SVC got the ball back on its own 20 yard line.

The Bearcats couldn't capitalize, however, as the Saints forced a fumble on the drive's first play, getting the ball back at the SVC 18.

SVC's defense rose to the occasion, forcing a four-and-out, including a Zerhusen incompletion on fourth down.  The Bearcat offense then was forced to punt after three plays, but SVC's Jeremy Hearne forced a fumble on the punt return to give the Bearcats the ball back at midfield.

As was the case earlier in the quarter, SVC couldn't capitalize, as a pass from wideout Rob James was intercepted on the first play of the drive at the Thomas More 39.

This time, the Saint offense cashed in on the good field position, with Zerhusen finding John Resch for an 11-yard touchdown just four seconds into the fourth quarter.

Thomas More then scored three more times in the quarter, all on the ground, with Collier running 23 yards for a score, Zerhusen 67, and Robby Beckman 15, to seal the 44-17 win.

Small finished the day leading the SVC rushing attack with 83 yards on 10 carries, while Speal completed 11 of 25 passes for 97 yards, in addition to running 53 yards on nine carries.  Sacco and Jake Gabelt hauled in three passes each.

Defensively, Jeff Graham made 7.5 tackles on the day, while Brian Smith added seven.  Mecca made four tackles, two solo, with a sack, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.  Justin Blatnik made 2.5 tackles for a loss. 

Zerhusen finished the day completing 17 of 27 passes for 187 yards and three touchdowns, while Collier gained 131 yards on 26 carries.  Dew and Resch each hauled in five passes for 55 yards, while Andy Poe led the TMC defense with six tackles.

The Case Western Reserve Spartans shut down the Bearcats, posting a 42-0 victory in Cleveland.

The Spartans scored two touchdowns in each of the first three quarters, gaining 509 yards of total offense, including 339 on the ground, compared to 263 total yards by the Bearcats.

Case got on the board quickly, gaining a 7-0 lead four minutes into play on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Dan Whalen to Ryan Kolesar. 

The teams then traded scoreless possessions until Case running back Cory Checkan scored the second Spartan touchdown of the day on a one-yard plunge with two minutes left in the first quarter.

SVC answered with a lengthy drive of its own to start off the second quarter, accumulating three first downs and taking the ball to the Spartan 12.  The drive stalled, however, after a Bearcat penalty and two short gains.  Facing a fourth and 12 on the Case 13, the Bearcats decided to go for it, but quarterback Mike Speal was sacked at the 17. 

Case cashed in on the turnover on downs, as 10 plays later, Checkan scored his second touchdown of the day, once again from one yard out, to open up the Spartan lead to 21-0.  A 15-yard touchdown scramble by Whalen in the waning moments of the second quarter gave Case a 28-0 halftime lead.

Checkan scored his third touchdown of the day, again on a one-yard plunge, 10 minutes into the third quarter to give the Spartans a 35-0 lead, and teammate Billy Deitman ended the day's scoring on a three-yard touchdown run with just over 10 seconds left in the third quarter.

With four minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Bearcats looked to end Case's shutout bid.  Quarterback Jimmy Nagle made three straight completions, taking the ball to midfield.  A Spartan personal foul moved the ball to the Case 35, and on the next play, Nagle scrambled 15 yards for another first down.  He then completed two more passes, one to Rob Minjock and another to Anthony Sacco, to set up a first and goal on the seven with just under a minute left in regulation.

The drive again stalled, however, as Nagle was unable to find a receiver on fourth down, ending the game.

Speal finished 14-30 through the air for 140 yards, while Nagle completed six of 10 passes for 58 yards, while leading the team with 26 rushing yards on three carries.

Freshman receiver Mike Wampler enjoyed a career day, hauling in five passes for 71 yards.  Minjock, Sacco, Jake Gabelt, Rob James, and Sheldon Loughner each made a pair of grabs for SVC.

Defensively, linebacker Justin Blatnik made 7.5 tackles, including two for a loss.  Sean Hufgard added 6.5 stops, while Garrett Hazlett and Kyle Knepshield each had quarterback sacks.

Whalen completed 13 of 17 passes for 155 yards for Case, while Deitman had 90 yards on the ground and Checkan 69 to go with his three scores.

The Geneva Golden Tornadoes defeated Saint Vincent by a score of 56-27, but the Bearcats were able to take home several positives after a strong second half showing.

Geneva started strong, shutting out SVC 36-0 in the first half, but the visiting Bearcats, playing their first night game in over 45 years, fought back with over 300 yards of total offense and outscored the hosts 27-20 over the final two quarters.

The Golden Tornadoes opened the scoring just four minutes into the game, as Gerard Muschette ran six yards for a score.  The 2-point conversion made it 8-0.  After an SVC fumble, Geneva drove 30 yards in four plays, capped by a Bobby Bondi pass to Ricky Shultz for 5 yards and another GC score that made it 15-0.

SVC was forced to punt on their next possession, and Chris Gillies attempt was blocked by the Golden Tornadoes, Geneva put together an 8-play, 39-yard drive, with Matt Dean's 1-yard run putting them up 22-0.

The Bearcats then held Geneva on their next two possessions, culminating in Jeremy Baker providing a key 14-yard sack on a fourth down play from the SVC 20 yard line to end a scoring threat.

However, after another blocked punt, Geneva took over on the SVC 1-yard line and Geneva quarterback David Girardi, who replaced the injured Bobby Bondi, ran for a one-yard score to make it 29-0.

A Bradley Roman interception set up another GC score, making it 36-0 at the half.

The Bearcats were a different team in the second half.  SVC forced a fumble on Geneva's opening drive of the half, then stopped the Golden Tornadoes on their second drive.  However, the Andy Stopchich punt was down on the SVC 2-yard line, and it appeared the Bearcats had their backs to the wall.

On the first play of the drive, QB Mike Speal dropped back into his own end zone and sent a pass toward the left sideline.  Rob James tipped the pass into the air, worked his way around a defender, then caught his own tipped ball, picked up blockers and scampered 85 yards to the Geneva 13-yard line.  Two plays later, Speal hit Sheldon Loughner for a 10-yard touchdown pass to put SVC on the board. 

Kicker Matt Houston added the extra point to make it 36-7, then perfectly placed an onside kick into the hands of SVC's Rich Rodi, giving SVC possession at midfield.  Logan Small then took a screen pass from Speal and ran 46 yards to the Geneva 3 yard line, and Speal punched it in three plays later to make it 36-13.

Geneva fought back to score again near the end of the third quarter, but SVC then began an 8-play, 77 yard scoring drive, highlighted by a Small run of 37 yards to the 5 yard line.  Speal hit fullback Joe Strickland with a 4-yard pass to make it 43-20.  After a pair of Geneva scores made it 56-20, SVC's Jordan Cleary took over at quarterback, and connected with Greg Chinchilla on two fade routes.  The first covered 31 yards, the second was good for 18 yards and a touchdown, with Chinchilla managing to make a tough catch and get a foot down in the end zone.  The score came with just 9 seconds left in the game, ending the scoring at 56-27.

Logan Small was SVC's top rusher with 37 net yards on the evening.  Speal was 11-of-33 passing, for 195 yards and two touchdowns.  Dan Blaskowski had 5 catches for 49 yards, while Chinchilla had a pair of receptions good for 49 yards.    Jacob Kiefer paced the defense with 7 tackles, with Brian Smith adding 6.5. Jeremy Baker recorded two sacks. 

Matt Curry led all rushers with 76 for Geneva, while Girardi was 9-for-18 passing.  Before injuring his ankle, Bondi was 3-4.

The Grove City Wolverines shut down the visiting Saint Vincent Bearcats, posting a 44-0 victory.

Things started well for Saint Vincent, as Marc Duncan returned the opening kickoff 50 yards, giving the Bearcats the ball on the Grove City 29 yard line.  SVC drove inside the 10, and appeared to have a touchdown off a jump pass from running back Logan Small.  However, the officials ruled the pass incomplete, forcing SVC to try a field goal.  The kick was blocked, and Grove City took over the momentum and the game.

Brian Mercer had a pair of first quarter touchdown runs for Grove City (4-5), en route to a 24-carry, 179-yard performance.  Quarterback Andrew DiDonato took over in the second half, throwing a pair of touchdown passes to Jay Yanak, and rushing for one score.  On the afternoon, DiDonato was 19-of-27 passing for 241 yards and three touchdowns.

Small led SVC on the ground with 52 yards on 15 carries.  Jimmy Nagle, was 4-of-8 passing in relief of Mike Speal, who went 1-10 in the first half.  Nagle also ran for 18 yards.

Grove City posted 37 first downs on the day compared to just 10 for Saint Vincent, and had 603 yards of total offense on 90 plays, compared to just 127 yards for the Bearcats.

Behind a record-setting performance from running back Dan Hess, the visiting Tomcats of Thiel College defeated Saint Vincent 62-14 in the season finale for both teams.

Hess, a junior, finished the day with a school-record 327 yards on 43 carries, while scoring five touchdowns, including four in the second quarter.

As a team, Thiel (3-7) out-gained Saint Vincent 729-261, including a 534-49 margin in rushing yards.

The game started well for the Bearcats (0-10), when, on their second possession of the day, quarterback Mike Speal connected with tight end Sheldon Loughner on the right sideline.  Loughner then outran the Thiel defensive secondary, finding his way into the end zone for the 80 yard touchdown.  The ensuing kick by Matt Houston was good, and the Bearcats led 7-0 just five minutes into play. 

The 7-0 lead stood up until early in the second quarter, when Hess found paydirt for the first time of the afternoon, capping off a 14-play, 88-yard drive for the Tomcats to tie it up with 11 minutes left until halftime.

SVC's Rob James returned the Thiel kickoff 35 yards, and a personal foul on the Tomcats tacked on an extra 10 yards, giving the Bearcats the ball on the Thiel 41. 

On the first play of the ensuing drive, Speal found Tom Quirin for a 26-yard gain.  Halfback Logan Small then took a pitch and headed for the middle of the field, and initially appeared to be stopped by the Thiel defensive line.  Small quickly reversed fields, however, and scampered down the sideline for a 15-yard touchdown.  Houston's extra point was good, and SVC regained the lead at 14-7.

Thiel answered just as quickly, as Hess found the end zone two plays later from 30 yards out to tie it up at 14.

The Bearcats looked poised to take the lead once again, with James taking the kickoff 55 yards to the Thiel 23, but the Tomcats' Matt Joy picked off a Speal pass in the back of the end zone two plays later to give the Tomcats the ball back on the 20-yard line. 

Hess then scored two more times in the second quarter, once from 17 yards out and once from two yards out, to put the Tomcats up 28-14 with just under two minutes left until the half.

SVC was forced to punt on its next possession, but Thiel's drive was cut short when the Bearcats' Jared Eiseman intercepted a Willie Bova pass and returned it to the SVC 35 with a minute left in the second quarter.

The Bearcats then went to work, with the big play being a 44-yard completion to Dan Blaszkowski on fourth down, giving the Bearcats the ball two yards from the end zone with two seconds left on the clock.  Speal spiked the ball, stopping the clock, and then attempted to scramble into the end zone as time ran out.  He was stopped short, however, and the half ended with Thiel up 28-14. 

Thiel's momentum carried into the second half, as they found the end zone on all three of its possessions in the third quarter. 

Hess scored his fifth touchdown of the day three minutes into the third quarter on a plunge from one yard out, Jeremiah Wagner scored on a run from four yards out, and Eric Ester caught a 26-yard touchdown pass from Bova to make the score 49-14 with four minutes left in the third quarter.

Thiel scored twice more in the fourth quarter, on runs by LaVaunt Griff and Cody Sirgey, to end the day's scoring.

Speal finished the day completing 10 passes for 212 yards and a touchdown, with Blaszkowski hauling in a team-high three passes for 52 yards.  Ryan Kilmer led the Bearcat runners with 21 yards on five carries.   Defensively, SVC linebackers Justin Blatnik and Chris Gillies shared the team lead with six tackles,
while Ozni Rhodes made four stops, including a quarterback sack, while picking up an interception.

Bova went 9-14 for 171 yards for the Tomcats, with LaScola hauling in five catches for 93 yards.  Defensive end Chris Lorber led the defense with two sacks and four tackles for a loss accouting for 23 yards.

The game was the final one in the careers of Bearcat seniors T.C. Sawick, Rich Rodi, Matt Houston, Bill Yanicko, and Marc Duncan, and the group was honored for their contributions in a pre-game ceremony.