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.

SVC will have next Saturday off before nationally ranked Washington & Jefferson College comes to Latrobe for Homecoming on September 29.  Kickoff is set for 1:30.

PHOTO:  SVC's Rob James is tackled during third quarter action.  Photo by Jason Hammel.