Washington & Jefferson College, the eighth-ranked NCAA Division-III team in the nation, defeated the Bearcats 64-6 on Homecoming at Chuck Noll Field.

The visiting Presidents scored on 12 of their 14 possessions for the game, and gained a school-record 863 yards of total offense, compared to SVC's 210.

W&J set the tone early, scoring on its first possession of the game five minutes into the opening quarter.  Quarterback Bobby Swallow connected with tailback Kevin Matthews out of the backfield for a 10-yard touchdown strike, capping an eight play, 70 yard drive to take the 6-0 lead.

SVC's offense struggled moving the ball early on, and its cause was hampered even more when starting quarterback Phil Hamilton was forced from the game on SVC's third possession with a shoulder injury after scampering seven yards up the middle and taking a strong blow from a W&J defender.

The Presidents offense continued to click, as W&J scored touchdowns on six of its next seven drives, needing just 23 plays to do so over that span.  Swallow, the nation's leader in pass efficiency, finished the first half by completing 16 of 19 passes for 323 yards and four touchdowns.  Matthews caught two scores, while Tom McCafferty and David Ravida hauled in one touchdown each.

Matthews also reached the end zone twice on the ground, both from 20 yards  out, and finished the day with 122 yards on eight carries. 

A Chuck Grabner field goal from 30 yards out in the waning seconds of the second quarter closed out the scoring for the half, and the Presidents took a 52-0 lead into the intermission.

On SVC's nine first half possessions, seven ended with a punt and two resulted in a W&J interception.

After two more Grabner field goals in the third quarter, the SVC offense came to life.

With the ball on the SVC 18, quarterback Mike Speal led the Bearcats on a long and productive drive. 

Halfback Logan Small started things off with an 18-yard run up the middle, followed by a three-yard gain by fullback Ryan Kilmer.  Speal then hooked up with wide receiver Rob James for a 40-yard completion down the far sideline, giving the Bearcats a first-and-10 at their own 37.

Speal again went to James on the next play on an end around, and the sophomore tip-toed along the sideline for eight more yards.  Small and Speal then followed with back to back eight yard gains, giving SVC a first-and-goal at the nine yard line.  Two plays later, Speal connected with Jake Gabelt in the end zone for SVC's first score of the day, and the second of the season for the sophomore tight end, capping off a 10-play, 82-yard drive that spanned 5:14.

It was the only time that SVC could crack the scoreboard, and two more Grabner field goals in the fourth quarter ended the day's scoring, giving the Presidents the 64-6 win.

For SVC, Speal finished the day going 5-17 for 46 yards through the air, while running for 53.  Small gained 52 yards on the ground on 16 carries, while James made two grabs for 40 yards.

Defensively, SVC safety Josh Tucker led both sides with six tackles, while teammate Ramsey Lesnett made 4.5 stops, including a sack.

W&J's Curt Jones joined teammate Matthews in the 100-yard club, as the freshman carried six times for 104 yards.  McCafferty ended the day with six catches for 171 yards to lead the W&J receiving corps, while David Gitlitz led the President defense with 4.5 tackles.

With the loss, the Bearcats fall to 0-4 on the season, and will look for their first win of the season next week, traveling to Waynesburg for a 1:30pm contest.  The Presidents record improves to 4-0.