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.