BEAVER FALLS, Pa. (Sept. 30) – Behind 21 unanswered second-quarter points, the Saint Vincent football team came back to earn a 28-19 road win over Geneva in Presidents' Athletic Conference action under the lights at Reeves Field.
After a disastrous start saw the Bearcats (2-2, 2-2 PAC) fall behind 14-0 less than two minutes into play, SVC flipped the script in the second quarter to gain a lead over Geneva (1-3, 1-3 PAC) it would not relinquish.
The Bearcats were led by a herculean effort from Max Pisula, who recorded 11 tackles, including four tackles for loss, two sacks, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries from the defensive end spot, while he also rushed for a second quarter touchdown, his third of the season.
Ty Martin ran for 92 yards and two touchdowns for the Bearcats, while Austin Slye completed 13 of 18 passes for 168 yards.
Geneva needed just 80 seconds to take a 7-0 lead, with a 4-play, 76-yard opening drive, before they would get the ball right back after pouncing on a fumble on the ensuing kickoff on the SVC 20-yard line. Four plays later, a quarterback keeper by Brutus Ogilvie upped the hosts' lead to 14-0.
The Golden Tornadoes looked to add to the lead after forcing a punt on SVC's next possession, but after advancing 60 yards in 11 plays, they missed a 34-yard field goal to give the Bearcats the ball on their own 20.
The SVC offense would then get to work, using a healthy mix of the pass and run to matriculate up the field. A 9-yard Martin run followed by a 21-yard completion from Slye to Matthew Esdelle moved the ball to midfield. Slye then hit Pete Billey with an 11-yard completion, and after five rushes from Martin advanced the ball inside the 25, Slye and Billey hooked up for a 15-yard completion to set up first-and-goal at the 9. Martin would then dash into the end zone to get the Bearcats on the board, with Justin Emigh's extra point cutting the deficit to 14-7 with six seconds left in the quarter.
The Golden Tornadoes countered with a field goal on the succeeding drive to open up a 10-point lead, 17-7, with 9:30 left in the quarter, but from there, the Bearcats took over.
On the third play of their next trip, Slye and Esdelle hooked up for a 48-yard pass to promptly move inside the Geneva 10-yard line. Two plays later, Martin scampered around the right end for his second TD of the night, with Emeigh's kick cutting the gap to 17-14 with 5:38 left in the half.
Geneva's next drive was cut short by Pisula's strip sack of Ogilvie on the Geneva 20. Slye opened the trip with completions to Dammion Bundridge and Jeffrey Downs II to advance the ball inside the 5-yard line, before Pisula finished what he started by bullying into the end zone from four yards out to give SVC its first lead of the night, 21-17, with 1:29 to go.
Eighty seconds later, the SVC defense forced a Geneva punt on the 32-yard line. The snap sailed over the head of the Golden Tornado punter and was pounced upon in the end zone by SVC's Austin Wells to push the Bearcat advantage to 28-17 with six seconds left in the half.
Over the decisive second quarter, Saint Vincent outscored Geneva 21-3, and limited the GTs to just 42 yards of total offense.
The Saint Vincent defense continued its strong play in a scoreless third quarter, as it held Geneva to just 35 yards and saw Pisula record his second strip sack of the night.
Defense continued to be the theme in the fourth quarter, as each of the first five drives ended with punts. With 2:48 left in regulation, the Golden Tornadoes took over at their own 35 and looked to embark on the comeback trail, using a trio of passes to cover 45 yards and advance inside the red zone. The GTs continued to go to the air, but Pisula broke up a first down pass before Nathan Sullivan ended the threat with an interception at the SVC 7-yard line with 1:37 to go.
Saint Vincent looked to eat up the clock on its next drive, which ended with an intentional safety out of the punt formation with 36 seconds left to close the gap to 28-19.
Geneva would then take over at its own 36 with 29 seconds left, but SVC's Josiah Weyandt snuffed out the drive, first on a second down sack and then on a game-ending tackle of Ogilvie on fourth down.
Esdelle paced the Bearcats with 69 receiving yards, while Billey and Bundridge were Slye's favorite targets on the night, each making three catches.
Pisula was one of three SVC defenders to record at least 10 tackles, as Weyandt tied for the game-high with 12 stops, including 2.5 tackles for loss, and KeShawn Davis recorded 11 tackles and one TFL. Wiley Purry recorded eight tackles, while Evan Brozenich and Ethan Facey each made seven stops and one pass break-up.
For Geneva, Ogilvie completed seven of 16 passes for 134 yards, while Josh Syster ran for a game-high 104 yards on 22 carries. Hilton Mclain Jr. had four receptions for 81 yards, while Gabe Trexler had 12 tackles.
Now winners of two straight, the Bearcats will be back in action on Saturday, Oct. 7, welcoming PAC foe Case Western Reserve to Latrobe for a 1 p.m. matchup on Hall of Fame Day at Chuck Noll Field, during which the newest inductees to the SVC Athletic Hall of Fame will be introduced.