MEADVILLE, Pa. (Sept. 14) – Behind an offense than rolled off 471 yards and a defense that forced four turnovers, the Saint Vincent football team earned a decisive 41-20 victory over Allegheny College in Presidents' Athletic Conference football action at Frank B. Fuhrer Field.
The Bearcats (1-1) broke open a tight game by scoring four unanswered touchdowns in the second quarter, and cruised down the stretch to earn their third consecutive win over the Gators (1-1).
Offensively, Israel Reed completed 13 of 17 passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns, while Billy Beck and Diontae Sanders each ran for 95 yards and a score. Sanders also made three receptions for 41 yards and a touchdown, while Pete Billey made two grabs for 36 yards and a score and Keegan O'Brien three receptions for a team-best 66 yards.
Wiley Purry paced the opportunistic SVC defense, amassing a team-best 10 tackles while also adding an interception. Robbie Labuda picked off two interceptions, including a 40-yard pick-six. KeShawn Davis and Kyle Murray each had seven tackles, with Davis recording 1.5 for loss, while Nathan Parker made six stops, with two TFLs and a sack, and Lamar Daniels made three tackles, forced a fumble and broke up two passes.
As a team, Saint Vincent outgained Allegheny 471-262, including a 284-45 margin in rushing yards. The Bearcats also had a sizeable margin in time of possession, 33:06 – 26:54.
The Bearcats took an early 7-0 lead on its first possession of the afternoon, when Sanders broke loose for a 24-yard touchdown scamper down the sideline just over three minutes into play. Sanders' rush capped off an 8-play, 55-yard drive, which was kept alive by a 15-yard scramble by Reed on fourth-and-7 on the play immediately preceding Sanders' score.
Allegheny countered with a lengthy drive of its own, with Michael Schanck rushing for a three-yard touchdown to cap off a 16-play, 75-yard drive and tie the game at 7-7 with 45 seconds left in the second quarter.
Saint Vincent would then take full control in the second quarter. On the fifth play of the frame, Reed connected with Billey for a 24-yard touchdown to put SVC up, 14-7, with 12:21 left until the half, before Purry promptly cut the Gators' next possession short with his interception on the first play of the subsequent drive, returning it Allegheny 22-yardline.
The Bearcats quickly made the Gators pay for the miscue, as two plays after the Purry pick, Reed hooked up with Sanders for a 26-yard touchdown to increase the SVC lead to 20-7 with 10:36 left until the break.
SVC's defense came up big again on the Gators' next possession, when Daniels forced and recovered a fumble on a swing pass on the Allegheny 37. The Bearcats came up empty on their next trip, but the defense would then produce another big play when Labuda made his pick of the day and returned it to the Allegheny 25.
On SVC's trip, Reed hooked up with O'Brien for 16 yards to set up first and goal, and three plays later, the Bearcat quarterback broke through the line for a one-yard touchdown to up the Bearcat lead to 27-7 with 4:19 left in the quarter.
Thanks to Payton Hrehovchak's third-down sack, the Bearcats forced the Gators to punt it away on their next trip, and SVC would need just two plays to extend its lead. Reed opened the drive with a long pass over the middle, which was caught off of a deflection on a spectacular effort by O'Brien for a 35-yard gain to the Allegheny 12. Beck then capped off the drive with a 12-yard touchdown run to open up a 34-7 lead with 1:45 left, which is how the score would stand at the break.
The Gators scored the game's next points, taking advantage of a botched snap on an SVC punt for a special teams touchdown with 11:10 left in the third quarter. After the two teams traded scoreless possessions over the next several minutes, the Bearcats closed the quarter in fine fashion, with Labuda stepping in front of a pass on the Allegheny 40 and scampered untouched into the end zone on the final play of the quarter to make it 41-13, closing out the day's scoring for the victorious visitors.
Along with producing four turnovers, the Bearcat defense also recorded four sacks, with one apiece from Parker, Hrehovchak, Andrew Gelin and Fred Woodfork.
Trever Brncic and Chris Coudriet split time under center for the Gators, with Brncic connecting on 16 of 33 passes for 128 yards and three interceptions, and Coudriet going 13-for-20 for 89 yards. Austin Williams recorded a game-high 11 receptions for 62 yards for the Gators, while Coltin Colucci amassed 20 tackles, including 2.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss.
The Bearcats will now return to Latrobe for a rare three-game homestand, beginning with next Saturday's home-opener against defending PAC champ Grove City, set for 1 p.m. at Chuck Noll Field.
Saint Vincent earns first win in decisive fashion
/seasons/2024/boxscores/20240914_9bul.xml
2024
St. Vincent
41
Allegheny
20
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Vincent (1-1) | 7 | 27 | 7 | 0 | 41 |
| Allegheny (1-1) | 7 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 20 |
Sep 14, 2024