New Wilmington, Pa. (October 4, 2008) -- The Thiel Tomcats (0-5, 0-2 PAC) just couldn't manage to complete the comeback over the Westminster Titans (3-2, 0-1 PAC) as they fell 16-10 on Saturday.

The Titans went up on the Tomcats 10-3 in the last 57 seconds of the first half, after Westminster quarterback, Kevin Franz, connected with junior receiver Chad Rosatelli for a 22 yard touchdown.  Franz tossed in another six points after he hit receiver John Baummer for a 32 yard touchdown to go up 16-3 after the Titan's missed the following extra point.

The Tomcats continued to fight on special teams, as senior defensive tackle, Matt Turek (Grove City, Pa./Grove City) (Grove City, Pa./Grove City), and sophomore linebacker, Matt Saur (Eldersburg, Md./Century) (Eldersburg, Md./Century), each blocked a field goal to keep the game within two scores.

In the final minutes of the fourth quarter, Tomcat quarterback Willie Bova (Port Allegany, Pa./Port Allegany) (Port Allegheny, Pa./Port Allegheny), lead Thiel on a two minute 10 play,80-yard drive culminating with a two yard touchdown pass to sophomore running back Cody Sirgey (St. Petersburg, Fla./Northside Christian) (St. Petersburg, Fla./Northside Christian).  This made the score 16-10 with the Tomcats ready to kickoff.

Thiel attempted an onside kick that seemed to hit the hands of just about everyone before it rolled out of bounds, giving the Titans both the ball and the game.

Offensively, the Tomcats were lead by senior receiver Tim Van Horn (Leechburg, Pa./Kiski Area) (Leechburg, Pa./Kiski Area) who caught five passes for a team-high 80 yards.

On the other side of the ball, sophomore defensive tackle, William Haase (Latrobe, Pa./Derry Area) (Latrobe, Pa./Derry Area), amassed five tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack.  This is the fourth consecutive game that Haase has registered two or more tackles for loss.  Haase currently has 13.5 tackles for loss this season, which is only four away from Tomcat Linebacker Coach, Dante Darby's all-time single season mark.

Senior safety, Matt Joy (Coraopolis, Pa./Cornell) (Coraopolis, Pa./Coraopolis), cemented his name in Thiel College football history as he became the all-time leader in punt return yards (547) after he returned two punts for 23 yards.  Freshmen running back and punter, Brice Mertiff (Tyrone, Pa./Tyrone) (Tyrone, Pa./Tyrone), punted the ball six times for a total 225 yards in an effort to keep the Titans out of good field position.  In the defeat, the Tomcats were outgained 348 yards to 269 and gave up four sacks.

Thiel football returns home October 11 to the Bethany College Bison in a conference matchup at 1:30.