GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Thiel Tomcats lost their season opener Saturday to the Alfred Saxons at Alumni Stadium, 42-0.
 
After receiving the opening kick, the Tomcats drove the ball 65 yards on 14 plays. However, the drive quickly ended on first-and-goal when the Tomcats fumbled and the Saxons recovered to end the threat.
 
On the ensuring drive, Thiel's defense appeared to hold Alfred three-and-out, but a personal foul set the Saxons up with a fresh set of downs at their own 31. Seven plays later the Saxons scored their first touchdown of the game on Kevin Bragaglia's one-yard run.
 
The Saxons scored four more unanswered touchdowns in the second quarter to hold a commanding 35-0 lead at halftime. Aaron Griffin scored on a one-yard run with 11:47 remaining in the second quarter while Casey Boston scored on a 12-yard run at the 9:16 mark.
 
Bragaglia scored his second touchdown of the game with 4:24 remaining in the first half on a four-yard run. James Jones III caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Ben Burk with a little more than one minute remaining in the first half.
 
Jones III scored the only points in the second half on a 42-yard pass from Casey Boston with 2:12 left in the third quarter.
 
Burk completed 7-of-8 passes for 71 yards and one touchdown pass. Burk also led the Saxons with 98 yards on the ground on six carries. Casey Boston completed five passes for 107 yards with one touchdown strike. Jones III led the Saxons with four catches for 60 yards. Jones III caught two touchdown passes.
 
Thiel quarterback Marko Bakovic (Stockholm, N.J./Wallkill Valley) completed 10-of-14 passes for 96 yards. Emmanuel Ramsey (Maple Heights, Ohio/Maple Heights) led the Tomcats with 32 yards on the ground on 18 attempts. Caleb Shuler (New Brighton, Pa./New Brighton) made a game-best seven catches for 64 yards.
 
Trou Johnson (Penn Hills, Pa./Penn Hills) and Eligah Flynn (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Central Catholic) led Thiel on defense with eight tackles apiece. Leo Pamphile led Alfred with 10 tackles. Pamphile made five tackles behind the line of scrimmage and recorded four sacks.
 
The Tomcats open Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) play next Saturday when they host the Washington & Jefferson Presidents at Alumni Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. The 21^st-ranked Presidents knocked off the 18^th-ranked Wittenberg Tigers on Saturday, 16-8.