LATROBE, Pa. – The Thiel Tomcats defeated the Saint Vincent Bearcats 30-27 Saturday in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) game at Chuck Noll Field.
 
Thiel got off to a quick start and held a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. Jorden Collier (Ypsilanti, Mich./Lincoln) scored Thiel's first touchdown on a 40-yard run six minutes into the first frame to cap off a 5-play, 56-yard drive.
 
Thiel went up 14-0 with two minutes remaining in the first quarter when Jamar Jeter (Aliquippa, Pa./Aliquippa) caught a 10-yard halfback pass from Andrew Plowden (Homewood, Pa./Penn Hills Charter) in the far corner of the end zone. The Plowden-to-Jeter connection put the finishing touches on an 11-play march that covered 75 yards in 5:15.
 
Brandon Saint-Preux scored Saint Vincent's first touchdown of the game on a 4-yard run with 11:56 remaining in the first half, but the extra point was blocked by Donelle Thomas (Miramar, Fla./Miami Carol) and returned 98 yards by Justin Logan (North Chesterfield, Va./James River) for a 2-point score to give Thiel a 16-6 lead.
 
The Bearcats cut the lead down to 16-13 on their second drive of the third quarter when Max Pisula scored on a 1-yard run. Thiel reclaimed its 10-point lead on the ensuing drive when Joseph Fell (Warren, Ohio/Champion) threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to tight end Donny Pattison (Bradford, Pa./Bradford Area). The touchdown reception concluded a 7-play, 65-yard drive that took 3:19.
 
Plowden extended Thiel's lead to 30-13 with 11:31 remaining in regulation when he scored on a 6-yard run. Thiel used nine plays on the 73-yard drive.
 
The Bearcats made it an interesting game down the stretch. Keegan O'Brien caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Austin Slye with 6:45 remaining to make the score 30-20.
 
The Tomcats missed a 35-yard field goal on their next drive, and the Bearcats went on to cut the lead down to 30-27 with 29 seconds to go when Pete Billey caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Pisula.
 
The Bearcats recovered the onside kick at their own 48-yard line, setting the stage for Logan to make his second splash play of the game. On a first-and-10 play from the Thiel 40-yard line, Logan iced the game for the Tomcats when he picked off a pass at the 26-yard line with less than 10 second remaining in the game.
 
Fell completed 14 passes for 150 yards. He threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Pattison in the third quarter. Fell also ran for 54 yards on 15 totes.
 
Plowden ran for a career-best 134 yards on 24 carries. He scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 6-yard run and threw a 10-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter.
 
Collier ran for 36 yards and a score on three carries. He also caught four passes for 44 yards.
 
Chase Lawler (Etters, Pa./Red Land) also had four receptions for 26 yards. Jeter caught two passes, one of which was a touchdown reception, for 54 yards.
 
Slye completed 19 passes for the Bearcats for 253 yards. He threw one touchdown pass and two interceptions. Kaelib McElroy was Slye's top target with five catches for 91 yards.
 
Thiel's defense limited Saint Vincent to 52 rushing yards on 32 attempts. The Tomcats ran for 219 yards on 45 tries.
 
Jared Curcio (Avonmore, Pa./Kiski Area) led Thiel's defense with 11 tackles. Logan made two tackles, scored two points on a 98-yard blocked extra point return and sealed the win for the Tomcats with a game-ending interception.
 
The Tomcats will conclude their season Saturday when they host the 21^st-ranked Grove City Wolverines at Alumni Stadium. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.