GREENVILLE, Pa. (Nov. 8) -- The Thiel College Football team fell 17-12 to Bethany College Saturday afternoon on Senior Day from Alumni Stadium at Stoeber Field in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) showdown.
The Tomcats dip to 1-8 (1-6) while the Bison rise to 1-6 (1-8) and snap a three-game series skid against the Blue and Gold. Thiel held the edge in every offensive category as they out gained Bethany 486-250. Turnovers and penalties were the name of the game as Thiel turned the ball over four times and committed 18 penalties for 175 yards.
The Thiel defense came out strong as they forced a three-and-out on the opening drive.
Keller Herzberger (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake Senior) connected on a deep ball to
Riley Dunbar (Lyons, Ohio/Evergreen) on the Tomcats' first offensive play of the day for 48 yards to the Bethany 20, setting up a
Deon Logan (Richmond, Va./James River) rushing score to make it 6-0. The ensuing 2-point try was unsuccessful.
With the touchdown, Logan moved into to 10th in program history in scoring with 102 points and is now tied for 10th in program lore in career rushing scores (13). Logan, in his final game at Alumni Stadium, produced a career-most 186 yards of total offense. He ran for a game-best 133 yards and had 53 receiving yards on a career-best six catches.
Dunbar had game bests in catches (seven) and receiving yards (122) for his second career game with 100-plus receiving yards.
Herzberger completed 24-of-38 passes for 282 yards. He did, however, throw four interceptions.
The Thiel defense came up with another big-time stop just before the half as
Aubrey Alexander (Plantation, Fla./Plantation) picked off a Bethany pass in the end zone to keep the score 6-0 at the break.
Following a Thiel three-and-out to open the second half, Bethany compiled a quick three-play drive in less than a minute to pull ahead 7-6.
The Bison turned a Herzberger interception in the Bethany end zone midway through the third quarter into another scoring drive as they pulled ahead 14-6. The visitors added a field goal with 8:39 left in the game to lead 17-6.
Looking to mount a miraculous comeback, Herzberger connected with Dunbar from 26 yards out to make it 17-12 with a minuet to play. The Tomcats attempted an onside kick and appeared to recover the ball with less than a minute to go, but it was ruled that the ball touched a Thiel player before it went 10 yards, giving Bethany the ball and the victory.
Jayveerh White (Sharon, Pa./Sharon) added 58 yards on the ground on nine carries.
CK Kershaw (Bristow, Va./Patriot) made six grabs for 56 yards while
Jaylen Benjamin (Hartsville, S.C./Hartsville) had four receptions for 35 yards.
On defense,
Jake Badger (Mercer, Pa./Mercer Area), in his final home Thiel contest, led the Blue and Gold with six tackles, He added one tackle for loss.
Alexander Mittner (New Brighton, Pa./New Brighton) made five stops and had a TFL while four other Tomcats made four tackles each.
The Tomcats cap the 2025 season next Saturday when they head to W&J for a 1 p.m. clash. The Presidents, with their win over Geneva today, secured the PAC's automatic-qualifying bid to the NCAA Playoffs.
