Postgame Awards Ceremony
ANNVILLE, Pa. - Lebanon Valley lifted its second ECAC championship in three seasons with a thrilling defensive stand to beat Saint Vincent, 23-15, in the ECAC South-West bowl.
The Dutchmen (8-3) scored 13 points in the fourth quarter on a pair of
Ben Guiles touchdowns to overcome a 15-10 lead by the Bearcats (6-5).
Most Outstanding Player
Cory Homer made two of his three sacks on Saint Vincent's penultimate drive, stuffing the Bearcats deep in their own territory and setting up Guiles' game-sealing four-yard touchdown with 2:31 left.
Macke Hall had an interception returned 52 yards for a first-half touchdown for the Dutchmen, and he also had two sacks.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett, a 1971 LVC graduate, presented the championship trophy to the Dutchmen, who also won the same bowl at home in 2009 and had an appearance in last year's ECAC South-Atlantic Bowl. Saint Vincent was making its first postseason appearance since winning the 1949 Tangerine Bowl.
"I told the team, there are different ways to win a football game," said Head Coach
Jim Monos, whose team had set a program record for offense this season but was stymied by a tough Bearcat defense. "Today we were frustrated, we didn't move the ball consistently... but our defense played the game of the year. Our defense won this thing."
Saint Vincent quarterback Aaron Smetanka threw for 221 yards and a touchdown but was sacked five times. Leading target Ricky Douglas caught eight passes for 141 yards, and Mike Kale ran for 51 yards after all-PAC starter Huey Ehredt was knocked out of the game early on.
Lebanon Valley was held to just 253 yards of offense, but they made the big plays when it counted. A bruising opening drive resulted in a 28-yard
Sean Fakete field goal, but LVC's breathrough didn't come until midway through the second quarter when Hall stepped in front of a Smetanka pass at midfield and had nothing but daylight in front of him.
"I thought I was going to get caught the whole way," Hall said. "I was stepping thinking 'Please don't hit me.'"
Saint Vincent scored late in the quarter on Smetanka's six-yard pass to a diving Jairus Marlow, but
Zach Wierman blocked the PAT, which would prove to be important later in the game.
The Bearcats opened the second half with a 21-yard field goal by Morgan Porter to cut the lead to 10-9, then scored on the opening play of the fourth quarter on Smetanka's eight-yard scramble up the middle to lead 15-10 after his conversion pass flew out of the back of the end zone.
Guiles, who had been all but shut down to that point, erupted on the ensuing drive, ploughing down the field and scoring with a five-yard finish to lead 16-15 after Zarilla couldn't finish the conversion.
Saint Vincent went three-and-out, and LVC had a chance to seal the game with a drive to the Bearcat 14 before turning it over on downs. With SVC backed up in their own end, the defense came up big, first with a tackle for loss by Homer and
Wes Rockwell, then with a forced incompletion and two straight sacks by Homer to turn the ball over on downs with 2:32 remaining.
Just one play was needed for Guiles to cap the win with a four-yard punch-in, and the Bearcats were hurt by a chop block call on their final series as they turned it over on downs, handing the Dutchmen the ECAC title.
