Alma, Mich. - The Alma College football team suffered a setback in its season opener, falling by a 47-24 margin to visiting Saint Vincent (Pa.) College at Bahlke Field. The Scots (0-1 overall) spotted the Bearcats a 26-0 lead and couldn't overcome the deficit.
Junior Dylan Zaborowksi completed 21 of his 46 passes for 247 yards with one interception, while junior Danny Hugan II caught eight passes for a team-high 124 yards. Hugan, who also rushed twice for 38 yards and a score, became the first Alma player to return a kickoff for a touchdown since 2009 when he scampered 87 yards for a score to open the second half.
Saint Vincent (1-0) opened the game with a 16 play, 71 yard drive, chewing nearly seven minutes off the clock before Derek Stewart found Damon Black for a three-yard touchdown pass. Stewart threw for 424 yards and five TD passes, completing 28 of his 44 attempts. Back was the recipient of two TD passes and finished the game with 10 catches and 163 yards.
The Bearcats, who stopped a fourth-and-goal attempt for Alma on the Scots' opening drive, added to their lead early in the second quarter when Jhanard Dorsett scored on an eight-yard run. Saint Vincent added two more touchdowns in the second quarter to go up, 26-0, before Hugan found the end zone on a 15-yard run to make the score 26-7 entering the half.
Coming out of halftime, the Scots looked to turn momentum around, starting with Hugan's kick return. On the next possession, junior Dustin Tripp forced a fumble by Stewart and junior Colton Tyson recovered, setup the Scots up on the Bearcats' 29 yard line. Alma would get a field goal out of the drive, with sophomore Jacob Plisko connecting from 32 yards away from pull the Scots within nine points at 26-17.
Saint Vincent, which amassed 608 yards of offense in the game, closed the door on any comeback attempts with an 82-yard touchdown pass from Stewart to Black, followed by a 29-yard interception return for a score by Nick Nitowski.
Alma finished with 418 yards of total offense, including 171 on the ground. Senior Nick Sullvan led the Scots' ground game with 21 carries for 81 yards.
Defensively, senior Jacob Chittenden paced Alma with 17 tackles, junior Zac Peterson, Tyson and Tripp all posted double-digit stops.
The Scots will now hit the road for three straight games, starting next week with a non-conference matchup at Manchester University. Kickoff is slated for 6:00 p.m. at Carl W. Burt Memorial Field in North Manchester, Ind. Alma will not return to Bahlke Field until Saturday, Oct. 8, when it hosts Hope College for the annual Homecoming game.
QUOTES
Head Coach Greg Pscodna
"We started pretty slow in the first half and they made some big plays, and we let them make big plays. We missed too many tackles and had some opportunities in the red zone that could of changed the game around. They executed better than us and they made plays and it showed.
"We came out in the second half and got off to a good start and they made another big play. We have to make tackles. That's what it comes down to - making tackles - and we couldn't today, which is surprising, because we've had a lot of guys do a lot of good things with that. Those are things that we have to work on for next week."
Contact: Paul Thomas, Sports Information Director, 989-463-7114