OWENSBORO, Ky. – The SBU Bearcats won their third game in a row for the first time since 2001, by defeating Kentucky Wesleyan, 34-14.
It is the first time that SBU has been over the .500 mark since winning the 2003 season opener to go 1-0, also against Kentucky Wesleyan in Owensboro.
The Bearcats ran 99 offensive plays and generated 524 yards of offense. They were led by Steve Gachette, who was 27 of 53 for 3 touchdowns. Gachette also scampered for 91 yards on the ground. Deandre Brown and Jeff Finnell ran for 70 yards each.
The Bearcat defense gave up only 4 net yards on the ground on 28 opposing rushes. Clint Carroz was credited with 3 sacks.
"It feels good to be 3-2 right now," said SBU’s head coach, Keith Allen. "We came out in the first half and executed well, on both sides of the ball. We moved the ball down the field like we wanted, and we shut them down defensively. But we were sloppy at the end of the first half with penalties, which we will address by the next game. That sloppiness carried over into the second half, especially on the offensive side of the ball. The bottom line tonight is that we made way too many errors as a team to be happy with this win."
The first half belonged to the Bearcats, on both sides of the ball. Besides holding the Panthers scoreless, the Bearcats put five touchdowns on the board.
Gachette marched SBU down the field in the first 3 minutes, 30 seconds of the game for the Bearcats’ first touchdown, which ended with the purple quarterback running nine yards into the end zone. Kentucky Wesleyan fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Gachette was able to find Johnny King for a 13-yard touchdown on the very next play. SBU 14, Kentucky Wesleyan 0.
SBU’s Jeff Finnell ran the ball in from 2 yards out at the 1:01 point of the first quarter to give SBU a 21-0 lead. Six minutes later, with 10 minutes remaining in the half, Gachette disappointed the Panthers’ homecoming crowd with a 39-yard touchdown strike to Jonathan Alvarado, putting the Bearcats up by four touchdowns.
With seconds remaining in the half, Gachette stayed in the pocket and threw a missile to Thaddeus Sanders for a half-ending, 44-yard touchdown. SBU missed the extra point, but went to the locker room with a 34-0 lead.
The teams were scoreless in the third, until Gachette was picked off with a minute left in the third quarter. Wesleyan’s Robert Glover made the interception, and ran the ball back for a 31-yard touchdown. During the third quarter, SBU’s defense came up big, unleashing a triad of sacks, hard hits, and hurries on the opposing committee of quarterbacks.
Wesleyan tacked on another touchdown early in the fourth quarter to complete the scoring.
The win moves the Bearcats to 3-2 on the season, as they return home next Saturday to face Central Oklahoma.
Final Stats
