BOLIVAR, Mo. – Steve Gachette became the only player in SBU history to throw for more than 3000 yards in a single season (3108 after today), and led the Bearcats to a 38-7 victory over St. Joseph's College. Gachette threw for three touchdowns today, adding to the records he already holds for career and single-season touchdowns thrown. Gachette ended the day at 26-49-0 with 96 yards rushing.
The Bearcats racked up 529 yards of offense today, giving them 4922 yards of total offense on the season, which is another team record.
Despite the high output of scoring, the Bearcats managed only a field goal in the first quarter of play. Justin Finch hit a 33-yard trey to give SBU a 3-0 lead.
Steve Gachette ran for a 13-yard score after a minute had elapsed in the 2nd quarter, giving SBU a 10-0 lead. With five minutes left in the first half, Gachette hit Johnnie King with a 20-yard touchdown pass, sending the Bearcats to the locker room up, 17-0.
Sean Kelly opened the 2nd-half scoring with a 60-yard punt return for a Bearcat score. After recovering an onside kick, the Bearcats struck again, as Gachette found John Austin on a 30-yard route, which resulted in another purple touchdown.
Moments later, Gachette found King in the end zone again, giving SBU a 38-0 lead. Kings touchdown reception gave him two for the game, which is the 19th time a receiver has caught two touchdown passes in a single game. King, who entered the game as the nation's leader in receptions per game, caught 11 more passes today.
SBU had a shutout going until 48 seconds remaining in the game. St. Joseph's scored a touchdown on a pass play from Nick Keim to Michael Cochran, making the score 38-7, which stood as the final. The brush with the shutout had fans looking in the record books for the last time SBU has held an opponent scoreless, which was on 8-25-01, against Quincy, 19-0.
After the game, SBU's head coach, Keith Allen, centered his comments around next week's finale against Missouri S&T.
"We're already thinking about next week, when we have a chance to end our season with a winning record. Our players are really focused on that goal. That's something that hasn't happened here at SBU in a long time, and it's within our reach."
Before the game, SBU's seniors (Jonathan Alverado, Steve Alverson, Jarod Bankhead, Dwavon Battle, Mark Boyle, Clint Carroz, Jeff Finnell, Frank Grant, Jr., Reuben Hartzler, Brian Robinson, Josh Schrader, Tyron Stigers, Zach Teisher, Kyle Tutor, and Joshua Vaughn.) were honored in a ceremony with members of their families at midfield.
The win gives the Bearcats a 5-5 record on the season, as they head to Rolla next Saturday to wrap up their 2008 season against Missouri S&T. An SBU win means the first winning season for the Bearcats since the 6-5 team of 2001.
Final Stats
