Box score | Season stats

BOLIVAR, Mo. -- Victory number one of the 2010 season came Saturday afternoon for the SBU Bearcats. But it didn't come as planned. The Bearcats picked up a hard fought win over Bacone College, winning 21-12.

"Any win is a good win," said SBU head coach Keith Allen. "You can fix mistakes but you can't fix the win/loss column. For most teams, they win the games they're supposed to against step down opponents." The Bearcats are an NCAA Division II independent while Bacone is an NAIA school.

The Bearcats (1-2) opened the scoring in the first quarter, when Justin Duhaney scored from 22 yards out with eight minutes left in the opening frame.

The teams swapped possessions for the remainder of the first and through much of the second quarter, before Bacone's pressure swung the momentum in their favor late in the half. The Warriors pass rush hit Bearcat quarterback Steven Gachette as he was throwing and BC's Cedric Pierce intercepted the fluttering pass, returning it 59 yards for a touchdown. The extra point was blocked and the teams later went to the break, with SBU holding just a 7-6 edge.

"We challenged our offense at halftime," Allen added. "Coach (Ben) Blake made some adjustments and Steve (Gachette) calmed down. We didn't really decide to play until the second half. We still had too many penalties in the kicking game, and we need to correct some things in the running and blocking schemes. We have to take what they give us."

Midway through the third quarter, the Bearcats upped their lead to eight points on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Gachette to Charles Johnson. Five minutes later, Duhaney would cap a 79-yard drive on a one-yard score, putting SBU up 21-6.

The scrappy Warriors (1-2) cut the margin with a 12-play, 80-yard drive with 6:47 left in the fourth, when quarterback Mike Cook scored from one yard out. The two-point conversion failed, leaving the SBU lead at nine points. SBU would drive to the Bacone seven-yard line, taking five minutes off the game clock in the process, but their fourth down attempt failed. The Cats held on the for 21-12 victory.

Gachette threw for a season high 309 yards on 28 of 45 attempts, but threw two interceptions with one touchdown. Johnson caught eight passes for 138 yards and a TD. D.A. Allen caught six balls for 78 yards. Duhaney had two scores and rushed for 59 yards on 23 carries. Andre Hicks led the defense with 14 tackles, while Shaquille Shedd added nine tackles. Austin Otwell had two interceptions.

Cook threw for 172 yards on 19 of 33 attempts for the Warriors. Jamario Thomas carried 22 times for 57 yards. Kyle Barnett had 11 tackles including six solos for Bacone.

SBU is at home again next Saturday, September 18, when they host William Jewell at 1:30 p.m. at Plaster Stadium.