LOCAL COLLEGES \ Saturday’s games

Thiel 50, Bethany 44

GREENVILLE, Pa. — Thiel QB Willie Bova scored on a 10-yard run and an interception inside the 10 ended the Bethany College football team’s (1-5, 0-3) final chance, as the Tomcats (1-5, 1-2) came away with a four-overtime victory. Bethany dominated the first half in posting a 28-7 lead at intermission. Both teams scored on their first possession, with BC taking a 7-0 lead on an 18-yard scoring pass from freshman QB Chad Smith to senior WR Taylor McNeil but was answered when the Tomcats scored on a 35-yard halfback option pass from Brice Mertiff to Tim Van Horn. The Bison would put three more scores on the board before the break. Smith fired his second scoring pass of the day, this one covering 32 yards to junior TE Jorge Laboy late in the first quarter to move the Green and White back in front. Laboy hauled in a one-yard scoring pass from freshman QB Jeff Joyce midway through the second quarter and with one minute left before halftime, freshman RB Eric Walker bulled in from seven yards out to make it 28-7 Bison.

Waynesburg 63, Westminster 26

WAYNESBURG, Pa. — Westminster absorbed a loss in Presidents’ Athletic Conference. The Titans’ record falls to 3-3 on the season and 1-2 in the league while the Yellow Jackets improve to 3-2 overall and 1-1. The Titans seemed doomed from the start as Waynesburg’s Scott Cree returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. The Yellow Jackets then scored off two Westminster interceptions. The first by Dylan August set up Waynesburg at the Titan 21-yard line before Brad Dawson punctuated the drive with a 4-yard touchdown pass to David Younkins. The second was Cree returning a 40-yard interception for touchdown to put Waynesburg up 21-0 at the end of the first quarter. Westminster racked up 423 yards of total offense on 81 plays compared to Waynesburg with 399 yards on 58 plays. The Yellow Jackets scored quickly two more times as Dawson completed a 70-yard touchdown pass on the first play of a second-quarter drive to Ray Hightower II to put Waynesburg up 35-13 and August returned an intercepted pass 45 yards for a score in the fourth quarter.

Denison 31, Hiram 13

HIRAM — Hiram was defeated by Denison in a North Coast Athletic Conference game. With the loss, the Terriers drop to 2-3 overall and 1-2 in the NCAC. The Big Red improve to 2-3 overall and 1-2 NCAC. Hiram benefited from three Denison turnovers in the first quarter which led to a one-yard touchdown pass from senior two-time All-NCAC quarter Trevor Henderson to sophomore wide receiver Kyle Milano at the 8:42 minute mark. The extra point attempt by freshman Theodore Sloban (Niles) was blocked resulting in a 6-0 lead. On the ensuing kickoff, the ball was allowed to hit the ground and was originally ruled to have touched a Denison player before bouncing out of the endzone resulting in a safety and giving the Terriers an 8-0 lead. But the safety was later overruled resulting in a touchback for the Big Red and changed the score back to 6-0. Following the change, Denison would cough up the ball as one of its three fumbles later in the drive, but Hiram could not capitalize and maintained a 6-0 advantage after the first quarter. After a Hiram fumble early in the second quarter, Denison tied the game on a 29-yard TD run by Jon Berg with 11:46 to play in the half that ended a four-play 80-yard drive. The Big Red extra point attempt hit the right upright and bounced wide making the score 6-6. Just before the end of the period, Denison took the lead on a 10-play 82-yard drive and a 10-yard TD completion from quarterback Mike Barnes to Nick Thompson with 14 seconds to go. Barnes found the endzone on a two-point conversion attempt giving the Big Red a 14-6 lead at halftime. Individually, Denison was led by Berg who rushed for a game-high 159 yards on 29 carries and two TD. Krempasky also surpassed the 100-yard mark with 102 yards on 16 carries and a score. Barnes completed five-of-12 passes for 41 yards, including a TD, and rushed for 77 yards in 13 attempts. Defensively, Joe Ulrey led the way with eight total tackles (three solo and five assists) and a tackle for loss.