From the
Gettysburg College Website:
The GameGettysburg plays its home and season opener as it takes on
Lebanon Valley College in a non-conference tilt Saturday afternoon at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
Radio CoverageSaturday’s game will be broadcast and webcast by both
WMSS FM 91.1 and
WLVC 95.3.
Season OpenerSaturday’s game marks the seventh year in a row that Lebanon Valley and Gettysburg have played their season opener against one another, with Gettysburg going 4-2 against the Flying Dutchmen over that stretch. Overall, today’s contest is the 35th showdown between Lebanon Valley and Gettysburg in a series that dates back to 1898. The Bullets hold a 29-4-1 advantage in the all-time series, but Lebanon Valley has won two of the last three meetings.
Home, Sweet HomeGettysburg has enjoyed incredible success at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium recently. Last year, the Bullets posted a perfect 5-0 record on their home turf, and they have won their last eight home games dating back to 2005. The Bullets have not lost at home since falling 41-20 to Rochester on Sept. 17, 2005.
Filling the BleachersIn 2006, Gettysburg received outstanding support from its home crowd, as the Bullets led all Division III schools in the state of Pennsylvania in home attendance, averaging 2,854 spectators per game. Gettysburg finished 28th among all Division III schools in attendance.
Head of the ClassGettysburg head coach
Barry Streeter is the longest-tenured and winningest football coach in Gettysburg history. He surpassed Hen Bream (1927-51), who coached for 22 seasons, in 2000. Streeter won his 105th career game against Muhlenberg in 1995 to take over the career wins lead. Now in his 29th season as head coach, he has a 141-137-5 (.507) career record.
Reunion GameStreeter will renew his acquaintances with his alma mater when he takes on Lebanon Valley on Saturday. In 15 meetings over his 28 seasons at the helm of the Bullets, he is 12-3 against the Flying Dutchmen. Streeter was a 2003 inductee into the Lebanon Valley Athletic Hall of Fame.
Getting StartedThe Bullets tuned up for their 2007 campaign with a scrimmage against
Susquehanna University on Friday, Aug. 24, and posted a resounding 54-7 victory. With the game tied 7-7 after 15 minutes of play, the Bullets erupted in the second quarter, outscoring Susquehanna 26-0. In limited action, senior tailback
Tom Sturges rushed for 52 yards and one touchdown on seven carries while junior tailback
Nick McConnell rushed for a pair of scores. Sophomore quarterback
Matt Flynn started and completed 6-of-9 passes for 58 yards while junior
Mike Lynch threw for 77 yards on 4-of-6 passing.
Last Time OutGettysburg closed out its 2006 campaign with a 38-30 win over
Franklin & Marshall at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium to complete its season with a 5-5 record. The Bullets led 38-20 before the Diplomats rallied with 10 points in the fourth quarter to make things tight down the stretch.
Matt Flynn threw for 203 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 17-of-25 passing for Gettysburg while
Matt Welsh hauled in three passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns. Halfback Dusty Green paced the Bullets on the ground, rushing for 83 yards and one touchdown while catching six passes for an additional 68 yards in his final collegiate game. Defensive tackle Rob Brassell led the Bullets with nine tackles while safety
Kyle Luciano posted eight tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, and an interception on the final play of the game. Leading 38-30, Gettysburg took 4:54 off the clock on their final possession before a Ryan Dunn punt pinned the Diplomats on their own 5-yard line with just 11 seconds left. Luciano then picked off a deep heave to seal the victory. Lebanon Valley also concluded its 2006 season with a victory, defeating
Albright College 55-33 to finish the year with a 6-4 record, the team’s first winning season since 1992. Quarterback Dan Kelly and wide receiver Adam Brossman turned in a pair of phenomenal performances for the Flying Dutchmen, as Kelly threw for 430 yards and five touchdowns on 21-of-25 passing while Brossman caught 13 passes for 337 yards and three touchdowns. Tailback Charlie Parker added 99 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries for the Flying Dutchmen, who piled up 688 yards of total offense. Cornerback Keith Comrey led the Dutchmen defense with seven tackles and a pair of interceptions.
Last Season’s GameLebanon Valley’s Brian Cottone blocked a potential game-winning 42-yard field goal with 1:49 left as the Flying Dutchmen defeated Gettysburg 13-12 in both teams’ 2006 season opener on a rain-soaked Arnold Field. The Bullets led 12-7 before a 11-yard touchdown run by tailback Charlie Parker with 6:03 left set the final score. Dusty Green returned a fumble five yards for a touchdown to account for Gettysburg’s only touchdown.
Josh Huson added a 24-yard field goal while the Bullets recorded their first safety in four years on a bad snap during a punt attempt. Green finished the afternoon with a team-high 48 yards while Ryan Brennan paced the Dutchmen with 105 yards on 24 carries, including a 1-yard touchdown.
Lighting up the ScoreboardIn just two years Gettysburg has gone from finishing last to first in the
Centennial Conference in scoring offense, as the Bullets averaged 24.3 points per game over 10 contests in 2006. Also, Gettysburg also maintained its status as the top rushing team in the conference by averaging a Centennial-leading 199.2 yards per game along with a league-best 17 rushing touchdowns. Additionally, the offense was sure-handed with the pigskin, committing just 14 turnovers while forcing 21, a margin of +7, twice that of its nearest conference competitor.
With HonorsGettysburg had seven players earn a spot on the All-Centennial Conference team last season, and four of them return to the fold in 2007. Senior linebacker
Harold Barton and senior tailback
Tom Sturges each captured first-team honors while junior kicker
Josh Huson was named to the second team. In addition, senior linebacker
James Holubowich earned honorable mention status. Barton and Sturges also captured numerous all-region awards, and they were both named to the Don Hansen’s Football Gazette Division III All-America honorable mention squad.
By The NumbersGettysburg returns 38 letterwinners and 15 starters from last year’s squad, including five on the offensive unit and nine on the defensive side of the ball.
Leading the WaySeniors
Harold Barton,
Kyle Luciano,
James Russell, and
Tom Sturges have been elected to serve as the Bullets’ team captains in 2007. They are the 137th, 138th, 139th, and 140th men to be so honored.
Off and RunningSenior tailback
Tom Sturges returns after posting his second-straight 1,000-yard rushing season last year. Sturges took the handoff 235 times for a Centennial Conference-leading 1,141 yards and nine TDs in 2006.
Climbing the ChartsSturges, who has rushed for 2,742 yards for his career, is currently ranked sixth on the Bullets’ career rushing yards list. With six more yards, he can move past Shannon Forsythe for fifth all-time at Gettysburg. He can become just the fifth 3,000-yard rusher in school history with an additional 258 yards.
Under CenterFresh off an impressive freshman campaign, sophomore
Matt Flynn returns for his second year as Gettysburg’s starting quarterback. Starting the Bullets’ final seven games of the season, Flynn passed for a freshman-record 1,546 yards to go with 14 touchdowns, the most by a Gettysburg quarterback since 1994, while completing 52.7% of his aerials. He tied a school record when he tossed five touchdown passes in a 54-42 loss to Rochester.
Caught in the ActAlthough the Bullets lost three of their top four receivers from last season, senior
Matt Welsh returns after a solid junior season. In 2006, Welsh finished second among the Bullets with 483 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 27 catches.
Tons of TacklesSenior
Harold Barton is coming off another outstanding defensive season at linebacker. For the second year in a row, Barton reached triple digits in tackles, notching 100 on the nose to finish fourth in the Centennial Conference in tackles per game. He also led the team in sacks (five) and forced fumbles (three) and was second among the Bullets in tackles for loss (8.5).
Heavy HittersIn addition to Barton, Gettysburg returns its next four leading tacklers from 2006 in senior
James Holubowich, junior
David Rodriguez, senior
Kyle Luciano, and sophomore
Tim Widdoes. Holubowich totaled 83 tackles last season while Rodriguez posted 79 takedowns. Luciano and Widdoes each finished with 62 hits, the former racking up his number in just six games to finish fourth in the Centennial Conference at 10.3 tackles per game.
Giving it the Bootunior
Josh Huson returns to handle the Bullets’ kicking duties this season while sophomore
Andrew Weingart will take over at punter following the graduation of Ryan Dunn. Huson connected on 7 of 9 field goals in 2006 while nailing 26 of 30 extra-point attempts. Although Weingart will be making his collegiate debut as a punter, he handled all 45 of Gettysburg’s kickoffs last year.
Scouting Lebanon ValleyThe Flying Dutchmen return 14 starters from last season’s team. Lebanon Valley closed its season with three straight victories and scored 55 points in each of its last two games. Returning to lead the offense is senior wide receiver Adam Brossman, a Don Hansen’s Gazette third team all-American who racked up 1,107 receiving yards, 62 receptions, and 15 touchdown catches a year ago. LVC also brings back its leading rusher from 2006 in sophomore tailback Charlie Parker, who finished with 700 yards and five touchdowns as a freshman. The Dutchmen will need to replace their starting quarterback, however, due to the graduation of Dan Kelly, who threw for 1,698 yards and 20 touchdowns last season. Defensively, the team will be led by junior linebacker Brian Cottone, who totaled a team-leading 84 tackles in 2006.
Coaches’ CornerStreeter’s Outlook Following the Pre-season“I’m pleased with our progress so far. We came in with some questions, and I think we answered those questions for the most part. We’re relatively healthy, and things have gone well overall.”
Streeter on His Team’s 54-7 Scrimmage Victory Over Susquehanna“I thought, in all three phases, we showed a lot of promise. Our tackling was pretty good, and that’s something we had to improve on from last year. We also took the ball away three times. I was also pleased with our kickers. I thought our kickoffs and coverage were very good, and we kicked a couple of field goals. And offensively, we scored seven times on seven chances in the red zone. The big thing was, we played hard the whole time, no matter if it was the first group in or the fourth.”
Streeter on Lebanon Valley“I think Jim [Monos] has done a great job with their program. They run well, they play tough, and they have some good athletes. It was a tight game against them last year and the year before, so I think it will be a good test for both of us.”
Streeter on Season Openers“[Winning the season opener] is big every year. It gets your momentum going in the right direction early. You think you have an idea of how good you are, but you don’t know until you play a quality opponent.”
Streeter on Playing at Home, Where the Bullets Have Won Their Last Eight and Led All Division III Schools In Attendance in 2006“The kids really enjoy playing at home. They’re aware of the support we have here, and they thrive on that. I think with the way they play, it’s been an exciting brand of football to watch.”
Streeter on His Team’s Senior Class“They’ve seen improvement each year, and they have the goal of being highly successful this year. I think they’ve done a good job so far this year with their leadership. They’ve done everything I’ve asked them to do — they’ve been committed, and their work ethic has been great.”
