Google
 
Web bulletsfootball.blogspot.com

Gettysburg College Football

Welcome to my Gettysburg College Football Weblog. I will strive to update this blog regularly with stories about The Bullets gathered from across the Web. Your comments and suggestions are welcomed. Enjoy!

My Photo
Name:
Location: Lebanon, PA, United States

Born and raised in Lebanon PA. I have a wonderful wife - Diane of over 20 years! She has blessed me with 2 wonderful boys - Nick (Gettysburg College '09) and Kyle (Elizabethtown College '12). We have a black lab named Piper. I've been told I make the best grilled hot wings!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll

Congratulations to Justin Blass, Nick Duerr and Matt Lessler who were named to the 2008 Centennial Conference Fall Academic Honor Roll.

To be nominated for the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll, a student must meet the following criteria: (a) participates in at least 50 percent of contests, matches or meets, or in the Conference varsity championship in cross country; (b) a sophomore or higher in class standing; (c) cumulative GPA of 3.40 or higher.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Centennial Conference Weekly Release

Congratulations to Nick McConnell, Joe Delaney, and Josh Huson for being named to this week's Centennial Conference Honor Roll for their contributions in Satuday's win over F&M! You can read this and other conference news in this week's Centennial Conference Weekly Release.

Five Bullets Named All-Centennial Conference

From the Gettysburg College Website:

Five Bullets Named All-Centennial Conference

Josh Jerrold captured First Team All-CC honors

All-Centennial Conference Team

LANCASTER, Pa. – Five members of the Gettysburg College football team have been named to the All-Centennial Conference Team, the conference office announced Monday.

Senior defensive end Josh Jerrold (Yardley, Pa./East Pennsbury) was the Bullets’ lone first-team member while four offensive players gained all-conference status after helping the Bullets lead the league in total offense (438.2 ypg) for the third year in a row.

Jerrold was named all-conference for the second straight season after attaining second-team status a year ago. He enjoyed an outstanding senior campaign, racking up 9.5 sacks and 15.0 tackles for loss. He currently leads the Centennial Conference and is tied for 18th in Division III in sacks and is second in the conference and is tied for 43rd in the nation in tackles for loss. His 15.0 tackles for loss were second in school history and his 9.5 sacks were fifth-most by a Bullet in one season. Jerrold also led the team and is second among the conference leaders with four forced fumbles and is tied for sixth on the team with 44 tackles. In one of his top performances of the season, he made 2.5 sacks and forced three fumbles in a 38-7 win over Ursinus.

For his career, Jerrold finished tied for third in school history in sacks (19.5) and fourth in tackles for loss (32.5).

Representing the offense on the All-CC Second Team were sophomore tailback Jamel Mutunga (Bel Air, Md./Bel Air), senior tackle Sam Walthall (Uniondale, N.Y./Woodlands), and senior guard Lou Mastrini (Washington, D.C./Blue Ridge School [Va.]) while senior tight end David Rodriguez (Fort Belvoir, Va./Bishop Ireton) garnered honorable mention accolades.

In his first year as a starter, Mutunga, who was named all-conference for the first time in his career, led the Bullets in rushing with 800 yards and seven touchdowns. He also caught 14 passes for 142 yards and one touchdown. He averaged 5.0 yards per carry and closed the season with a bang, rushing for a career-high 144 yards and a pair of TDs in a 54-21 win over Franklin & Marshall in the Bullets season finale.

Walthall and Mastrini blocked for an explosive offense that not only leads the conference and ranks 23rd nationally in total offense but also ranks first in the Centennial in pass offense (222.0 ypg), second in scoring offense (32.9 ppg), and third in rushing offense (216.2 ypg). Against Franklin & Marshall, they helped the Bullets post their highest scoring total in seven years and their highest rushing output (434 yards) in nine years. Walthall was a first-time all-conference pick while Mastrini picked up his second straight All-CC honor. He was an honorable mention selection last season.

Rodriguez made a successful transition from defensive back to tight end to earn all-conference recognition for the first time in his career. He made nine catches for 193 yards and caught a pair of touchdown passes, including a 63-yarder on Gettysburg’s first play from scrimmage against Ursinus.

Gettysburg won five of its final six games of the season to finish 5-5 and 5-3 in the Centennial Conference.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Sunday News and Notes

From The Hanover Evening Sun:

Gettysburg conquers heavy rain, F&M to finish at .500
By CORY MULL Evening Sun Sports Writer
Article Launched: 11/16/2008 04:03:26 AM EST

When the cloud cover unleashed something the Bullets had never seen before on a football field, the Gettysburg College men's team wiped their faces, buckled their helmets and said, "Is that the best you got, Zeus?"

The Bullets ended their season on Saturday at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium with one of the most impressive wins in school history - playing through what can aptly be described as a monsoon - as it beat Franklin & Marshall, 54-21, to end the season at 5-5 after it had started with four straight losses.

"I didn't imagine 54 (points)," Bullets head coach Barry Streeter said. "I dreamed about it. I didn't imagine it. They're really good. They have a good defense. But we were on today. Our kids ran the ball. We blocked hard. Matt Flynn managed the game really well. I never imagined this."
The Bullets accrued 517 yards of total offense against the Diplomats (4-6), the Centennial Conference's top scoring defense entering the game, giving up 14.1 points per game, and had two 100-yard rushers.

Sophomore Jamel Mutunga had 148 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Senior Nick McConnell had 183 yards rushing and two touchdowns. His last carry went for 44 yards and set in motion one of his goals entering the season.

"The last carry of my high school career was for a touchdown," McConnell said. "My goal coming into my senior year was to have my last carry as a touchdown. So going out like that is pretty unbelievable."

Kicker Josh Huson, No. 4 in career kick scoring entering the game, moved up to No. 2 by the final whistle. With seven extra points, he had 204 points on the season and was only three shy of the record held by Brent Sandrock of McDaniel from 1997-2000.

The 434 total yards of rushing the Bullets amassed was the most since 2002. The 54 points Gettysburg scored was the most its totaled against F&M since 1905 and it was the most points the Diplomats had given up since 2002.

Most of the points came in waves, despite horrendous field conditions.

"We kept thinking that it was going to be an occasional shower," Streeter said. "But then the wind was crazy. We were able to score a couple touchdowns. When (the Diplomats) got it in their face was when it really started coming hard."

Quarterback Matt Flynn, who was 7-for-9 for 72 yards and a touchdown, said he could hardly see five yards past his helmet.

"A few points there you couldn't see very well," Flynn said. "The balls were slippery, so we just mixed the run game in and we did a great job of doing that. It worked well for us."

The turning point came early in the second quarter, with Gettysburg clinging to a 14-7 lead. It had just forced F&M to turnover on downs after the Diplomats had driven 44 yards on 11 plays.

From their own 16, the Bullets picked up action right as the rained reached its climax and visibility was at an all-time low. The Bullets called their zone play before Mutunga broked through the parting seas and scampered his way toward an 85-yard touchdown run.

The Bullets added a touchdown before the break and three more in the final two quarters.

"At the beginning of the season we went out in the first four games and lost," McConnell said.

"Nobody put their heads down. We just kept fighting. We didn't want to go out with a losing season. We just kept working hard, practicing and I think once we got over that hump we showed ourselves that we could do it.

Contact Cory Mull at cmull@eveningsun.com.


Saturday, November 15, 2008

Bullets Run Wild on F&M, Top Dips 54-21 in Monsoon

From the Gettysburg College Website:

Bullets Run Wild on F&M, Top Dips 54-21 in Monsoon

Nick McConnell piled up a career-high 181 rushing yards and two TDs against F&M

Box Score

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Gettysburg rushed for 299 of its 434 yards in the first half and the Bullets closed their 2008 season with a bang, running away with a 54-21 Centennial Conference victory over Franklin & Marshall College Saturday afternoon on Senior Day at a drenched Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium.

After starting 0-4, the Bullets (5-5, 5-3 CC) won five of their final six games, the team’s best six-game stretch since the 1994 squad won six in a row, while finishing with at least a .500 record for the third straight season. Franklin & Marshall (4-6, 3-5 CC) lost its second straight game to end the year.

Gettysburg had two players go over 100 yards rushing in the first half alone, when the Bullets outscored the Diplomats 33-7 in a furious driving rain. Senior tailback Nick McConnell (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) ran for 111 of his career-high 181 yards in the opening half while sophomore tailback Jamel Mutunga (Bel Air, Md./Bel Air) posted 123 of his career-high 144 yards over the opening 30 minutes. The two finished with two rushing touchdowns apiece. It was the first time since last season’s 41-10 win at Johns Hopkins that the Bullets finished with a pair of 100-yard rushers, when Tom Sturges ’08 had 148 and junior quarterback Matt Flynn (Northfield, N.J./Mainland Regional) had 119.

Sophomore wing Charles Curcio (Hammonton, N.J./St. Joseph’s) added 67 yards rushing and a touchdown on just three carries while junior wings Ricky Manigat (Baldwin, N.Y./Balwin) and Michael McInerney (Habrouck Heights, N.J./St. Joseph Regional) rushed for one touchdown apiece.

The Bullets scored 40 points more than F&M's Centennial Conference-leading scoring defense average (14.1) entering the game.

Gettysburg’s 434 rushing yards marked the team’s highest output since their 458-yard performance in a 59-28 win at St. Lawrence on Oct. 30, 1999. It was the team’s first 50-point game since its 52-7 win over Lebanon Valley in 2003 and was the team’s highest-scoring game since their 61-6 victory at Averett in 2001. The Bullets ran up their second-highest scoring total ever against F&M, second only to the team’s 72-0 win in 1905.

Flynn attempted just nine passes for Gettysburg but set a pair of school records. He broke the school’s career passing yardage record, upping the mark to 5,207, and surpassed the single-season passing yards record, which now stands at 2,126. Dennis Flaherty ’01 held both previous records. Flynn also set school records for career total offense and career touchdown passes earlier this season. He finished 7-for-9 for 72 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 26 yards.

Flynn helped Gettysburg break the single-season team record for passing yards, as the Bullets finished with 2,220.

Senior kicker Josh Huson (McLean, Va./McLean) was 6-for-7 on extra-point attempts and finished his career with 204 points, which ranks second on both the Gettysburg and Centennial Conference charts for kick scoring.

Jeff Hogan came on in the second half to throw for 201 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 15-of-24 passing for F&M while George Eager caught five passes for 64 yards and a TD. Ryan Murray led F&M on the ground, carrying the ball 10 times for 74 yards.

Freshman safety Joe Delaney (Voorhees, N.J./Eastern Regional) had nine tackles, a forced fumble, and an interception for Gettysburg.

Despite the extremely wet conditions, the Bullets did not commit a turnover for the first time this season.

After receiving the opening kickoff, the Bullets needed just five plays to move 66 yards before scoring on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Flynn to sophomore Brian Betley (Mt. Laurel, N.J./Lenape). McConnell got things started, breaking off a 33-yard run to the F&M-21. Three plays later, Flynn hit Betley one yard shy of the end zone, and Betley drug a defender into the end zone as the Bullets took a 7-0 lead just 1:37 into the game.

A steady rain at kickoff turned into a furious, driving downpour minutes into the game, and the Diplomats tied it up on their second possession when backup quarterback Mark Mellinger came on to score on a 5-yard keeper up the middle, capping a 5-play, 37-yard drive.

The Bullets took the lead for good when they scored on their ensuing drive. Mutunga gave his team a first-and-goal at the Diplomat-1 after breaking free for a 32-yard run, and he took it up the middle on the next play. Huson came on to knock through the extra point, giving the Orange and Blue a 14-7 lead with 2:29 left in the first quarter.

F&M threatened to tie the game after driving 45 yards to the Bullet-15, but that’s where the drive stalled and Gettysburg took over on downs. On the very next play, Mutunga broke through the line of scrimmage and out-sprinted the defense up the middle for an 85-yard touchdown run with 11:27 remaining in the opening half. It was a career-long run for Mutunga, the team’s longest play from scrimmage this season, and Gettysburg’s longest rush since Dusty Green’s 85-yarder against Hampden-Sydney in 2006. The Bullets failed to get off an extra-point attempt following a bad snap as Gettysburg increased its advantage to 20-7.

With the rain coming down in torrents, the Bullets continued to roll on their next two possessions. After holding F&M to punt, Curcio took a pitchout left and raced down the sideline for a 30-yard touchdown run as the Bullets went ahead 27-7 with 7:48 on the clock.

Gettysburg forced the first turnover of the game when Delaney stripped the ball from Mellinger on the ensuing possession, and senior linebacker Dean Staley (Hagerstown, Md./North Hagerstown) fell on it at the Bullet-47. Gettysburg then went to the ground for a 10-play, 53-yard touchdown drive, running the ball on every play. McConnell took the handoff seven times while eating up 35 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown run to make it a 33-7 game at the half.

After receiving the second-half kickoff, F&M turned it over on its third play from scrimmage, when Delaney came down with a tipped pass and returned it four yards to the Gettysburg-49. However, the Bullets were unable to capitalize after Huson’s 43-yard, line-drive field goal attempt fell short.

With the rain letting up slightly, the Diplomats turned it over on downs on its next drive, and Gettysburg responded with a 10-play, 71-yard touchdown drive. The Bullets kept the chains moving when senior tight end David Rodriguez (Fort Belvoir, Va./Bishop Ireton) hit freshman punter Rob Pennella (Martinsville, N.J./Bridgewater Raritan) with an 11-yard, first-down pass to the Gettysburg-48 on a fake punt. Six plays later, McInerney took it on from 1 yard out as the Bullets lead swelled to 40-7.

F&M cut the gap to 47-21 with 10:50 left in the game after Hogan sandwiched a pair of touchdown passes – a 19-yarder to Alan Williams and an 8-yarder to Eager – around a 3-yard TD run from Manigat.

McConnell set the final score on the first play of the ensuing drive. After the Bullets recovered an onside kick, he burst down the left sideline and dodged several defenders en route to a 44-yard touchdown run.

Staley and sophomore cornerback Tairi Mobley (Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown) each tied their career-high tackle total, with Staley making 11 stops and Mobley dealing 10 hits. Senior linebacker Terence Hartigan (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) also notched 10 tackles while senior defensive end Josh Jerrold (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury East) had four tackles and a sack to finish his career tied for third on Gettysburg’s career sack list with 19.5 and fourth in tackles for loss with 32.5.

Zach Romash led F&M with 11 tackles, including 2.5 for loss, while James Gregory had 10 stops and 2.0 for loss.

From the F&M Website:

Bullets Shoot Down Diplomats
Nov 15, 2008

Box Score

GETTYSBURG, Pa. -- After watching Ryan Murray run all over its defense in last year's meeting, the Gettysburg Bullets returned the favor, running to a 54-21 win over Franklin & Marshall in Centennial Conference (CC) football on Saturday. The Bullets (5-5, 5-3 CC) rolled up 299 yards of rushing on 25 carries in the first half and 434 yards in the game. Three of the first half touches ended in the Diplomats' (4-6, 3-5 CC) end zone, giving the Bullets an insurmountable 33-7 lead at the half.

Jamel Mutunga and Nick McConnell each rushed for well over 100 yards and two touchdowns. Mutunga rushed for 123 yards and a pair of scores in the first half. He broke off a 34-yard run down to the Diplomats' one-yard line and plunged in on the next play. His next touch came on first down of the Bullets' next possession. He split the Diplomats' defense to go 86-yards for the score that broke F&M's back.

Nick McConnell had rushed for 111 yards on 13 carries in the first half before finally finding the end zone with 28 ticks in the second quarter. He finished the game with 181 yards on 17 rushes. Charles Curcio rushed for an additional 68 yards from the win, scoring one touchdown and setting up another. His score came on a 30-yard run.

Gettysburg outgained F&M 517-396, and went five-for-five in the red zone.

The Bullets marched 66 yards on five plays to score on their opening possession. F&M answered on its second possession, a five-play, 37-yard drive finished by Mark Mellinger's second rushing touchdown of the season making it 7-7. It was all Gettysburg from there.

Ryan Murray led F&M's offense with 74 yards on 10 carries. George Eager caught five passes for 64 yards and a second half touchdown. It was the second of Jeff Hogan's two touchdown passes in the second half. He had hit Alan Williams for the first touchdown on both ends of the equation from 19-yards out late in the third quarter.

The Diplomats close the 2007 season at 4-6, with a 3-5 mark in league play.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Friday News and Notes

The following was taken from The Centennial Conference Friday Tailgate:

Franklin & Marshall at Gettysburg
Video: Yes. Audio: godiplomats.com. Live Stats: Yes.

It's the 94th renewal of the second-oldest series in the Conference between the Diplomats and the Bullets ... F&M holds a slim 44-42-7 all-time edge, winning five of the last six meetings ... Diplomat QB John Harrison's 14 TD passes on the season ties a Centennial single-season mark for freshmen ... WR Jarrell Diggs snared a 55-yard scoring pass vs. Hopkins for his fifth touchdown of the season, along with two passing scores ... RB John Kaschak leads all Centennial rookies with 564 rushing yards ... the Diplomats have lost just two fumbles this season ... Gettysburg won its fourth game in its last five starts with a 38-9 win at McDaniel, spoiling the Terror's Homecoming Weekend ... QB Matt Flynn went over the 2,000 passing-yard mark for the season (2,054) ... PK Josh Huson's 47-yard field goal vs. McDaniel was his third kick of 40 or more yards in his career and was a yard shy of his own school-record boot ... a victory would give would Gettysburg its third straight non-losing campaign for the first time since 1993-94-95 ... a win would give Franklin & Marshall just its second non-losing campaign since 1996.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Franklin & Marshall (4-5, 3-4 CC) at Gettysburg (4-5, 4-3 CC)

From the F&M Website:

Franklin & Marshall (4-5, 3-4 CC) at Gettysburg (4-5, 4-3 CC)
Nov 15, 2008

Today’s Game: Franklin & Marshall (4-5, 3-4 CC) at Gettysburg (4-5, 4-3 CC)Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium Gettysburg, Pa. 1:00 p.m.

Free Live Audio: On B2 Networks
Live Video: From Gettysburg
Live Stats: From Gettysburg

Additional F&M Content in PDF
Centennial Conference Notes
LancasterOnline Preview

On the Line: Both teams are playing to get to .500. The Diplomats are looking for their first .500 season since 2004 and second in the new millennium. The Bullets are looking to avoid their first losing season since 2005. F&M’s head coach, John Troxell is trying to close the season with a .500 career mark in league games, while Barry Streeter is trying to avoid dipping below .500.

Series History: Today’s game marks the 94th meeting between Gettysburg and Franklin & Marshall in a series that began with a 68-0 Franklin & Marshall win in 1890. The game was played on Thanksgiving Day for the better portion of the early part of the 20th century. The Diplomats hold a tenuous lead on the series with a 44-42-7 edge.

The bulk of the series has been played out in Lancaster, with 68 of the 93 games on the books having been settled on the Sponaugle-Williamson gridiron. F&M holds a 36-27-5 lead in those games, and has taken the past two meetings at home. The most recent tie came in 1985, when the squads finished the day without changing the scoreboard. It was the third scoreless tie in the series. Neither team mustered a point in the 1920 or 1921 clashes. All told, there have been 30 shutouts in the series (33 if you count the scoreless ties twice). Gettysburg was the victor in 16 of the shutouts, while F&M has won 11 without surrendering a point. The series has also seen an anomalous 4-4 tie coming in the 1893 meeting.

The Coaches: John Troxell is in his third season as the head coach at Franklin & Marshall College. He has posted an 11-8 (11-12 CC) record in his rebuilding campaign. The Diplomats’ mentor has coached eight All-Centennial Conference players during his first two seasons. Named the 39th coach in F&M football history on March 22, 2006, Troxell took the reins of the Diplomats following five seasons as an assistant coach at Lafayette. His squad won the Patriot League in 2005.

Barry Streeter returns for his 30th season as the head football coach at Gettysburg College in 2008. Streeter is not only the winningest coach in program history, but he is also the longest tenured coach having passed the legendary Henry “Hen” Bream (1927-51) on both counts. In addition, Streeter became the all-time winningest coach in Centennial Conference history with a 27-20 win over Moravian College on Oct. 6, 2007, giving him 78 Centennial victories. He is 157-147-5 (84-84-3 CC)

The Last Meeting: Sophomore running back Ryan Murray rushed for four of his five touchdowns in the fourth quarter, when Franklin & Marshall outscored Gettysburg 28-7 as the Diplomats defeated the Bullets in a 56-38 Centennial Conference shootout at Sponaugle-Williamson Field.

Trailing 31-28 heading into the final quarter, F&M (4-6, 4-4 CC) went ahead for good on Murray's third TD, of the game, a soaring 1-yard dive with 7:49 left that made it 42-38. Murray rumbled for a school record 240-yards, marking the second time in three games he surpassed the 200-yard plateau, and third-straight game he has rushed for 100-or more yards. That coincides with Franklin & Marshall's three-game winning streak to close the season.

Murray became the first Diplomat to rush for more than three touchdowns in a game in the program's history. His fifth touchdown tied a pair of 56-year old records for Touchdowns Responsible For and Points Scored in a Game (30). Wally Witmer has maintained sole ownership of those records since he threw for five touchdown passes against Johns Hopkins back in the 1951 meeting.

The game featured 1,023 total yards of offense, with the Diplomats out-gaining Gettysburg 544-479. The 544 yards mark the third highest game of offensive production in F&M history, while the 56 points mark the most scored since F&M's 59-13 win over Georgetown in 1984.Gettysburg Last Week: Gettysburg forced four McDaniel turnovers and the Bullets outscored the Green Terror 28-3 in the second half to pull away for a 38-9 Centennial Conference victory at Scott S. Bair Stadium.

Gettysburg (4-5, 4-3 CC), which out-gained McDaniel 374-183, broke the game open by scoring 21 unanswered points over an eight-minute span at the start of the second half, converting off a pair interceptions and a partially-blocked punt.

Senior tailback Nick McConnell led Gettysburg with 99 yards rushing and two touchdowns on just 12 carries while sophomore tailback Jamel Mutunga added 74 yards on 14 attempts. Junior quarterback Matt Flynn completed 11 of 21 passes for 96 yards and two touchdowns and now finds himself one passing yard shy of the career school record of 5,039 held by Dennis Flaherty ’01.

Gettysburg’s defense held McDaniel (2-7, 1-6 CC) to 33 yards rushing and three Jay Leonard field goals, marking the first time the Bullets did not allow a touchdown since their 10-3 victory over Muhlenberg in 2005. Senior defensive tackle Anthony Pastore led the way with seven tackles, a career-high 2.0 sacks, and one interception while junior linebacker Tim Widdoes dealt six hits. Senior defensive end Josh Jerrold contributed 2.5 tackles for loss while sophomore cornerback John Dickerson had a pair of pass breakups in the end zone to go with an interception. Sophomore cornerback Tairi Mobley added three pass breakups.

F&M Last Week: A.J. Albert intercepted John Harrison’s two point conversion pass in the waning moments of the fourth quarter to seal a 26-25 Johns Hopkins win over Franklin & Marshall in Centennial Conference (CC) football action on Saturday. The Diplomats (4-5, 3-4 CC) gambled in playing for the win and lost, however, they recovered the onsides kick with 27 seconds left in the game for another crack. With F&M working without the aid of any timeouts, Hopkins (7-2, 5-2 CC) closed the door on the Diplomats after three plays, tackling Ryan Murray on the Jay’s 41-yardline leading to the expiration of the clock.

Hopkins never trailed during the contest, getting on the board late in the first quarter when Andrew Kase plunged in from a yard out for the first of his two touchdowns in the game. The back rushed for 85 yards on 22 carries. His third score from two-yards out marked the first time this season an opponent scored on Sponaugle-Williamson Field. It also gave Hopkins a 20-13 lead.

F&M responded quickly with backup quarterback Mark Mellinger, who went in on a designed run from 14 yards out. The Diplomats went for two but failed to convert on a Harrison to Jay Ridinger pass under the goalposts, keeping it 20-19 in favor of the Jays. Hopkins answered right back, with Tucker Michaels catching a six-yard pass from Tyler Porco, but the Jays missed the extra-point, keeping F&M within a score. It was Michels’ second touchdown of the game. He went in from 48 yards out on a pass Hewitt Tomlin early in the second quarter.

The Diplomats methodically marched 80-yards on 17 plays, chewing up 8:28 of the 8:55 that remained after Michel’s score before Harrison found Ridinger on a similar play to the first failed two point conversion, setting up the second ill-fated try for two.

On that play, Harrison had plenty time but no receivers in his sight. He dipped into Ridinger’s well once more, but Albert stepped in front of the forced desperation pass to decide the game.Harrison threw for 207 yards and three touchdowns, including a 55-yard toss to Jarrell Diggs that tied the game at 7-7 early in the second quarter. The freshman went 23-34 on the day. Matt Jenschke caught a seven-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter to knot it at 13-13. Hopkins’ Glenn Rocca blocked the PAT attempt. Harrsion threw another touchdown pass to Alan Williams’ who scored from 34-yards out, only to see it called back on a holding flag.

Penalties were a problem for both teams with the Diplomats being set back 62 yards on seven flags. The Jays lost 77 yards on six penalties, however four were personal fouls resulting in automatic first downs, including a critical penalty that turned a fourth and nine sack into a Diplomats first down on F&M’s final scoring drive.

The Jays worked three sacks in the game, piling up 18 yards of losses for F&M. Kale Sweeney was responsible for two-thirds of the sacks, amongst his three tackles for losses of 13 yards. He had 10 total tackles and a pass breakup in the game. Chris Baldwin led all tacklers with 11 stops (seven solo). Shane Gray led all F&M tacklers with eight tackles, four of which were solo.Tomlin threw for 210 yards and a score on 14 completions in his 24 attempts. Michels caught eight passes for 133 yards and his pair of scores for JHU.

They’ve Got a Pastore at Tackle Too: Senior defensive tackle Anthony Pastore of Gettysburg is the reigning Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week.

Pastore earned his first collegiate player-of-the-week honor for his efforts in Gettysburg’s 38-9 Centennial Conference victory at McDaniel College on Saturday. He posted a team-leading seven tackles, a career-high 2.0 sacks, and made his first collegiate interception, which led to a touchdown. Pastore helped the Bullets limit McDaniel to 183 total yards and 33 rushing yards.For the season, Pastore, who missed the team’s first three games with an injury, ranks 11th on the team with 21 tackles, including 4.0 for loss, and 3.0 sacks.

Chasing Quarterbacks: F&M freshman quarterback, John Harrison, will be trying to outpace with Matt Flynn in more ways than one on Saturday. Harrison is tied with Flynn for the Conference record for touchdowns thrown by a freshman (14), and needs 219 yards to move ahead of Flynn into third for passing yards by a freshman.

Eight is Enough: John Harrison connected with eight different receivers last week, tying for the most distributive game of his young career. He hit eight against Ursinus and spread it to seven receivers in three other games. His three touchdown throws matched his season-high as well.

On the Receiving End: Jarrell Diggs’ 55-yard touchdown reception from John Harrison was the longest touchdown of the season thrown by an F&M quarterback. Diggs had thrown the season’s two longest passes of 67 and 65-yards, both to George Eager. His 55-yard trip into the end zone during the Hopkins loss left the freshman receiver with an equal number of touchdown passes caught as thrown. He has also rushed for a pair and returned a punt for a touchdown.

First Downs: F&M posted 23 first downs against Johns Hopkins, matching the season-high posted against Ursinus.

Career Charts: George Eager is currently tied with Paul Sousa for 11th in career receiving yards with 1,339. He needs 51 yards to pass Corby Lucas for thenth and has a realistic shot at moving into eighth needing 109 yards…. Jeff Kellar sits 15th in interception return yards with 107. Only 17 fummers have passed the 100-yard mark in their career. Three yards would give him sole possession of 14th on the list, while 31 would break him into the top ten. He is 20th in interceptions, needing just one to make his way into the top 15. A return for a touchdown would give Kellar sole ownership of the career interceptions returned for touchdown mark at F&M… Five tackles separate James Gregory and Zach Romash, with Gregory needing a pair to jump ahead of Chuck Young for 18th on the career list. Gregory’s first solo tackles t

Troxell’s Takes…

Final Thoughts on Hopkins…
“Obviously they were a good team. We have preached ball security all season long, but we lost the turnover battle. We also had some costly penalties. To beat a good football team you need to play 60 minutes of good football.”

On Going for Two…
“I thought it gave us the best opportunity to win. We had a much better chance to win it than to go into overtime. I wanted to leave the outcome in the hands of the kids who worked to give us the opportunity.”

On Mellinger…
“Mellinger did a real nice job with a package of plays. He is going to be a real good football player. The offense did a good job responding throughout, the eight-minute drive was huge.”

Podcast: Gettysburg’s Nick McConnell

The following Podcast is taken from the Lancaster Newspapers Website:

Podcast: Gettysburg’s Nick McConnell

November 13th, 2008 1:07 pm

Former Cedar Crest standout previews Saturday’s game against F&M

Franklin & Marshall will cap its football season on Saturday with a road trip to rival Gettysburg.

The winner will walk away with a .500 record for the season; the loser will finish 4-6 overall.

Gettysburg senior running back Nick McConnell will surely be a factor in the game, and will be a player F&M’s defense will most definitely need to be aware of.

The 2005 Cedar Crest grad splits time as the Bullets’ feature back. He has carried 104 times for 504 yards (second-most on the team) and he’s scored eight touchdowns (most on the team).

The former Falcons’ standout has enjoyed a solid senior season, just one season after a knee injury that cost him a good chunk of the 2007 season.

But McConnell, who was part of a two-man, 1000-yard backfield at Cedar Crest with current IUP standout Tobias Robinson, spent the off-season rehabbing, and returned with a vengeance for his senior season.

McConnell will also be honored on Senior Day, when Gettysburg (4-3 Centennial Conference, 4-5 overall) hosts F&M (3-4 Centennial Conference, 4-5 overall) on Saturday at 1 p.m.

I chatted with McConnell about his career at Gettysburg, about overcoming a pretty bad knee injury, about his days at Cedar Crest, and about this week’s big rivalry game against F&M.

You can listen to the interview by clicking here.

You can also download the Podcast and play it on your favorite mp3 device by clicking here.

And for plenty more on the Gettysburg-F&M game, please be sure to follow these links:

Franklin & Marshall football page

Gettysburg football page

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Huson Named to D3football.com Team of the Week

Also from the Gettysburg College Website:

Huson Named to D3football.com Team of the Week

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Senior kicker Josh Huson (McLean, Va./McLean) has been named to the D3football.com national Team of the Week following an outstanding game in Gettysburg’s 38-9 win at McDaniel College this past Saturday. Huson had a perfect day kicking for the Bullets. He went 5-for-5 on extra points and booted a 47-yard field goal, one yard shy of the school record that he tied in 2005. His three-pointer came on the last play of the first half and gave his team a 10-6 lead. For the season, Huson is the team’s second-leading scorer, racking up 47 points on 32 extra points and five field goals. The Bullets (4-5, 4-3 CC) close out their season on Saturday, when they host Franklin & Marshall College at 1 p.m.

Bullets to Host F&M in Season Finale

From the Gettysburg College Website:

Football to Host F&M in Season Finale

Comlete Game Notes

The Game
Looking to close out the season with a win, Gettysburg (4-5, 4-3 CC) takes on Franklin & Marshall College (4-5, 3-4 CC) in a Centennial Conference showdown. With a victory, the Bullets would clinch a third straight season with at least a .500 record.

Game Coverage
Saturday's game will be streamed live on a pay-per-view basis at http://www.gettysburgsports.com/member/bridge.asp?url=/member/aa_signup.aspx, with Josh Scheinblum '10 calling the action and Curtis Lafferty '10 providing color commentary.

Senior Day
Before the start of the game, Gettysburg’s 14 seniors will be honored in a brief ceremony.

Series Notes
F&M holds a 44-42-7 lead in the second-oldest series in the Centennial Conference. The two teams have met in their regular season finale every year since 1983, with the Diplomats winning five of the last six meetings.

Home Sweet Home
The Bullets will be playing their first home game in five weeks after their four-week, three-game road trip during which they went 2-1. Gettysburg's last home game was a 48-41 win over Moravian on Oct. 11.

Last Time Out
Gettysburg forced four McDaniel turnovers and the Bullets outscored the Green Terror 28-3 in the second half to pull away for a 38-9 victory in Westminster, Md. last Saturday. Gettysburg, which out-gained McDaniel 374-183, broke the game open by scoring 21 unanswered points over an eight-minute span at the start of the second half, converting off a pair interceptions and a partially-blocked punt. Senior tailback Nick McConnell led Gettysburg with 99 yards rushing and two touchdowns on just 12 carries while sophomore tailback Jamel Mutunga added 74 yards on 14 attempts. Gettysburg’s defense held McDaniel to 33 yards rushing and three Jay Leonard field goals. Senior defensive tackle Anthony Pastore led the way with seven tackles, a career-high 2.0 sacks, and one interception while junior linebacker Tim Widdoes dealt six hits. Senior defensive end Josh Jerrold contributed 2.5 tackles for loss while sophomore cornerback John Dickerson had a pair of pass breakups in the end zone to go with an interception. Sophomore cornerback Tairi Mobley added three pass breakups.

John Harrison had his potential game-winning two-point conversion pass intercepted with 29 seconds left and F&M dropped a heartbreaking 26-25 decision in their home finale to Johns Hopkins last Saturday in Lancaster. Before the Diplomats went for the win, Harrison had completed a 2-yard touchdown pass to Jay Ridinger, his third TD strike of the game. F&M did manage to recover an ensuing onside kick, but the clock ran out with the Dips stuck on the Hopkins-41 after running three plays. In an extremely tight game, F&M never led but never trailed by more than seven points. Harrison finished with 207 yards on 23-of-34 passing while junior receiver George Eager and freshman tailback Alan Williams made five catches apiece. Sophomore linebacker Shane Gray made eight tackles to lead F&M defensively.

Last Season’s Game
Ryan Murray rushed for four of his five touchdowns in the fourth quarter, when Franklin & Marshall outscored Gettysburg 28-7 as the Diplomats defeated the Bullets 56-38 in a shootout in Lancaster. The game featured a combined 1,023 yards, with the Dips out-gaining the Bullets 544-479. Trailing 31-28 heading into the final quarter, F&M went ahead for good on Murray’s third TD of the game, a soaring 1-yard dive with 7:49 left that made it 42-38. The Diplomats scored two more times to win going away. Murray finished with 240 yards on 40 carries and scored F&M’s final five touchdowns. Kyle Turner passed for 290 yards for the Dips, who had a pair of 100-yard receivers. George Eager caught 10 passes for 137 yards while Jay Ridinger had five receptions for 110 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Jamel Mutunga rushed for 114 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries for Gettysburg while Matt Flynn threw for 260 yards and one touchdown. Receiver Brian Betley caught three passes for 98 yards and a touchdown.

With Honors
Pastore was honored for his performance against McDaniel, earning Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week accolades. It was the first collegiate player-of-the-week honor for Pastore, who became the fourth player to earn POW recognition this season.

Record Setter
Junior quarterback Matt Flynn has broken a pair of career school records this season and is on the verge of setting two more. He has established Gettysburg records for career touchdown passes (36) and total offense (5,880) and needs just two more passing yards to break Dennis Flaherty’s ’01 career mark of 5,136. He is also 14 completions shy of Flaherty’s school record of 386.

2nd to 2K
Flynn exceeded 2,000 passing yards for the season against McDaniel on Saturday, becoming just the second player in school history to reach the milestone. He joins Flaherty, who threw for a school-record 2,095 yards in 2000. Flynn now has 2,054 passing yards for the season.

Defending Their Turf
Gettysburg did not allow a touchdown in its victory over McDaniel on Saturday, the first time that occurred since the Bullets’ 10-3 win over Muhlenberg on Oct. 29, 2005. Highlighting the defensive effort was the team’s goal-line stand late in the first half, when Gettysburg held McDaniel to a field goal after the Green Terror had a first-and-goal from the 1-yard line.

Closing in on 200
With two more points, senior Josh Huson can become just the second kicker in school history and the third in Centennial Conference history to reach the 200 milestone for his career.

Scouting Gettysburg
The Bullets have enjoyed a fine offensive season and lead the conference in passing (237.4 ypg) while ranking second in scoring offense (30.6 ppg) and total offense (429.4 ypg). Flynn, who has tossed 12 touchdowns while completing 57.4% of his passes, leads the conference in passing (228.2 ypg) and is second in total offense (252.2 ypg). Four different players have caught 20 or more passes, including junior wing Ricky Manigat (32 rec., 357 yds., one TD), sophomore wing Charles Curcio (31 rec., 367 yds, three TDs), sophomore receiver Gavin Jablonski (30 rec., 445 yds), and sophomore receiver Brian Betley (20 rec., 375 yds., three TDs). The running game is led by the duo of sophomore Jamel Mutunga (Bel Air, Md./Bel Air) and senior Nick McConnell, who have teamed up for 1,188 yards rushing. Mutunga, averaging 72.9 yards per game, has scored five touchdowns while McConnell, who has posted 56.0 yards per game, has scored a team-leading eight touchdowns. Defensively, senior linebacker Terence Hartigan leads the team with 71 tackles while junior linebacker Tim Widdoes has made 67 hits. Senior defensive end Josh Jerrold has posted an outstanding season, leading the conference in both sacks (8.5) and tackles for loss (14.). Curcio has also excelled on special teams as the squad’s primary return specialist and ranks fifth in the conference in all-purpose yards (139.7 ypg). Huson, who ranks second on the team with 47 points, has connected on 32-of-36 extra points and has booted five field goals.

Gettysburg is coached by Barry Streeter, now 151-147-5 in his 30th season with the Bullets. He is the all-time winningest coach in Centennial Conference history (84 victories) and is 11th among active Division III coaches in career wins.

Scouting Franklin & Marshall
The Diplomats, who are looking for their first road victory this season, have been led by their stout defensive unit that leads the Centennial Conference in scoring defense (14.1 ppg) and pass defense (140.0 ypg) and ranks second in total defense (266.8). Senior linebacker Zach Romash has led the way with 76 tackles, including 7.5 for loss, while senior linebacker James Gregory is close behind with 74 tackles, 3.0 sacks, and two interceptions while junior safety Jeff Kellar leads the team with three picks. F&M has relied heavily on its passing game to score points, as the Dips have scored over twice as many touchdowns through the air (16) as they have on the ground (seven). Freshman quarterback John Harrison has thrown for 1,328 yards and all 14 of the team’s touchdowns while junior receiver George Eager has caught 46 passes for 573 yards and five TDs. Eager has also excelled as the team’s primary kick returner and leads the conference with his 33.8-yard average. Sophomore receiver Jay Ridinger has added 24 receptions for 222 yards and three scores. A freshman also handles the team’s rushing chores, as rookie John Kaschak has run for 564 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman Jarrell Diggs has provided the team with a spark on special teams and leads the conference in punt return average (11.9 ypr). F&M has attempted just five field goals this season and its season-long is a 21-yarder.

The Diplomats are coached by John Troxell, who is 11-18 in his third year at the helm. He came to F&M via Lafayette College, where he served as video coordinator, running backs coach, recruiting coordinator and special teams coach for the 2004 and 2005 Patriot League champion Leopards.from 1982-85.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

F&M Week

Well, it's hard to believe the football season will be coming to a close this weekend. Here's the F&M season preview that was published in the D3Football.com Kick-off Edition:

Franklin and Marshall Diplomats

Last playoff appearance: 2005
Last year: 4-6, 4-4 CC
Last conference title: 1995
2007 NCAA ranking, total offense: 122
2007 NCAA ranking, total defense: 113
Wins increase from 06-07: Plus-1
Preseason ranking: 114 of 239
Players who started camp: 75
Head coach: John Troxell, third year, 7-13
Starters returning: 20 (nine offense, nine defense, two specialists)

Position battle to watch: Quarterback. Each one of them is either a freshman or a sophomore and none have seen significant minutes. Soph Jeff Hogan enters camp as the starter, and coach John Troxell likes Hogan's size (6-foot-2, 215 pounds) and arm strength. But he will be pushed by several freshmen, including John Harris and Mark Mellinger, who spent most of his high school career behind the highly-touted Pat Bostick, now a sophomore at Pitt.

Pressure is on: The backfield. Besides the noted inexperience at quarterback, multiple starters return at wideout and on the offensive line. Troxell linked his team's success late in 2007 to a more balanced offense. Ryan Murray ran for 100+ yards in each of those games. He'll be joined by freshmen Allan Williams and John Kaschak, both accomplished high school players. All three will need to contribute to keep F&M balanced.

Where did he come from? Nose guard Powis Forjoe is originally from Ghana's capital city, Accra, and never played football until his sophomore year, Troxell's first as head coach. A 3.8 GPA student, he picked up the game quickly. Now, the 6-foot, 270-pound senior is the favorite to be the Diplomats' starter.

Their season will be defined by: The conference opener against Dickinson for the Conestoga Wagon. Against Dickinson, which has gone 17-5 in the past two seasons, F&M will use the game as a measure of its progress.

Predicted record: 4-6, 3-5

Capsule: With several starters returning on both sides of the ball -- and about half of them seniors -- this could be the start of a season in which the Diplomats take a step forward in the Centennial. They certainly have the momentum. After losing six of their first seven games in 2007, F&M won its final three, beating McDaniel, Johns Hopkins and Gettysburg. Running back Ryan Murray will be a key cog to the offense. Though he was fourth in the league in rushing, the Diplomats were more successful through the air. But the biggest question mark on that side of the ball is who will replace Kyle Turner at quarterback. Defensively, James Gregory -- an all-conference second-teamer in 2007 -- returns to lead the linebacking crew, which returns intact. Andrew Rocks, who had five sacks a year ago, is one of two returners along the defensive line. But the Diplomats, in the middle of the pack in many statistical categories, will need to cut down on penalties: They were last in the league in that category, racking up more than 50 penalty yards per game.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Conference News and Notes

Congratulations again to Anthony Pastore, this week's Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week!

Also, congratulations to Nick McConnell and Josh Huson for making the Conference Honor Roll for their contributions to Saturday's win over McDaniel!

You can read more about this as well as a preview of Saturday's game against F&M in this week's Centennial Conference Weekly Release.

Sunday, November 09, 2008

Pastore Named CC Defensive Player of the Week

From the Gettysburg College Website:

Pastore Named CC Defensive Player of the Week

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Senior defensive tackle Anthony Pastore (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) of the Gettysburg College football team has been named the Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week, it was announced Sunday. Pastore earned his first collegiate player-of-the-week honor for his efforts in Gettysburg’s 38-9 Centennial Conference victory at McDaniel College on Saturday. He posted a team-leading seven tackles, a career-high 2.0 sacks, and made his first collegiate interception, which led to a touchdown. Pastore helped the Bullets limit McDaniel to 183 total yards and 33 rushing yards.For the season, Pastore, who missed the team’s first three games with an injury, ranks 11th on the team with 21 tackles, including 4.0 for loss, and 3.0 sacks. Gettysburg (4-5, 4-3 CC) concludes its season on Saturday, when it hosts Franklin & Marshall College at 1 p.m. on Senior Day.

Sunday Morning News

From the Carroll County Times:

Mistakes catch up to McDaniel football in loss
By Josh Land, Times Staff Writer

The McDaniel defense had been stifling. The offense had been threatening. And then everything changed once the third quarter began.

Turnovers, bad decisions and a defense that could no longer hold on against the league’s best offense turned a promising homecoming game into a 38-9 Gettysburg rout on Saturday at Scott S. Bair Stadium.

The Green Terror (2-7, 1-6 Centennial Conference) were outscored 21-3 and outgained 124-44 in the third quarter alone after trailing just 10-6 at halftime. McDaniel committed three turnovers in the decisive quarter and the Bullets (4-5, 4-3) scored 14 points off the giveaways to send the home team to its fifth loss in a row.

“The harder and harder we fought, the more and more we sunk,” McDaniel linebacker Mike Weick said. “It comes down to the fact that one thing happens and we just hit a landslide. Good teams don’t let that happen.”

A few players said the loss was reminiscent of a game two weeks earlier when the Terror led entering the fourth quarter but blew it with a series of miscues.

“It was Ursinus all over again,” cornerback Travis Wenrich said. “It was just bad things — fumble, interception, punt blocked.”

Not just one of those things occurred. Not just two. But all did during Saturday’s third quarter.

Junior Aaron Slaughter fumbled the opening kickoff of the second half when he took an awkward leap to receive the kick, but ended up batting it forward. It was recovered by Gettysburg on the Terror 26-yard line and Bullets tailback Nick McConnell scored five plays later on a 1-yard touchdown run.

McDaniel went three and out on its second possession of the quarter and punted. Wenrich intercepted his fourth pass of the year to end the subsequent Bullets drive.

But Terror quarterback Tom Massucci threw the first of his three interceptions on the very next play when his pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage and picked off by defensive tackle Anthony Pastore.

Gettysburg started the ensuing possession on the McDaniel 42 and scored three plays later on a Ricky Manigat 33-yard run down the visiting sideline.

The Terror went three and out again the next drive. On fourth down, Wenrich had his punt blocked, it traveled just three yards and Gettysburg again started in McDaniel territory — at the 37.

Quarterback Matt Flynn made it 31-6 on the third play of the possession, a broken play he turned into a 21-yard touchdown pass following several moments of scrambling sideline to sideline.

The Terror turned it over one last time on a Massucci interception the next possession. But they got the ball back on downs and followed with their final points of the day on a Jay Leonard 32-yard field goal set up by a 49-yard pass to Pat McCarrick.

Before that scoring drive, McDaniel’s first five possessions of the quarter ended in lost fumble, punt, interception, blocked punt and interception.

With those mistakes burying the Terror, junior receiver and captain Matt Cahill said the emotions on the sideline began sinking as if some players reacted, “Oh no, not again.”

“I try to keep people up because I know as soon as you go down, especially early in the second half, that you’re done,” Cahill said. “For the most part, guys stayed up. We just weren’t making plays on offense to help out the ‘D.’”

To coach Tim Keating, the loss boiled down to a poor start to the second half.

“We can’t fumble. We can’t throw an interception. We can’t get a kick blocked,” he said. “That just stunk.”

Saturday, November 08, 2008

Big Second Half Lifts Bullets Over McDaniel, 38-9

From the Gettysburg College Website:

Big Second Half Lifts Bullets Over McDaniel, 38-9

Box Score

WESTMINSTER, Md. – Gettysburg forced four McDaniel turnovers and the Bullets outscored the Green Terror 34-3 in the second half to pull away for a 38-9 Centennial Conference victory at Scott S. Bair Stadium.

Gettysburg (4-5, 4-3 CC), which out-gained McDaniel 374-183, broke the game open by scoring 21 unanswered points over an eight-minute span at the start of the second half, converting off a pair interceptions and a partially-blocked punt.

Senior tailback Nick McConnell (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) led Gettysburg with 99 yards rushing and two touchdowns on just 12 carries while sophomore tailback Jamel Mutnga (Bel Air, Md./Bel Air) added 74 yards on 14 attempts. Junior quarterback Matt Flynn (Northfield, N.J./Bel Air) completed 11 of 21 passes for 96 yards and two touchdowns and now finds himself one passing yard shy of the career school record of 5,039 held by Dennis Flaherty ’01.

Gettysburg’s defense held McDaniel (2-7, 1-6 CC) to 33 yards rushing and three Jay Leonard field goals, marking the first time the Bullets did not allow a touchdown since their 10-3 victory over Muhlenberg in 2005. Senior defensive tackle Anthony Pastore (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) led the way with seven tackles, a career-high 2.0 sacks, and one interception while junior linebacker Tim Widdoes (Newark, Del./St. Mark’s) dealt six hits. Senior defensive end Josh Jerrold (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury East) contributed 2.5 tackles for loss while sophomore cornerback John Dickerson (Northfield, N.J./Mainland Regional) had a pair of pass breakups in the end zone to go with an interception. Sophomore tailback Tairi Mobley (Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown) broke up three passes and had a key fumble recovery.

Freshman Thomas Massucci, making his first collegiate start, threw for 150 yards for McDaniel on 14-of-33 passing but was intercepted three times.

Senior kicker Josh Huson (McLean, Va./McLean) had a perfect day for the Bullets, going 5-for-5 on extra-point attempts and drilling a 47-yard field goal.

The Bullets assumed an early 7-0 led after marching 54 yards on the game’s opening drive. Junior A.J. Helm (Atco, N.J./Hammonton) fielded a short opening kickoff and took it 24 yards to the Bullet-46. The drive was keyed by a first-down pass completion from Flynn to sophomore Gavin Jablonski (Allenwood, N.J./Wall) to the McDaniel-36 on third-and-six. After four straight rushes, Flynn found senior tight end David Rodriguez (Fort Belvoir, Va./Bishop Ireton) crossing the end zone, hauling in a hard-thrown ball in tight coverage. Huson came on for the point-after with 11:06 on the clock.

It was tough sledding over the remainder of the half for Gettysburg’s offense, as it managed one first down on its next four drives, which all resulted in a punt. But the Bullet defense was also in high gear, holding the Green Terror to just a pair of field goals and coming up with an epic goal-line stand near the end of the half.

Leonard put McDaniel on the scoreboard with a 29-yard field goal on his team’s second drive of the game before the Bullets forced the Terror to punt on their next two possessions. After Gettysburg’s fourth punt, McDaniel took over at the Bullet-42 before embarking on a season-long 16-play, 56-yard drive that chewed up 8:40. A 6-yard pass from Massucci to Nick Guisti gave McDaniel a first-and-goal at the 1-yard line, but the Bullets stuffed the hosts on three straight rushes. Junior defensive lineman Sean Beirne (Ventnor, N.J./Atlantic City) made a stop just shy of the goal line on first down before sophomore safety Nick Duerr (Turnersville, N.J./Washington Township) made a hit on second down. Then on third down, Jerrold penetrated the line and drug down O’Hara for a loss of a yard on a pitch right. McDaniel then elected to attempt a field goal and Leonard drilled a 19-yarder to make it 7-6 with 1:11 remaining in the opening half.

Gettysburg went into the locker room with some momentum after Flynn drove the Bullets 47 yards in just 1:05 to put his team in field-goal range, setting up a 47-yarder from Huson on the final play of the half. Mutunga started the march with a 14-yard first-down run before Flynn made three first-down completions – a pair of 11-yarders to Jablonski, the second of which put Gettysburg at the McDaniel-30, and a 12-yarder to sophomore Brian Betley (Mt. Laurel, N.J./Lenape). After the second pass to Jablonski, Flynn threw a pair of incomplete passes before the Bullets elected to attempt the field goal, and Huson’s attempt just cleared the crossbar as he recorded the second-longest field goal of his career. It was his longest three-pointer since he tied the school record with a 48-yarder against McDaniel in 2005.

The Green Terror’s second-half miscues began immediately, as it fumbled the opening kickoff which Mobley pounced on at the McDaniel-26. Five plays later, McConnell bulled in from 1 yard out to make it 17-6 just 2:10 into the period.

Later in the quarter, Flynn was picked off on a scrambling sideline pass, but the Gettysburg-D responded on the very next play, as Jerrold batted a pass that Pastore came down with at the Green Terror-42. Three plays later, junior wing Ricky Manigat (Baldwin, N.Y./Baldwin) took a pitch left on a third-and-1 and sprinted 33 yards down the sideline, pushing the lead to 24-6 with 8:20 showing.

The Bullets held McDaniel to a three-and-out on the ensuing possession, and sophomore Ryan Quinlan (Manasquan, N.J./Wall) got a hand on the punt. The ball rolled dead at the Green Terror-47, and a 10-yard McDaniel illegal touching penalty moved it forward 10 yards. On the third play of the ensuing drive, Flynn scrambled out of trouble and, sprinting to his right, found Mutunga wide open at the 5-yard line. Mutunga waltzed into the end zone for a 21-yard scoring play, giving his first career touchdown reception as the Bullets lead ballooned to 31-6 with 5:41 left in the third quarter.

Leonard kicked his third field of the game 54 seconds before the end of the third quarter to make it 31-9 before McConnell took charge on the following drive. McConnell took the handoff four times and piled up 66 of the team’s 90 yards, including a 35-yard bust down the left sideline to set up Gettysburg at the McDaniel-44. He also broke off an 18-yarder before scoring from 12 yards out with 12:54 on the clock. Huson knocked through his fifth extra point of the game to set the final score.

Gettysburg plays its season finale next Saturday, when it hosts Franklin & Marshall College on Senior Day. The Centennial Conference match-up is set for 1 p.m.

From the McDaniel College Website:

Big third quarter carries Gettysburg to 38-9 victory over McDaniel

Box Score

WESTMINSTER, Md. – Nick McConnell ran for 99 of Gettysburg’s 267 rushing yards, adding two touchdowns to lead his squad to a 38-9 Centennial Conference (CC) football victory at McDaniel on Saturday.
Matt Flynn, who entered the game as the CC’s leading passer at 244.8 yards per game, was held to 96 yards through the air on 11-for-21 passing.
The Green Terror (2-7, 1-6 CC) pulled within 7-6 late in the second quarter but Josh Huson hit a 47-yard field goal as the first half came to an end and the Bullets (4-5, 4-3 CC) outgained McDaniel 249-67 in the second half, including a commanding 124-44 in the third quarter.
Thomas Massucci (Tablernacle, N.J./Seneca), making his first collegiate start, hit on 14 of his 33 attempts for 150 yards with three interceptions but became the first Green Terror quarterback this season to play every down in a game.
Behind 24 of Jamel Mutunga’s 79 rushing yards and starting field position at its own 46, Gettysburg used eight plays and 3:54 to take its opening possession to the end zone for a 7-0 lead. Flynn capped the drive with an 11-yard pass to David Rodriguez.
After the two teams traded punts, Travis Wenrich (Wernersville, Pa./Conrad Weiser) took the Rob Pennella punt at the Bullet 42 and returned it 30 yards to the 12-yard line.
Massucci on a pair of receivers on the ensuing possession but both were ruled out of bounds when the made the catch, forcing the Green Terror to settle for a 29-yard Jay Leonard (Westminster, Md./Westminster) field goal to trim the deficit to 7-3 with 6:18 remaining in the opening quarter.
Five punts on the next five combined possessions gave McDaniel the ball on its own 42 with 9:51 showing in the second quarter.
A mix of run and pass plays that netted no more than 12 yards on any snap contributed to an 16-play drive that consumed 8 minutes, 40 seconds – the longest the Green Terror had held the ball on any one possession all season, eclipsing the previous long of 6:40 at Catholic in Week 3.
With 4:01 on the game clock, McDaniel took a timeout facing third-and-5 at the Gettysburg 7. Out of the timeout, Massucci hit a diving Nick Giusti (Frederick, Md./Linganore) at the one-yard line to set up first-and-goal.
Three consecutive runs netted a loss of one yard, forcing a 19-yard Leonard field goal from the right hash to pull the hosts within 7-6 with 1:11 to play.
Taking over at its own 23 with 1:05 on the clock, Flynn amassed 48 of his passing yards to move the Bullets to the McDaniel 30, setting up first-and-10 with fewer than 10 ticks remaining.
After a pair of quick incomplete passes forced the Bullets – visiting Westminster on Homecoming for the second consecutive trip – to attempt a 47-yard field goal at the same end of the field they were beaten by a 48-yarder with 2.7 seconds remaining two years ago. Josh Huson did his best Leonard impression, splitting the uprights as time expired for the second longest field goal of his career. The senior’s long is a 48-yarder set against the Green Terror as a freshman.
McDaniel muffed the opening kickoff of the second half and the Bullets needed just five plays and 2:03 to cover the 26 yards, making it a 17-6 game.
A three-and-out gave the ball back to Gettysburg but Wenrich nabbed his fourth interception of the year.
An Anthony Pastore interception on the very next play off a Josh Jerrold tip gave the Bullets possession at the Green Terror 42.
After two Mutunga runs, Ricky Manigat broke off a 33-yarder down the far sideline to push the lead to 24-6 with 8:20 on the third quarter clock.
Ryan Quinlan blocked a Wenrich punt on the next McDaniel possession to give Gettysburg another short field.
Flynn scrambled left then right and found a Mutunga for a 21-yard score to cap the 1-minute, 20-second drive that covered 37 yards in three plays.
A 49-yard Massucci-to-Pat McCarrick (Myersville, Md./Middletown) connection on third-and-10 once again put the Green Terror inside the 10-yard line. McDaniel lost nine yards on three plays, settling for a third Leonard field goal. The 32-yarder pulled the hosts within 31-9 with 54.9 seconds showing.
McConnell accounted for 70 of the 90 yards on the ensuing Gettysburg possession, including a 12-yard rush for the score to set the final margin with 12:54 to play.
Terror took over with 2:30 to play.
Mike Weick (Holland, Pa./Penn Charter) reached double-figure tackles for the sixth consecutive game with 13 while Sam Cox (Towson, Md./Towson) and Paul Smith (Woodlawn, Md./Western Tech) each made 10 stops. Cox added a sack while Smith had two tackles for loss.
McDaniel concludes the season at Johns Hopkins on Saturday. Game time is 1 p.m.

Friday, November 07, 2008

Friday Afternoon News and Notes

It's getting closer to game day! Here's a few previews from around the web:

First some game notes from the McDaniel Website.

The following was taken from The Centennial Conference Friday Tailgate:

Gettysburg at McDaniel
Video: No. Audio: WTTR-AM 1470. Live Stats: Yes.

The Bullets and the Green Terror meet for the 62nd time in a series that began in 1891 ... Gettysburg holds a 44-16-1 advantage in this Route 97 rivalry ... the home team has won the last six meetings in the series ... the Bullets were idle last week ... QB Matt Flynn leads the Conference in total offense (270.5) … his fourth-quarter TD pass vs. Dickinson was the 34th of his career, breaking the school mark previously held by Dennis Flaherty '01 ... WB Charles Curcio is fourth in the CC in all-purpose yards (151.2 per game) … Gettysburg leads the Conference in passing and total offense and is second in scoring offense … the Bullets are last in the CC in red zone defense, allowing points on 83.3 percent of opponents' trips inside the 20 ... DE Josh Jerrold leads the Centennial in sacks (8.5) and tackles for loss (10.5) … Gettysburg is last in the CC in turnover margin (-7) ... McDaniel fell to 2-6 with a 20-0 loss at Franklin & Marshall, ensuring the Terror's third straight losing season - something that has not happened on The Hill since 1987-88-89 ... LB Mike Weick has five straight double-digit tackle games and leads the CC with 12.0 per game ... this weekend is Homecoming Weekend at McDaniel, who has a 52-22-1 record in front of the alums.

And the following was taken from the Harrisburg Patriot-News:

GETTYSBURG AT McDANIEL:
Gettysburg will be away from home for its final time this season when it visits McDaniel at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Bullets (3-5, 3-3) can still salvage a .500 season with a win at McDaniel (2-6, 1-5), then a home victory over Franklin & Marshall to close regular-season play. It's been a record season for Gettysburg junior quarterback Matt Flynn, who broke the school career mark for touchdown passes; his scoring strike to sophomore Brian Betley in the 29-16 loss at Dickinson was the 15th of his career. Flynn also holds the career total offense record with 5,136 yards and needs just 98 against McDaniel to break the 5,136-yard passing mark set by Dennis Flaherty seven years ago.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Bullets to Play Road Finale at McDaniel

From the Gettysburg College Website:

Gridders to Play Road Finale at McDaniel

Complete Game Notes

The Game
A fully-rested Gettysburg College (3-5, 3-3 CC) football team will finish up its four-week, three-game road trip on Saturday when it visits McDaniel College (2-6, 1-5 CC) during the Green Terror’s homecoming weekend. The Bullets, who were idle last week, will take on McDaniel in their first game back from their bye week for the sixth year in a row. They have gone 3-2 over that stretch.

Game Coverage
An audio broadcast of Saturday's game is available at http://www.mcdaniel.edu/athletics/pages/gtlive.shtm. The game can also be followed through live stats at http://www.mcdaniel.edu/athletics/stats/live/fb/xlive.htm.

Series Notes
Gettysburg leads McDaniel 44-16-1 in the all-time series that dates back to 1891. The two teams have swapped victories every year since 2003 and the home team has won the last six meetings.

Last Time Out
Dickinson outscored the Bullets 29-3 through the first 57 and a half minutes and the Red Devils earned a 29-16 Centennial Conference victory two weeks ago in the rain at Biddle Field. In a game that featured a combined seven turnovers, Dickinson (4-3, 3-2 CC) snapped Gettysburg’s three-game winning streak and claimed the Little Brown Bucket for the third year in a row. Sophomore tailback Jamel Mutunga rushed for 117 yards on 23 carries to lead the Bullets while junior quarterback Matt Flynn broke the school record for career touchdown passes with his 15-yard strike to sophomore Brian Betley with 2:23 left.

Franklin & Marshall jumped out to a 20-0 halftime lead, and it held up as the final score as McDaniel dropped a Centennial Conference decision in Lancaster. The Diplomats outgained the Green Terror by a 335-201 margin and held the visitors to 23 net yards rushing. Freshman Thomas Massucci completed 14 of 33 passes for 144 yards in his first significant action of the season for McDaniel while Matt Cahill caught four passes for 82 yards.

Record Setter
Junior quarterback Matt Flynn has broken a pair of all-time school records this season and is on the verge of setting two more. He has established Gettysburg records for career touchdown passes (34) and total offense (5,774) and needs just 98 passing yards to break Dennis Flaherty’s ’01 career mark of 5,136. He is also 25 completions shy of Flaherty’s school record of 386.

Last Season’s Game
Tom Sturges ’08 ran for a career-high 235 yards on 41 carries while Charles Curcio scored three touchdowns as the Bullets pulled away late to defeat McDaniel 38-14 in Gettysburg. The Bullets forced five turnovers and scored 24 points off McDaniel giveaways as Curcio, who finished with 133 all-purpose yards, scored on runs of 4 and 8 yards and on a 38-yard pass. The Bullets led by just a field goal (17-14) heading into the fourth quarter before Curcio scored his second touchdown of the day, hauling in a 38-yard pass with 11:37 left to make it 24-14. The Green Terror was still in it midway through the quarter before safety Brett Robinson picked off a pass at the Gettysburg-7, setting up a Curcio 8-yard touchdown run. Defensive lineman Sean Beirne clinched the victory with a 51-yard fumble recovery touchdown. Linebackers Tim Widdoes and Harold Barton ’08 led Gettysburg with 11 tackles apiece while Ryan Mellinger made 14 stops for the Green Terror.

Scouting Gettysburg
The Bullets have relied heavily on its offense this season and come into Saturday’s game leading the Centennial Conference in total offense (436.4 ypg) and pass offense (253.8 ypg). They are also second in scoring offense (29.6 ppg) and are fourth in rushing offense (182.7 ypg). Junior quarterback Matt Flynn, who ranks 19th nationally in total offense (270.5) has thrown for 1,958 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions while rushing for additional 206 yards and three TDs. Three different receivers have caught over 20 passes in junior wing Ricky Manigat (31 receptions, 351 yards, 1 TD), sophomore wing Charles Curcio (28 receptions, 353 yards, 3 TDs), and sophomore receiver Gavin Jablonski (27 receptions, 412 yards). Sophomore receiver Brian Betley has added 19 catches for 363 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore Jamel Mutunga and senior Nick McConnell have led the ground game, with Mutunga rushing for 577 yards and five touchdowns while McConnell has added 405 yards and six TDs. Defensively, senior defensive end Josh Jerrold has led the way with an outstanding season. Jerrold has racked up a conference-leading 8.5 sacks, a mark that is tied for 12th in Division III, and has made 11.5 tackles for loss. He is also second in the league lead with four forced fumbles. Senior linebacker Terence Hartigan is tops on the team in tackles (68) while junior linebacker Tim Widdoes and senior linebacker Dean Staley have added 61 and 57 hits, respectively. Sophomore defensive lineman Vincent Ferrante has made 3.5 sacks, and senior defensive end Conor Quinn has been responsible for 6.5 tackles for loss. The team’s primary return specialist, Curcio is averaging 151.2 all-purpose yards per game. He leads the team in scoring with seven touchdowns.

Scouting McDaniel
McDaniel has struggled to put points on the board this season and ranks eighth in the Centennial Conference in scoring offense (11.4 ppg) and ninth in total offense (223.1 ypg). The team’s ground game is led by TJ Develin, who has rushed for 463 yards and four touchdowns on 5.6 yards per carry. Eric Zwilsky has added 348 yards rushing and four touchdowns, but neither player is listed on the team’s depth chart. Sophomore Raymond O’Hara (70 yards) and junior Sean Urbany (19 yards) will get the start at running back. The Terror have used four different quarterback for the season and freshman Vinny Corona is listed as the starter for Saturday. Corona, who has started four of the team’s last six games, has thrown for 268 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions on 25-of-60 passing. Junior Matt Cahill is the team’s top receiver, hauling in 18 passes for 259 yards and one touchdown. Defensively, McDaniel has yielded a conference-worst 183.5 rushing yards per game. Junior linebacker Mike Weick leads the team with 51 tackles, including 7.0 for loss. Junior safety Aaron Slaughter has contributed 34 tackles while junior cornerback Travis Wenrich has enjoyed a fine season, making three interceptions and seven pass breakups. Sophomore defensive lineman Mike Ford is tops on the team in sacks with 3.5. Wenrich serves triple duty, handling the team’s punting and punt return duties. He ranks second in the conference in punt-return average (10.1).

McDaniel is coached by Tim Keating, who is 98-63-3 in his 16th season with the Green Terror. He directed his team to seven Centennial Conference crowns and five straight appearances in the NCAA playoffs between 1997 and 2001. He was named the Division III Coach of the Year by American Football Quarterly magazine in 1997 after his team went 10-1 and earned a NCAA playoff berth following a 4-6 season.

Monday, November 03, 2008

McDaniel Week!

Let's get back to playing some Bullets football! As we look forward to this season's final roadtrip to McDaniel I'll start by posting the McDaniel season preview as posted in the D3Football.com Kick-off edition as well as a link to this week's Centennial Conference Weekly Release.

McDaniel Green Terror

Last playoff appearance: 2001
Last year: 1-9, 1-7 CC
Last conference title: 2002
2007 NCAA ranking, total offense: 219
2007 NCAA ranking, total defense: 161
Wins increase from 06-07: Minus-3
Preseason ranking: 186 of 239
Players who started camp: 82
Head coach: Tim Keating, 15th year, 96-57-3, overall 122-80-3
Starters returning: 14 (seven offense, six defense, one specialists)

Position battle to watch: Quarterback. McDaniel lost both of its primary quarterbacks to graduation. Two juniors have the experience to replace Brad Baer and Tom Wenrich, but they will be pushed by incoming freshmen. Keating stressed that the competition will be wide open.

Pressure is on: Everyone. The Green Terror's one win in 2007 was the lowest mark since 1988. While McDaniel is still young and inexperienced, Keating hopes to see some of those youngsters develop and form a nucleus that can turn around the program.

Where did he come from? Quarterback Tom Massucci was a prospect during his junior year in South Jersey. But during the first game of his senior year, he broke his foot, ending his season. He fell off the radar and wound up with McDaniel. Keating said before the injury, Massucci may have been a scholarship player.

Their season will be defined by: The first game. McDaniel gets a new opening opponent, St. Vincent. The Bearcats' coach, Bob Colbert, was the offensive coordinator at Bridgewater, which had opened with McDaniel. Keating and Colbert are longtime friends and decided to play each other when St. Vincent had an opening on the schedule.

Predicted record: 2-8, 1-7

Capsule: Given the history of McDaniel football, it would seem that last season will be used as a rallying cry, one that this year's team will not want to repeat. While the biggest question will be at quarterback, many of the other skill players and much of the line returns, giving the Green Terror a solid foundation on which to build. If a better record is to come, however, those returners must have better production; McDaniel was last in the Centennial in total offense in 2006 -- by more than 50 yards. With six starters back, the defense is in better shape, though improvement would be helpful on that side of the ball as well.