Box Score

CARLISLE, Pa. - Antonio Tiberi scored on a three-yard run with 1:03 left in the game to give Dickinson a 29-28 come-from-behind win over Gettysburg in Centennial Conference (CC) football action on Saturday.

Tiberi's run and the ensuing extra point from senior kicker Rob Antanitis capped an 11-play, 56-yard drive that took 4 minutes, 5 seconds and brought the Red Devils (5-4, 4-2 CC) all the way back from a 28-16 fourth-quarter deficit. Tiberi also scored on a 22-yard run earlier in the quarter and carried 20 times for 135 of Dickinson's season-high 422 rushing yards on the afternoon.

The Red Devils locked up their seventh straight win over the Bullets (0-9, 0-6 CC) and retained possession the Little Brown Bucket trophy when Kevin Myers intercepted Gettysburg quarterback Dennis Flaherty's (Oreland, PA/Bishop McDevitt) third-and-8 desperation pass at the Dickinson 20 as time expired.

Red Devil quarterback Jeff Sturgeon led all runners with 20 carries for 168 yards and one touchdown while fullback Mike Smith rushed 14 times for 70 yards and one score.

Flaherty completed 13 of 22 passes for 234 yards and one touchdown, connecting on a career-long 90-yard pass-and-run with Pat Jordan (Bethesda, MD/Gonzaga College) to set up the Bullets' final score of the game. Jay Toscano (Seaville, NJ/Ocean City) carried 25 times for 95 yards and also caught four passes for 62 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown that gave the Bullets a 14-7 lead late in the first quarter.

Trailing 28-22 with under six minutes remaining, Dickinson's Robert Titchenell forced a Toscano fumble and Eric Sadowski recovered to set up the Red Devils up with a first-and-10 on their own 44 with 5:08 left.

Tiberi carried 11 yards on the first play of the next drive for a first-and-10 on the Gettysburg 45. From there, the sophomore tailback got the call on eight of the next 10 plays, rolling up 38 of the final 45 yards en route to the winning score.

After falling behind 28-16 on the first play of the fourth quarter, Dickinson cut the Bullet lead to six with a seven-play, 80-yard march in 2 minutes, 41 seconds. Tiberi scampered 22 yards off the left side to cap that drive and make it 28-22 Gettysburg with 7:40 remaining.

The Bullets, who were seeking their first win in Carlisle since 1986, used a pair of big plays to build its late-game lead. Following a 28-yard field goal by Antanitis that cut Gettysburg's lead to 14-10, Matt Diamond (Wayne, PA/Conestoga) returned the ensuing kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown to push the Bullet advantage to 21-10 with 10:03 left in the third quarter.

Dickinson answered with an eight-play, 67-yard drive in 3:49 capped by Sturgeon's 26-yard touchdown run that made it 21-16 following a failed two-point conversion attempt.

Later in the third, Gettysburg cornerback Mark Johnson (Corona, CA/Acad. New Church Boys School [PA]) picked off a Sturgeon pass at the Bullet 4 and Flaherty connected with Jordan on second-and-8 from the Gettysburg 6 on a 90-yard catch-and-run to the Dickinson 4. Two plays later, Flaherty scored on a keeper to give the visitors a 28-16 lead with 14:54 remaining in the game.

Dickinson struck first on the afternoon, marching 71 yards on its first five plays from scrimmage to take a 7-0 lead on Smith's three-yard run.

Gettysburg came right back to tie with an eight-play, 64-yard scoring drive of its own. Flaherty keyed the drive with a 29-yard pass to A.J. Sutsko (Boothwyn, PA/Archmere Academy [DE]) on third-and-7 from the Bullet 39 before Pojanowski scored on a seven-yard sweep five plays later to tie the game at 7-7.

The Bullets took advantage of a botched fake punt attempt to take the lead. Following a Gettysburg holding penalty, Flaherty threw underneath to Toscano on second-and-12 and the freshman fullback went the distance for his first collegiate touchdown and a 14-7 Bullet advantage with 13 seconds left in the first quarter.

Dickinson's Andy Kerstetter blocked a Tom DeBacco (Blairstown, NJ/Pope John XXIII) punt deep in Gettysburg territory to set up Antanitis' 28-yard field goal early in the second half and pull the Red Devils within 14-10 before Diamond's heroics.

Sturgeon connected on only two of 11 passes on the afternoon for 25 yards. Alex Nicholas (Far Hills, NJ/Bernards) carried five times for 24 yards and also caught two passes for 16 yards. Ryan Moore (Glenolden, PA/Interboro) led the Gettysburg defense with nine solo tackles among his 13 tackles.

In addition to his game-ending interception, Myers led the Red Devils with nine solo tackles while Keith Fischer added nine total tackles, including two for loss and one sack.

Gettysburg wraps up the 2000 campaign on Saturday, November 11 at home against Franklin & Marshall College. Game time is 1 p.m.

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