Box Score
GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Joe Gossweiler (Florham
Park, NJ/Hanover Park) compiled 242 yards of total
offense and scored two touchdowns as Gettysburg took a 22-point,
second-quarter lead and held on to defeat Ursinus 29-27 in
Centennial Conference (CC) football action on Saturday.
Gossweiler rolled up 109 of his career-high
122 rushing yards in the first quarter alone and scored on
runs of 12 and 3 yards to help the Bullets (3-3, 1-2 CC) snap
a six-game losing streak against the Bears (1-5, 0-4 CC) and
win on Homecoming Saturday for the first time since 1997.
He also completed 8 of 15 passes for 120 yards, including
a 31-yard toss to Tom McEvoy (Laurel, MD/St. John’s
College) on fourth-and-inches in the final minutes
that sealed the victory.
Gettysburg fullback Mike Schwalb
(Bernardsville, NJ/Pingry School) carried 25 times
for 95 yards – both career highs – and scored on a one-yard
run midway through the first quarter. McEvoy gave the Bullets
a 29-20 lead by scoring on a 21-yard reverse with 4:20 remaining.
Ursinus quarterback Vince Gallagher
came on in relief of starter Chris Rahill after
halftime and almost brought his squad the whole way back.
The freshman completed 11 of 16 passes for 125 yards and two
touchdowns, and also scrambled 18 yards for another score
to key a 27-point fourth quarter.
Bear halfback Gary Sheffield,
averaging a conference-best 116.6 rushing yards per game entering
Saturday’s contest, carried 17 times for 65 yards.
The last times the two teams met at Musselman
Stadium, during the 2000 season, the Bullets jumped out to
a 27-0 second-quarter lead before watching Ursinus rally for
a wild 38-36 victory.
On Saturday, the set-up was eerily similar,
but Gettysburg was able to write a more successful ending.
The Bullet offense, which had gotten
off to notoriously slow starts in each of its last four games,
needed exactly four plays and 70 seconds to strike for the
game’s first touchdown.
Gossweiler ripped off a 21-yard option
run on the day’s opening play, then teamed with Gentris
Bryant (Wilmington, DE/Archmere Acad.) on a 30-yard
run-and-lateral to the Bear 12. Gossweiler found the end zone
on the next play for a 7-0 lead.
After Ursinus moved only eight yards
on its first drive, Gettysburg marched 73 yards on 10 plays,
capped by a Schwalb one-yard plunge that made it 14-0 with
8:40 left in the first quarter.
Gossweiler’s second touchdown run, this
time from three yards out, gave the Bullets a 20-0 lead early
in the second quarter and a safety resulting from a snap over
the head of Bears punter Greg Furman pushed
the lead to 22-0 minutes later.
A late interception halted the Bullets’
attempt to increase the lead in the final seconds of the half.
With Gettysburg facing third-and-goal
on the Ursinus 5, Bears safety Eric Shipe picked
off a pass at the 2 and rumbled 72 yards to the Bullet 26
with 17 seconds left. Only the speed of Gossweiler prevented
Ursinus from getting on the scoreboard and the tackle proved
to be a big play when Matt Zangrilli (Wallingford, PA/Strath
Haven) intercepted Rahill on second-and-10 to end
the threat.
After halftime, Gallagher nearly produced
another Musselman Stadium miracle.
He started the rally by guiding the Bears’
on a 16-play, 80-yard march that consumed nearly seven minutes
and was capped by an eight-yard touchdown pass to Dalys
Talley on the first play of the fourth quarter to
make it 22-7.
On the ensuing kickoff, Nathan
Smith (Milford, NY/Cooperstown Central School) broke
a return into Ursinus territory, only to have the play called
back on a penalty. After the Bullets went three-and-out, Gallagher
hit Chris Glowacki on a 42-yard post pattern
for a touchdown on the Bears’ next play to pull within 22-14.
Following another Gettysburg three-and-out,
Ursinus struck again, this time on a 6-play, 38-yard scoring
drive capped by Lion Neely’s 3-yard sweep that
pulled the visitors’ within 22-20.
Gallagher, however, was sacked on the
two-point conversion attempt and Gettysburg followed with
its only scoring drive of the half to maintain control.
Gossweiler opened the march with a 28-yard
pass to A.J. Sutsko (Boothwyn, PA/Archmere Acad. [DE])
at the Ursinus 37 and, two plays later, Schwalb carried 17
yards to the 15. The Bullets went backwards on their next
two plays to set up third-and-16, but McEvoy found the end
zone on a left-to-right reverse from 21 yards away and John
Edgar (Gettysburg, PA/Gettysburg) followed with the
crucial extra point to make it 29-20 with 4:20 left.
A 64-yard return by Neely on the ensuing
kickoff led to an 18-yard touchdown run by Gallagher only
49 seconds later. Gettysburg was able to hold the ball for
the game’s final 3 minutes, 7 seconds thanks to a 31-yard
pass from Gossweiler to McEvoy on fourth-and-inches with 2:07
left.
Grant Acker (Howell, NJ/Peddie
School) led the Bullet defense with 12 tackles while
Matt Pinkney (Bowie, MD/Bowie) recorded two
sacks and forced a fumble.
Ursinus’ linebacking duo of Tom
Reilly and Jon Craig combined for 22
solo tackles and four tackles for loss on the afternoon. Neely
finished with 12 carries for 56 yards.
Glowacki finished with nine catches for
104 yards and took over sole possession of second place on
the program’s career receptions list (117).
Gettysburg returns to action on Saturday
at Muhlenberg. Game time is 1 p.m.
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