Box Score

COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Gentris Bryant (Wilmington, DE/Archmere Acad.) caught two touchdown passes from Joe Gossweiler (Florham Park, NJ/Hanover Park) and the Gettysburg defense held Ursinus to 226 total yards in a 14-3 Centennial Conference (CC) football victory on Saturday.

Bryant scored on first-half touchdown receptions of 17 and 75 yards, helping the Bullets (5-2, 2-1 CC) build an 11-point halftime lead and snap a three-game losing streak at the Bears’ Patterson Field. Mike Schwalb (Bernardsville, NJ/Pingry School) carried 21 times for a game-high 90 yards for Gettysburg, which guaranteed its first non-losing season since 1995 with the victory.

Matt Pinkney (Bowie, MD/Bowie) recorded two of Gettysburg’s five sacks and Jay Cage (Magnolia, NJ/Sterling) made two interceptions to key the defensive effort. Ursinus’ three points was the lowest total allowed by the Bullets since a 17-3 win over Franklin & Marshall in 2000.

Michael Schmidt (Huntington Station, NY/Walt Whitman) recorded a game-high 12 tackles in the win while Craig Casagrande (Beachwood, NJ/Toms River South) made nine stops, recorded one sack and knocked down a pass.

Playing its first game without injured starting quarterback Vince Gallagher, the Bears’ offense struggled to fewer than three yards per play and no single gain longer than 19 yards. Backup signal-caller Dave Kupstow completed 15 of 34 passes for 120 yards in place of Gallagher, who led the CC in passing efficiency and total offense before being lost for the season in last week’s game against Muhlenberg.

Gary Sheffield, the CC’s leading rusher entering the day, was held to 69 yards on 21 carries while making a team-high five receptions for 38 yards. Tom Reilly recorded a team-best 10 tackles for Ursinus (3-4, 0-3 CC).

In contrast to recent shootouts between the two programs, Saturday’s Gettysburg-Ursinus tilt featured more defense and fewer points.

Bryant set up his first touchdown with a 42-yard run to the Ursinus 16 late in the first quarter, scoring on a 17-yard toss from Gossweiler three plays later to make it 7-0.

A Schwalb fumble led to the Bears’ only points of the game early in the second. Starting at the Bullet 30, Sheffield carried on four of Ursinus’ five rushes to the Gettysburg 12 before Casagrande halted the drive with a six-yard sack of Kupstow on third-and-4. Matt Baney converted a 35-yard field goal to pull the Bears within 7-3 with 10:09 left in the first half.

Gettysburg needed exactly three plays to answer with the game’s final points. Facing third-and-4 from the Bullet 25, Gossweiler found Bryant in the right flat and the junior halfback shook off a tackle before breaking free for the 75-yard touchdown and a 14-3 Gettysburg lead.

From there, the Bullet defense took over. Ursinus punted on its next two possession and Cage intercepted Kupstow at the Gettysburg 5 in the final seconds of the first half to maintain his squad’s 11-point cushion.

The Bears marched from their own 35 to the Bullet 5 on their first drive of the second half, but Nathan Smith (Milford, NY/Cooperstown Central) broke up Kupstow’s fourth-down attempt to Justin Zeiger in the end zone to halt the threat. Gettysburg stuffed Kupstow on a fourth-and-1 from the Ursinus 41 on the home team’s next series.

Cage’s second interception and a missed 39-yard field goal attempt by Baney ended the Bears’ final two drives of the game.

Bullet leading tackler Grant Acker (Howell, NJ/Peddie School) made 11 stops in the win, his sixth consecutive game with at least 10 tackles. Smith recorded nine tackles in the win while Hagner was credited with eight stops.

Bryant finished with 142 yards from scrimmage, including 92 yards on two receptions and 50 rushing yards.

Gettysburg returns to action on Saturday at home against Muhlenberg. Game time is 1 p.m.

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