Box Score

ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Muhlenberg College scored on five of its last six possessions and the No. 7 Mules won on homecoming, capturing their 14th consecutive regular season game in a 42-21 Centennial Conference win over Gettysburg Saturday afternoon at Scotty Wood Stadium.

Eric Santagato threw for 245 yards on 17-of-27 passing to lead Muhlenberg (3-0, 1-0 CC), which won its CC opener. Phil Cresta caught eight passes for 128 yards while John DeLuca added 134 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 27 carries for the Mules.

Muhlenberg never trailed after jumping to a 21-0 halftime lead and led by no less than two touchdowns the rest of the way.

Gettysburg (0-4, 0-2 CC), playing a ranked opponent for the first time in three years and a top-10 opponent for the first time in nine years, received 259 yards on 21-of-33 passing from junior quarterback Matt Flynn (Northfield, N.J./Mainland Regional). Flynn also became just the second player in school history to reach 4,000 career passing yards, as he achieved the milestone late in the game. He now has 4,011 yards, trailing only Dennis Flaherty '01 on the all-time list. Flaherty passed for 5,136 yards from 1997-2000.

Junior wing Ricky Manigat (Baldwin, N.Y./Baldwin) grabbed seven passes for 56 yards while sophomore receiver Gavin Jablonski (Allenwood, N.J./Wall) had five receptions for 59 yards. Junior tight end #A.J. Perrotti# (Brick, N.J./Brick Township) caught two passes for a career-high 97 yards while senior tailback Nick McConnell (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) rushed for a pair of touchdowns.

The game got off to an inauspicious start for the Bullets, who were called for a holding penalty while receiving the opening kickoff. After going three-and-out, a short punt and a 24-return gave the Mules the ball at the Gettysburg-24. Then on the next play, DeLuca found a hole and raced down the sideline and into the end zone, making it a 7-0 just 1:25 into the game.

The Bullet defense dug in from there, however, holding Muhlenberg to one first down on its next five possessions and forcing a three- or four-and-out on the final four drives of that stretch. On their second possession, the Mules appeared to have rushed for a first down on a fake punt, but the play was called back to a holding penalty.

On Muhlenberg's fourth possession, senior defensive end Josh Jerrold (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury East) came up with his fourth sack of the year, an eight-yard hit seconds before the end of the first quarter that gave the Bullets the ball on downs.

Including DeLuca's 24-yard touchdown run, Gettysburg held the Mules to 60 total yards on 15 plays in the opening quarter.

After forcing Muhlenberg to punt for the third time, the Bullets received great field position, as a 13-yard return from sophomore Charles Curcio (Hammonton, N.J./St. Joseph) gave his team the ball at the Mule-29. But the Bullets were hit with a holding penalty on the first play of the drive, and three plays later they went for it on fourth-and-four at the Muhlenberg-23. However, Flynn's pass was broken up by Mark Accomando, and Gettysburg came away empty-handed.

The Bullets came up with one more stop in the opening half, getting another three-and-out when senior linebacker Terence Hartigan (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) made an open-field tackle at the Muhlenberg-29 on third-and-seven to stop DeLuca four yards shy of the first down, prompting the Mules fourth punt of the half.

Gettysburg was held to a three-and-out before the Mulenberg offense caught fire. After taking over at the Mule-32 with 6:27 on the clock, a pair of big plays jumpstarted the hosts. On the first two plays of the drive, Santagato hit Joe Caporoso with a 17-yard pass before DeLuca broke of 26-yard run to Bullet-25. Two plays later, Erik Snyder hauled in a 19-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-0 with 4:36 to go in the half.

After forcing the Bullets to punt for the sixth time in the half, the Mules needed just 2:01 to go 66 yards on eight plays, with DeLuca leaping into the end zone from 1 yard out. Michael Katz' third straight extra point gave Muhlenberg a 21-0 lead with 50 seconds showing.

The Bullets threatened to score inside the final minute of the half, as a 15-yard run by sophomore Jamel Mutunga (Bel Air, Md./Bel Air), who finished with 60 yards on 12 carries, gave the Bullets the ball at the Gettysburg-45 before Flynn connected with sophomore Brian Betley (Mt. Laurel, N.J./Lenape) for a 31-yard pass to the Muhlenberg-9 on the next play. However, Flynn threw the pass beyond the line of scrimmage, resulting in a penalty. Flynn followed up with a 14-yard run to the Mule-44 with five seconds left, but his Hail-Mary pass on the final play of the half was intercepted in the end zone.

Gettysburg got on the scoreboard on its first possession of the second half, driving 91 yards on an 11-play drive that lasted 4:51. Perrotti put the Bullets into Mule territory when he snared a tipped pass down the left sideline, and the 43-yard completion gave Gettysburg the ball at the 30-yard line. Three plays later, Manigat grabbed a pass in the middle of the field and took it to the Mule-1 before Mutunga plowed in for his third touchdown of the season. Senior Josh Huson's extra point cut the deficit to 21-7 with 7:09 left in the third quarter.

Muhlenberg answered with an 11-play, 65-yard touchdown drive that ate up 6:17. During the march the Mules went 3-for-3 on third downs and scored on a third-and-12. After scrambling out of trouble, Santagato found Edward DeRisi open in the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown pass to give the Mules a 28-7 advantage with 40 ticks showing in the third quarter.

Gettysburg pulled to within 14 twice more, but each time the Mules responded with a touchdown. McConnell capped a 12-play, 74-yard drive when he scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 11:30 left to make it 28-14, but Santagato hit Cresta in stride in the end zone from 33 yards out to give the Mules a 35-14 lead with 7:49 to go.

Another long Flynn-to-Perrotti pass gave the Bullets – this one a 54-yarder – put the Bullets at the Muhlenberg-13, and three plays later McConnell scored on another 1-yard touchdown run. Huson's third and final PAT gave pulled the visitors to within 35-21 with 6:38 showing.

The Mules converted a third-and-11 on their final drive to halt any chance of a Bullet rally, with Santagato hitting Cresta with an 11-yard pass to the Gettysburg-48. On the next play, he found Cresta again, launching a deep ball into the end zone to set the final score with 4:51 left.

Sophomore cornerback Tairi Mobley (Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown), making his first collegiate start, led the Bullet defense with 10 tackles while Hartigan made eight stops, including 1.5 for loss.

Gettysburg returns home next Saturday, when it hosts Ursinus College at 1 p.m. in another Centennial Conference showdown.