Box Score

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Senior quarterback Ian Mitchell threw for 228 yards and three touchdowns on 16-of-21 passing and senior fullback Tim Wells ran for 95 yards as Dickinson College defeated host Gettysburg 38-28 in Centennial Conference action Saturday afternoon in front of a large Family Weekend crowd at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium.

With the win, Dickinson (6-1, 4-1 CC) claimed rights to the Little Brown Bucket for the fourth year in a row. Gettysburg (3-5, 3-3 CC) was led by senior quarterback Matt Flynn (Northfield, N.J./Mainland Regional), who passed for 195 yards and rushed for 56 yards and one touchdown, resetting his own single-season school records for passing yards (now at 2,259) and total offense (now at 2,580 yards). He also pulled to within 70 yards of the Centennial Conference career total offense record.

The Red Devils, who overcame 100 yards in penalties, held nearly a 17-minute advantage in time of possession and controlled the ball for 24:14 of the second half, when it outscored the Bullets 21-7 after a back-and-forth first half. Dickinson outgained Gettysburg 459-351.

Junior tailback Tim Smith gave Dickinson the lead for good, rushing for a 3-yard touchdown with 4:20 left in the third quarter to make it 31-28. The Bullets appeared to have come up with a key stop on third-and-goal with just over eight minutes left in the game, but a pass interference penalty gave the Devils a first-and-goal at the 3. Three plays later, Mitchell threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to junior Craig Helfer, who just kept his feet in the left side of the end zone to give Dickinson its game-clinching touchdown with 7:46 remaining.

The Red Devils thwarted Gettysburg's final two drives with a pair of interceptions. Junior safety Pat McNeal made the first of those picks and finished with two interceptions while senior cornerback Matt Destefano intercepted Gettysburg at the Dickinson-31 on the Bullets final drive.

Helfer finished with 92 yards on eight catches while junior receiver Gavin Jablonski (Allenwood, N.J./Wall) caught a career-high seven passes for 83 yards for Gettysburg. Junior receiver Brian Betley (Mt. Laurel, N.J./Lenape) added three receptions for 75 yards for the Bullets and went over 1,000 yards receiving for his career. Junior tailback Jamel Mutunga (Bel Air, Md./Bel Air) ran for 54 yards and a pair of TDs.

The lead changed hands five times before Smith's third-quarter touchdown. After receiving the opening kickoff, Flynn was intercepted by McNeal at the Bullet-38 on the second play from scrimmage before senior receiver Joe Sandoe caught a 10-yard touchdown pass to make it 7-0 just under two minutes into the game.

The Bullets tied it on the ensuing drive when Flynn ran for a 2-yard touchdown run, and junior Gordon Craig put the Devils up 10-7 with a 29-yard field goal 1:40 before the end of the first quarter.

Gettysburg took its first lead of the day when junior Anthony DeSalva (Redding, Conn./Joel Barlow) ran for a 2-yard touchdown with 8:50 left in the second quarter, making it 14-10. Dickinson reclaimed the lead less than a minute later when Mitchell connected with Cam Difede for a 21-yard touchdown pass. The three-play drive was sparked by a 57-yard pass to Difede that put the Red Devils at the Bullet-22.

The Bullets responded by going 69 yards on nine plays, concluded by a 1-yard touchdown run by Mutunga with 5:09 left in the half that made it a 21-17 game at the break.

Dickinson received the second-half kickoff and promptly drove 75 yards on 10 plays, with Wells breaking free for a 24-yard touchdown run that made it 24-21 in favor of the visitors. However, a team season-long 55-yard kickoff return by DeSalva gave Gettysburg the ball at the Dickinson-33 before Mutunga peeled off back-to-back rushes of 19 and 14 yards, the second of which gave the Bullets their final lead (28-24) with 9:51 to go in the third quarter.

After Smith's touchdown, the Red Devils forced Gettysburg into three-and-outs on the Bullets next two possessions before coming up with their two late interceptions.

Senior linebacker Tim Widdoes (Newark, Del./St. Mark's) led all players with 13 tackles for Gettysburg, and freshman linebacker Wes Taylor (Silver Spring, Pa./Gonzaga) made a season-high 12 hits. Junior linebacker Bryan DiSabato (Cedarhurst, N.Y./Lawrence) added a season-high eight tackles while junior linebacker Kevin Wood made nine stops for Dickinson.

Gettysburg takes its bye week before picking up its schedule on Saturday, Nov. 7 when it hosts McDaniel College on Senior Day in another Centennial Conference game.