Complete Game Notes
OPENING STATEMENTS
The Bullets (3-5, 3-3 CC), coming off their bye week, return to Centennial Conference action on Saturday as they take on the McDaniel College Green Terror (4-4, 2-4 CC). Saturday's contest marks Gettysburg's final home game of the year.
SENIOR DAY
Saturday's game is the final regular season home game for Gettysburg's 11 seniors, who will be honored in a brief ceremony before the game.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Gettysburg leads McDaniel 45-16-1 in the all-time series that started in 1891. The Bullets have captured the last two meetings and four of the last six.
LAST MEETING
Gettysburg forced four McDaniel turnovers and the Bullets outscored the Green Terror 28-3 in the second half to pull away for a 38-9 victory in Westminster last season. Gettysburg, which out-gained McDaniel 374-183, broke the game open by scoring 21 unanswered points over an eight-minute span at the start of the second half, converting off a pair interceptions and a partially-blocked punt. Tailback Nick McConnell '09 led Gettysburg with 99 yards rushing and two touchdowns on just 12 carries while tailback Jamel Mutunga added 74 yards on 14 attempts. Defensive tackle Anthony Pastore '09 led the Bullet defense with seven tackles, 2.0 sacks, and one interception. Thomas Massucci, making his first collegiate start, threw for 150 yards for McDaniel on 14-of-33 passing but was intercepted three times.
LAST TIME OUT
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 to retain possession of the Little Brown Bucket here at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium two weeks ago. 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 receiver Gavin Jablonski caught a career-high seven passes for 83 yards for Gettysburg while senior linebacker Tim Widdoes led all players with 13 tackles.
John Harrison threw for a program-record 404 yards on 26-of-35 passing with five touchdowns to lead Franklin & Marshall to a 41-20 victory over McDaniel in Westminster last Saturday. Freshman C.J. Billera caught seven passes for a career-high 110 yards, including a touchdown, while sophomore quarterback Tom Massucci completed 16 of 33 passes for 211 yards and a touchdown. Senior cornerback Travis Wenrich and senior linebacker Mike Weick led the defense with eight tackles apiece.
THE GETTYSBURG OFFENSE
Gettysburg, which currently ranks third in Division III in total offense, 17th in scoring offense, 23rd in passing offense, and 25th in rushing offense, has relied primarily on its rushing game as of late after putting up some gaudy passing statistics early in the season. Spanning the team's last three games, Gettysburg has scored its last 12 touchdowns on the ground. Junior tailback Jamel Mutunga has done the bulk of the damage over that stretch, when he has posted eight of his 12 rushing touchdowns. For the season, he has run for 822 yards (102.8 ypg), a mark that ranks 37th in Division III and second in the Centennial Conference. Junior tailback Anthony DeSalva has also been a spark as of late and has rushed for 324 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Senior quarterback Matt Flynn has contributed 321 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Flynn, tied for ninth in the country in total offense (322.5 ypg) and ranked 18th in passing (282.4 ypg) continued his assault on the record books against Dickinson, resetting his own single-season school records for passing yards (2,259) and total offense (2,580). He has thrown for 17 touchdowns this year and can become the Centennial Conference all-time leader in total offense (8,627 yards) with 70 more yards after setting the CC record for career passing yards three weeks ago against Juniata. Five different Bullets have made at least 23 receptions, with junior receiver Brian Betley leading the way with 435 yards and two touchdowns on 32 catches. Senior tight end #A.J. Perrotti# is tops in the team in both receiving yards (441) and touchdown catches (five) while junior wing Charles Curcio has added 29 receptions for 394 yards and four TDs. Junior receiver Gavin Jablonski (28 catches, 388 yards, 1 TD), senior wing Ricky Manigat (23 catches, 276 yards, two TDs), and Mutunga (18 catches, 215 yards, two TDs) have also made their mark for the passing game.
THE GETTYSBURG DEFENSE
Defensively, the Bullets have posted several impressive performances this season, holding three different opponents to 14 points or less. Senior linebacker Tim Widdoes has led the team with a Centennial Conference-leading 74 tackles while junior defensive tackle Sebastian Sullivan has enjoyed a solid season, making 64 tackles, including 8.5 for loss and 4.5 sacks, along with three forced fumbles. Sophomore linebacker Joe Delaney has added 62 hits and a pair of interceptions while freshman linebacker Wes Taylor has made 43 tackles, with 28 coming in his last three games. Junior cornerback Tairi Mobley leads the Bullets with three interceptions.
THE GETTYSBURG SPECIAL TEAMS
The Bullets trio of junior kicker Mike Barrett, junior punter Brian Betley and junior return specialist Charles Curcio have continued to play well on special teams. Barrett has connected on 34-of-26 extra points and 5-of-9 field goals while Betley has averaged 38.1 yards per punt, a mark that ranks second in the conference. Curcio, who ranks third in the Centennial Conference in all-purpose yards (144.8 ypg), has averaged 18.4 yards on 34 kick returns and 6.7 yards on 12 punt returns.
THE MCDANIEL OFFENSE
The McDaniel offense has relied heavily on its aerial attack this season, and the Green Terror rank fourth in the Centennial Conference in passing. Sophomore quarterback Thomas Massucci has passed for 1,613 yards and 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions this season, and senior receiver Matt Cahill has been his favorite target. Cahill, the conference's fourth-leading receiver, has hauled in 41 catches for 630 yards and six touchdowns. Freshman CJ Billera has added 26 receptions for 281 yards and a pair of touchdowns while sophomore Woody Butler has contributed three TD receptions. Senior TJ Develin is the team's leading rusher, carrying the ball for 538 yards and five touchdowns.
THE MCDANIEL DEFENSE
Defensively, the Green Terror has made its mark as the top pass-rushing unit in the Centennial Conference, leading the league with 29 sacks. Junior defensive ends Mike Ford and Sam Cox are ranked first and second, respectively, in the conference in sacks, with 8.0 and 6.5. Ford also leads the conference in tackles for loss (13.5) while senior linebacker Mike Weick is the league's second-leading tackler (68). Senior cornerback Travis Wenrich has also enjoyed an outstanding season, making 59 tackles, three interceptions, and seven pass breakups. Junior cornerback Chris Kolb has also picked off three passes.
THE MCDANIEL SPECIAL TEAMS
Billera has handled the bulk of the Green Terror's return duties, returning all 15 of his team's punts for an average of 11.5 yards, which ranks second among the conference leaders. He has also averaged 18.9 yards on 19 kickoff returns while Develin has posted an 18.6-yard average on 10 kick returns. Sophomore Jake Nichols has averaged 36.4 yards per punt to rank third in the Centennial while freshman Nick DeLuca has nailed 4-of-5 field goals and 19-of-22 extra points.
THE COACHES
Gettysburg is coached by Barry Streeter, who enters his 31st year at the helm of the Bullets. With 155 career victories, Streeter ranks 11th among active Division III coaches in wins. He is also 32nd on the all-time Division III coaches wins list. Streeter is Gettysburg's longest tenured and all-time winningest football coach.
McDaniel is coached by Tim Keating, who is wrapping up his 17th season at the helm of the Green Terror. He has put together a career record of 102-69-3 and has led McDaniel to seven conference titles.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
While setting career Gettysburg records in every major passing category over the last two years, senior quarterback Matt Flynn has been ascending the Centennial Conference all-time charts as well. He is now the conference's all-time leader in passing yards (7,466) and is second in total offense (8,558), third in touchdown passes (54), and third in pass completions (546). Junior wing Charles Curcio has also moved up to sixth on the conference's career kickoff return yards list (1,538). Other players who have broken into Gettysburg's top-10 lists this season include senior wing Ricky Manigat, who is fifth in receptions (79) and 10th in receiving yards (923); Curcio, who is seventh in receptions (75) and eighth in all-purpose yards (3,449); junior receiver Brian Betley, who is eighth in receiving yards (1,002); and senior linebacker Tim Widdoes, who is eighth in tackles (292).
