GETTYSBURG, Pa.  – Fresh of its record-breaking season-opening win at Bridgewater College, Gettysburg returns to the friendly confines of Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium to begin its Centennial Conference slate against Ursinus College this Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
Gettysburg (1-0, 0-0 CC) ran over its opening-game foe last Friday, piling up a conference and school record 574 rushing yards in a 49-10 victory. The team posted four rushing touchdowns, three passing touchdowns, and did not turn the ball over.
 
"That was one of the most productive, dominant performances in an opening game that I can remember," said Head Coach Barry Streeter, now in his 37th year at the helm. "I knew we had the possibility of being really strong and it sure looked like it Friday night."
 
The Orange and Blue scored on its first six possessions of the second half and out-scored the Eagles 27-0 over the final 19 minutes of action. The defense was equally impressive, holding Bridgewater to just 12 first downs and only 51 rushing yards.

 

Leading the offensive charge were senior quarterback Sam McDermott (Newtown, Pa./Notre Dame, N.J.)) and senior tailback Kyle Wigley (Medford, N.J./Shawnee). McDermott set a Centennial standard for QBs with 183 yards rushing, while Wigley carried the ball 19 times for 173 yards and two scores. McDermott also completed 9-of-12 passes for 104 yards and three touchdowns.
 
"They gave me a lot of pull reads so that gave me a lot of carries," said McDermott. "When the option was give it to Wigley, he was making plays and breaking tackles left and right. The offensive line played great and opened some big holes for the option."
 
Gettysburg's high-powered attack will square off with a stout defensive unit from Ursinus. The Bears did not allow any points in regulation in the opening game with Division II Millersville and outlasted the Marauders in five overtimes for a 17-9 win. Millersville managed just eight first downs and 221 total yards against Ursinus.
 
"It was a defensive battle in that game for sure," Streeter noted. "Ursinus traditionally is pretty tough defensively and this year is no exception."
 
The Bears have won the last two meetings with Gettysburg. Last fall, the Bullets held Ursinus to just 227 yards of total offense, but the host Bears took advantage of five turnovers by the visitors to pull off a 31-14 victory.
 
Last year's match up has faded from the minds of the players and coaches, and the glow from Friday's opening victory has already started to wane as the team focuses on the current task at hand.
 
"Our preparation is the real important thing," said Streeter. "We're just preparing daily and not thinking about Saturday yet. It's more about us than it is about them. It's about what we do to prepare to compete and to execute."
 
"We prep for them the same way we do any other team," said McDermott. "They're a strong defensive team so we need to be ready for that. They're a big, fast team and they hit hard. We need to be ready to be physical on Saturday."
 
OPENING KICKOFF
Gettysburg and Ursinus meet for the 59th time on the gridiron today at Shirk Field.
 
GAME COVERAGE
Saturday's game will feature live stats and live video courtesy of Stretch Internet. You can follow along on your computer or mobile device at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/gettysburg/.
 
THE COACHES
Barry Streeter enters his 37th season at the helm of Gettysburg's football program. Streeter is the longest-tenured active coach in Division III and his 184 wins place him seventh among active coaches. Streeter has led Gettysburg to three Centennial Conference championships (1983-85) and he has twice been named CC Coach of the Year. In 1985, he led the Bullets to the only undefeated regular season in school history (9-0-1) and an appearance in the national semifinals.
 
Peter Gallagher is in his 15th season as head football coach at Ursinus. Gallagher is the Bears' all-time wins leader with a career record of 76-68. He has guided Ursinus to six consecutive winning seasons, including 7-3 records in each of the last two campaigns. In 2010, Ursinus grabbed a share of the conference title with a 7-2 record.
 
THE SERIES
Gettysburg holds a 33-21-4 lead in a series that began 112 years ago. Ursinus has won the last two meetings by double-figures following a 48-7 win by the Bullets in 2012. The winning team has tallied at least 31 points in each of the last seven meetings. Gettysburg has won 17 of the 28 contests played on its home field.
 
LAST MEETING
The Bears put up the first 17 points on the way to a 31-14 victory at Patterson Field last fall. Gettysburg held Ursinus to just 227 yards of total offense, but the Bullets were undone by five turnovers, including an interception return for a touchdown to end the first quarter. Zach Miller '15 threw for 188 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Brandon Sparks '16 for Gettysburg. Fred Caruso '15 tallied a career-high 101 yards rushing and finished with 211 all-purpose yards. Corey Kelly gained 85 yards on the ground and scored a touchdown to pace the Bears offensively, while Steve Ambs logged 13 tackles and 3.0 sacks.

 

LAST TIME OUT
Gettysburg shattered its own conference record with 574 rushing yards in a 49-10 victory at Bridgewater to open the 2015 campaign. Playing its first Friday-night opener ever, the Bullets drove into the Eagles' red zone on all but one drive during the contest. Each of the first six possessions of the second half resulted in touchdowns as the visitors out-scored the hosts 27-0 to end the game. Senior Sam McDermott established a new conference rushing mark for quarterbacks with 183 yards on 21 carries. He also threw for 104 yards and three touchdowns. Senior tailback Kyle Wigley gained 173 yards on 19 carries, while back-field mate James O'Rourke posted 69 yards on six carries. While the offense piled up 678 yards of total offense, the defense held Bridgewater to just 287 yards, including only 51 yards on the ground. Seniors Kodie McNamara and Michael Kornegay each posted seven tackles, while senior cornerback Brian Calatozzo snagged an interception.
 
SCOUTING URSINUS
Ursinus battled through five overtimes and eventually took down Division II Millersville 17-9 in its season opener. After going scoreless in regulation, both teams exchanged field goals in the first extra period. In the third OT, running back Corey Kelly rushed in from four yards out, but Millersville answered to tie the score. Both teams failed on two-point conversions. Kelly provided the final blow in overtime number five, carrying the ball across the goal line from 10 yards out. Ursinus converted the two-point play and Millersville had no answer. Kelly finished with 50 yards on 17 carries to pace the ground game, while Salvatore Bello completed 8-of-20 passes for 126 yards. James Worrilow, who was named CC Defensive Player of the Week, posted 15 tackles and Timothy Rafter added 14 stops. The contest was the longest game in the history of the Centennial Conference, topping the previous record by two overtimes.
 
GETTYSBURG OFFENSE
Gettysburg's offense was unstoppable against Bridgewater as the Bullets marched into the red zone 11 times on 13 possessions. The team averaged 8.1 yards per rush with 11 different players being credited with a rush. The team did not turn the ball over and maintained possession of the football for over 33 minutes.
 
GETTYSBURG DEFENSE
While the offense dominated the headlines, the defense went out and smothered Bridgewater's attack. The Eagles managed just 287 yards of total offense - 166 less than last year's meeting. The Bullets allowed just 51 yards rushing on 24 carries for an average of 2.1. The Eagles posted 101 yards after halftime and reached Gettysburg territory only once in the final 19:42 of play.
 
GETTYSBURG SPECIAL TEAMS
Freshman Matt McFadden handled all the return duties in the opener and came up with 58 yards on five returns, including a 34-yard kickoff return in the second quarter. Senior Robby Fay knocked home a 27-yard field goal in the first quarter, but had a 22-yard attempt blocked in the second. The Bullets also had two extra points blocked. Fay connected for 31 yards on his only punt attempt of the game and he averaged 58.4 yards on nine kickoffs.
 
BORN TO RUN
Senior Sam McDermott set a new Centennial standard for quarterbacks with 183 yards rushing against Bridgewater. McDermott's yardage broke the old record held by Dickinson's Ian Mitchell by four yards. The senior came up shy of the school record, however, with Jim Ward '66 racking up 185 yards against Muhlenberg in 1964. Ward went on to play nine seasons in the NFL and was inducted into Gettysburg's Hall of Athletic Honor in 1985.

 

RUSHING UP THE RANKS
Senior Kyle Wigley recorded his seventh career 100-yard rushing game against Bridgewater. Wigley climbed into 12th place on Gettysburg's career rushing list with 1,759 yards. Next up on the list are Mike Schwalb '05 (1,853) and current assistant coach Kirby Scott '77 (1,890).
 
MAC ATTACK
Senior Kodie McNamara is just four tackles shy of becoming the ninth Bullet to reach 300 in a career. McNamara has led Gettysburg in tackles in each of the last two seasons, including a conference-leading 119 in 2013.
 
GREAT SCOTT
Kirby Scott '77 has returned to his alma mater to serve as a volunteer assistant coach with the track and field and football programs. Scott was an All-American in both sports during his collegiate tenure. On the gridiron, he scored 10 touchdowns as a junior and followed that up with a school-record 932 yards rushing in 1976. Following graduation, Scott embarked on a 30-year career in the FBI. He was recently featured in last Sunday's edition of the Hanover Evening Sun.
 
HAPPY 50TH!
Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium is celebrating its 50th year of competition this season. With former President Dwight D. Eisenhower in attendance, the stadium was dedicated prior to the game against Bucknell on Sept. 25, 1965. The field has witnessed the transition to NCAA Division III, the rise of the Centennial Conference, and dozens of conference titles. In addition to football, the field is the home venue for field hockey, men's lacrosse, and men's and women's track and field. In 2003, the field received a makeover and was named in honor of Dick Shirk '67, captain of the 1966 team that won the Lambert Memorial Cup as the best small college team in the East.