Game Notes
GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Long-time rivals Gettysburg College and Franklin & Marshall College end the regular season with a battle for the rights to the Lincoln Trophy this Saturday at 1 p.m. on Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium.
GAME COVERAGE
Saturday's game will feature live stats and live video courtesy of Gettysburg's partnerships with Stretch Internet and WellSpan Sports Medicine. You can follow along on your computer or mobile device at
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/gettysburg/.
THE COACHES
Barry Streeter enters his 38th season at the helm of Gettysburg's football program. Streeter is the longest-tenured active coach in Division III and his 193 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. Streeter is a 1971 graduate of Lebanon Valley and he is a member of the Dutchmen's Hall of Fame.
John Troxell is wrapping up his 11th season at Franklin & Marshall. Troxell has guided the Diplomats to 60 victories and winning seasons in six of the last eight years. He led the Blue and White to ECAC bowl wins in both 2009 and 2013. Prior to arriving in Lancaster, Troxell served as an assistant coach at Lafayette, Muhlenberg, and Columbia.
THE SERIES
The rivalry between Gettysburg and Franklin & Marshall dates back to 1890, the Bullets' first year as a varsity program. The two teams have met 101 times on the gridiron with Gettysburg holding a slight advantage at 48-46-7. The Bullets have won seven of the last 10 meetings and each of the last five meetings at Shirk Field.
THE LINCOLN FOOTBALL TROPHY
The Lincoln Trophy is more than a wooden carving molded in the shape of a former President's hat. It contains a history that stretches back 153 years. The award was created out of two "witness trees" that stood like sentinels as the Battle of Gettysburg raged in and around the community in July, 1863. Found inside one of the trees used to create the trophy was a bullet from the battle. That relic has been safely sealed within the award, representing a bridge to the past. The Lincoln Trophy, created by local historian and woodworker
Bill Hewitt, stands as a prize to be won in the battles that will continue between Gettysburg and Franklin & Marshall on the gridiron. The trophy made its first appearance for Gettysburg's and Franklin & Marshall's 100th meeting in 2014.
LAST MEETING
Joey DeCristofaro '18 (East Windsor, N.J./Hightstown) picked off a school-record tying three passes in the fourth quarter and Gettysburg held Franklin & Marshall without a point in the second half on the way to a 21-7 victory last fall at Sponaugle-Williamson Field. The Bullets opened with a score in the first quarter as
Sam McDermott '16 connected with tight end
Fred Pulzello '16 for a 14-yard pass. The Diplomats answered in the second quarter with a one-yard run by
Dave Shellhammer. The score remained tied heading into the fourth quarter when the Gettysburg defense took over. DeCristofaro picked off passes on each of Franklin & Marshall's final three drives, two of which came in Gettysburg territory. The Bullets converted twice following those turnovers with touchdown catches by Pulzello and
Ryan Thompson (Oakland, N.J./Indian Hills). DeCristofaro finished with 14 tackles, while
Mike McKnight (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin) and
Kodie McNamara '16 piled up 11 and 10 tackles, respectively. McDermott and
Kyle Wigley '16 combined for 170 of Gettysburg's 321 rushing yards in the game.
LAST TIME OUT
Gettysburg was upended 37-34 in double overtime at Dickinson last Saturday. Junior
Ryan Thompson hauled in a pair of touchdown passes from brother
Danny Thompson (Oakland, N.J./Indian Hills) to push the Bullets out to a 24-10 halftime advantage. The Red Devils pushed across 17-straight points in the fourth quarter to take the lead. Freshman
Justin Geisel (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Country Day) booted a game-tying 29-yard field goal to force overtime. After Dickinson scored on its first possession, Gettysburg converted on fourth down with
Danny Thompson finding junior
Ty Abdul-Karim (Washington, Va./Woodberry Forest (Va.)) in the end zone to force another extra period. The Bullets came up empty on their possession, while the Red Devils pulled off the victory with a 27-yard field goal.
Danny Thompson finished 12-of-21 for 171 yards and three touchdowns, while junior quarterback
Justin Davidov (Ossining, N.Y./Ossining) led the rushing attack with 70 yards and a score. Abdul-Karim picked up 78 yards on five receptions. Sophomore
Matt McFadden (Morristown, N.J./Morristown Beard) racked up 227 all-purpose yards and junior
Frank Olmo (Eatontown, N.J./Red Bank Catholic) totaled a career-high 19 tackles and one sack.
SCOUTING FRANKLIN & MARSHALL
Franklin & Marshall is vying for a spot in the Centennial-Middle Atlantic Conference Bowl Series. The top two teams in the conference that don't make the NCAA Division III Championship earn spots in the annual bowl matchups with the MAC. Franklin & Marshall suffered a 48-28 loss to No. 7 Johns Hopkins last time out. The Blue Jays led throughout and went into the final quarter holding a 48-14 advantage. Quarterback junior
Zachary Bradley finished 17-of-25 for 203 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while senior
Dave Shellhammer carried the ball 19 times for 77 yards. Steve Elf paced the defense with 11 tackles. The Diplomats lead the conference with 28 team sacks, including a league-best 8.5 by sophomore lineman
Joe Granahan. F&M also leads the CC in time of possession at nearly 33 minutes per game. Junior
Taalib Gerald (82.9 ypg) and Shellhammer (68.8 ypg) rank fourth and seventh in the conference in rushing yards per game, respectively. Senior
Billy Zwicharowski has connected on all eight of his field-goal tries this fall.
SENIOR DAY
Gettysburg's 15 seniors will be playing on a collegiate field for the last time. We wish them best of luck as they finish their tenures at Gettysburg and move on to pursue their post-graduate careers!
ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
Seniors
Cordell Boggs (Taneytown, Md./Francis Scott Key) and
Jordan Kelso (Cookstown, Md./Bordentown Regional) were both selected Academic All-District First Team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). For Boggs, who is a Biochemistry-Molecular Biology major, it is his third-straight Academic All-District award from CoSIDA. Kelso earned his first academic award as an Interdisciplinary Studies (Law, Ethics, and Negotiation) major. The pair is now eligible for consideration on the Academic All-America team which will be announced Nov. 29.
GEICO PLAY OF THE YEAR
Sophomore
Matt McFadden's (Morristown, N.J./Morristown-Beard) 53-yard rushing touchdown against Juniata was a finalist for GEICO Play of the Year. McFadden beat out three other nominees in a weekly poll and competed in an online fan poll for the top award Oct. 31-Nov. 7. The winner will be announced during the Best of College Football on CBS Friday, Nov. 25, at 1:30 p.m.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior
Ty Abdul-Karim was named the Centennial Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Week and he was named to the
D3football.com Team of the Week following the team's win over Moravian on Oct. 29. Abdul-Karim tied a program record with three receiving touchdowns and became just the third player in program history with over 200 receiving yards – on just four catches! Abdul-Karim has hauled in a team-best nine touchdown catches this season, which is tied for first in the Centennial Conference.
QB COMBO
Junior
Justin Davidov and senior
Danny Thompson have put up some solid quarterback numbers this fall. Combined, the duo has thrown for 2,044 yards and 23 touchdowns against just nine interceptions. Gettysburg is just two touchdowns shy of the team's single-season record set just last fall. The pair has also racked up a combined 835 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns.
TOP RETURNER
Sophomore
Matt McFadden has picked up where he left off last season as one of the top kick returners in the nation. McFadden has racked up 784 yards on punt and kick returns this fall, which ranks eighth in Division III. He paces the Centennial with 662 yards on kick returns. The sophomore has already topped his all-purpose yardage from a year ago with a team-high 1,189 this season.
UTILITY MAN
Sophomore safety
Mike McKnight has been everywhere defensively for the Bullets this season. He leads the team with six tackles for a loss and he ranks third with 64 tackles. He has also posted an interception and a fumble recovery with those two plays totaling 95 return yards. Two weeks ago against Moravian, he became the first Bullet to return a blocked kick for a touchdown in 11 years.
1,000 RECEIVING YARDS
Senior
Jordan Kelso reached 1,000 career receiving yards with a 25-yard reception in the first quarter at Johns Hopkins. Kelso is the 12th Bullet to reach the mark and first since
Aden Twer '13 in 2012. Kelso currently sits 11th on the program's career list with 1,104 career yards, all of which have come in the last three seasons.
TOP TACKLER
Junior linebacker
Frank Olmo has piled up 33 tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss, and two sacks in the last two games. After posting 14 tackles against Moravian, Olmo notched a career-high with 19 stops against Dickinson. He ranks second in the CC with 10.7 tackles per game.
YOU'RE IN THE ARMY NOW
Two Gettysburg football players were contracted into the Army on Oct. 29. Sophomore
Jared McCully (Massillon, Ohio/Jackson) and freshman
Charles Clewis (Purcellville, Va./Woodgrove) took the oath of enlistment from ROTC Professor of Military Science, LTC Joe Wyszynski. For their scholastic, athletic and leadership potential, the two cadets have been awarded United States Army Cadet Command scholarships valued at approximately $150,000-$200,000.
