GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Gettysburg College hosts Ursinus College for its home and Centennial Conference opener this Saturday at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium beginning at 1 p.m.
OPENING KICKOFF
Gettysburg (0-1, 0-0 CC) and Ursinus (1-0, 0-0 CC) kick off the Centennial Conference slate for the seventh consecutive season. The Bullets dropped a heartbreaker at Bridgewater last weekend 27-24, while the Bears opened their campaign with a 35-13 win over Bethany (W. Va.).
GAME COVERAGE
Friday's game will feature
live stats and live video courtesy of Stretch Internet and the generous support of Wellspan Sports Medicine. A full recap of the game will be posted on
GettysburgSports.com.
THE SERIES
The series with Ursinus dates all the way back to 1903. Today's game marks the 61st meeting all-time between the two programs. Gettysburg holds a 35-21-4 advantage and has won 10 of the last 15 match ups, including each of the last two.
LAST MEETING
Ursinus jumped out to a quick lead, but Gettysburg stormed back for a decisive 42-17 decision in Collegeville last fall. The Bears scored a pair touchdowns on a reception and a fumble recovery 17 seconds apart in the first quarter. A pair of long tosses by quarterbacks
Danny Thompson '17 and
Justin Davidov '18, the latter a 64-yard strike to
Ryan Thompson '18, cut the deficit to one by the end of the opening quarter. Ursinus booted a field goal at the beginning of the second period, but that would be the final offensive output for the hosts.
Andrew Major '18 hauled in his first career receiving touchdown in the second quarter to give Gettysburg the lead for good. Davidov and Thompson combined for 360 yards and five passing scores with the former also rushing in for another tally.
Mike McKnight '19 racked up 95 return yards on a fumble recovery and interception for the defense, while
Jake Skinner '19 logged nine tackles and a sack.
LAST TIME OUT
Gettysburg was upended in its season opener 27-24 at Bridgewater. The Bullets jumped out to a 10-0 lead, but the Eagles gained the upperhand with 20 points in the second and third quarters. Freshman
Reggie JeanCharles turned in his first career touchdown with a 15-yard scamper into the end zone with 7:31 to play to regain the lead for Gettysburg. Bridgewater managed to convert twice on fourth down during its game-winning drive, including a 65-yard touchdown reception with 50 seconds to go. Senior
Justin Davidov finished 18-of-37 for 240 yards and a touchdown. Davidov also carried the ball 17 times for 94 yards and a score, while JeanCharles picked up 78 yards on 19 carries. Junior
Jake Skinner paced the defense with a dozen tackles and a sack.
SCOUTING URSINUS
Ursinus blew past Bethany 35-13 last Saturday. The Bears opened with each of the game's first four scores, including two receiving touchdowns by
Carmen Fortino. The Bears' defense held the Bison to just 240 total yards and 11 first downs in the contest, while offensively the team piled up 510 yards. Sophomore running back
Stacey Gardner logged a career-high 197 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. Fortino hauled in five catches for 116 yards and
Thomas Garlick threw three touchdowns and posted 241 passing yards.
Jacob McCain posted 11 tackles and
Cody Richmond accounted for five stops and two tackles for a loss.
The Bears were picked seventh in the Centennial Conference Preseason Poll. Ursinus went 2-8 overall and 2-7 in conference competition last fall. Sophomore
Thomas Garlick set the program's rookie record with 348 yards against Juniata and finished with 1,522 yards and eight touchdowns in eight starts last season. Senior
Carmen Fortino posted 71 receptions and 801 yards a year ago. Sophomore
Jack Spingler earned all-conference recognition in his first year after leading the team in tackles (67), interceptions (3), and pass break-ups (6).
THE COACHES
Barry Streeter enters his 39th season at the helm of Gettysburg's football program. Streeter is the longest-tenured active coach in Division III and ranks second in longevity among all current NCAA football coaches. With 193 career wins, Streeter ranks eighth among active Division III 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 is a member of the Dutchmen's Hall of Fame.
Peter Gallagher is in his 17th season as head coach at Ursinus. Gallagher is the Bears' all-time leader in wins with a record of 79-83. He helped Ursinus to the Centennial Conference title in 2010 and a school-record six consecutive winning seasons from 2009-14. Gallagher is a 1993 graduate of West Virginia Wesleyan College where he was named All-West Virginia Athletic Conference in football.
GETTYSBURG OFFENSE
Gettysburg opened the season with 414 total yards with 174 coming on the ground and 240 through the air. Senior quarterback
Justin Davidov accounted for most of that total with 334 total yards of offense. It was Davidov's fourth career game with 200 or more yards and his best total since putting up a career-high 404 against Susquehanna last fall. Davidov is a potent threat in the run game and has amassed at least 56 rushing yards in each of his last six appearances on the field. Freshman
Reggie JeanCharles turned in a strong collegiate debut with 78 yards and a touchdown in the season opener. Senior
Ty Abdul-Karim (Washington, D.C./Woodberry Forest (Va.)) hauled in a 45-yard pass against Bridgewater as part of a three-catch, 78-yard day. Over the last 11 games, Abdul-Karim has reeled in 11 catches of 25 yards or more. Senior
Ryan Thompson (Oakland, N.J./Indian Hill) has scored a receiving touchdown in each of the last three games dating back to last season.
GETTYSBURG DEFENSE
The defense forced a pair of turnovers and sacked the quarterback five times in the season opener. Juniors
Mike McKnight (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin) and
Matt Graziano (Pennington, N.J./Hopewell Valley) each totaled two tackles for a loss. After posting a team-high 91 tackles last season, junior
Jake Skinner (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck) racked up a dozen hits at Bridgewater. Senior
Frank Olmo (Eatontown, N.J./Red Bank Catholic) added 10 stops and has posted double-figure tackles in three of his last four outings. Senior linebacker
Glenn Benson (North Plainfield, N.J./North Plainfield) recorded his first career interception in the opener.
GETTYSBURG SPECIAL TEAMS
Sophomore
Justin Geisel (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Country Day School) booted a career-long 39-yard field goal against Bridgewater, besting his previous long by three yards. Dating back to last season, Geisel has hit six field goals over the last four games and he has connected on 24-straight extra points. Freshman
Thomeir Richardson (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Central) totaled 92 yards on five kick-off returns at Bridgewater.
CONFERENCE OPENERS
Gettysburg is 18-16 in its Centennial Conference debut. The Bullets have faced Ursinus in the league opener every year since 2011. Gettysburg has won four of those contests, including each of the last two.
BLOCKED KICKS
Gettysburg swatted a pair of kick attempts in the season opener. Senior
Dakota Brovero (Monroeville, N.J./Delsea) blocked an extra point and classmate
Andrew Major (St. Davids, Pa./Radnor) denied a 30-yard field goal. It was Major's third career blocked kick and first since his freshman season. It was also the first time Gettysburg managed two blocked kicks in the same game since beating Misericordia in 2013.
