GETTYSBURG, Pa.  – November is rivalry month for the Gettysburg College football team and the month kicks off with the Bullets (1-7, 1-6 CC) meeting Muhlenberg College (7-1, 6-1 CC) with the rights to the Old Tin Cup on the line at Scotty Wood Stadium this Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
GAME COVERAGE
Saturday's game will feature live video and live stats through CentennialConference.TV.
 
THE SERIES
This weekend's game marks the 85th meeting all-time between Gettysburg and Muhlenberg. The two teams first tangled in 1907 and have met every year since 1981. The Bullets hold a 43-38-1 edge in the series, but the Mules have won each of the last six meetings. Gettysburg is 17-22 in Allentown with the program's last road victory in the series coming in 1996 (27-9).
 
THE OLD TIN CUP
The Old Tin Cup was created as part of an elaborate ruse in 1954. Members from both school newspapers teamed with campus officials to create a legend centering around two brothers who played for the Bullets and Mules in 1911. The story was intended to help provide more hype for that season's battle on Homecoming, which was won by Gettysburg 34-0. While the story was fabricated, the rivalry developed into an annual prize in the form of a Tin Cup.
 
LAST MEETING
Muhlenberg handed Gettysburg a 39-14 setback at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium last fall. The Bullets held the Mules scoreless in the opening quarter, but the visitors turned in four scores in the second, including two touchdown throws by Michael Hnatkowsky. Andrew Major '18 hauled in a 54-yard touchdown pass from Justin Davidov '18 for Gettysburg's first score. Davidov threw another touchdown pass to Ryan Thompson '18 to account for his team's second score in the third quarter. Muhlenberg out-gained Gettysburg 504-349 in total yards and possessed the ball for more than 40 minutes on the game clock. Davidov completed 24 passes to 12 different receivers for 280 yards passing and he became the Bullets' all-time leader in rushing yards by a quarterback. Four of his passes went to Major for 88 yards. Mike McKnight '19 (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin) and Jake Skinner '19 (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck) each posted 13 tackles to pace the Gettysburg defense. Hnatkowsky completed 27-of-36 passes for 343 yards and four touchdowns for Muhlenberg. James Diggs added 82 rushing yards and Josiah Wright hauled in six catches for 149 yards and two touchdowns. Michael Blank totaled 11 tackles and Kwasi Ampomah logged a pair of sacks.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Susquehanna pulled away from Gettysburg for a 27-9 victory on a rain-soaked afternoon in Selinsgrove last Saturday. The Bullets opened the scoring with a 34-yard field goal by junior Justin Geisel (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Country Day). The River Hawks took advantage of a bad snap on a punt to score from a yard out for their first score in the opening quarter and added touchdowns in the third and fourth periods. Junior Andrew Howard (Swansea, Mass./Moses Brown School) scored a touchdown for the third consecutive game to cut the margin to 20-9 before Susquehanna sealed the victory on a 36-yard run by Da'Avian Ellington late in the fourth. Senior Nick Rella (Denville, N.J./Morristown-Beard) picked up 52 yards rushing and Howard added 42 yards on the ground. Freshman Matt Lajoie (Mount Laurel, N.J./Lenape) hauled in five catches for 52 yards. Senior Logan Aikey (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg) led the Bullets defense with four tackles for a loss and a pair of sacks.
 
Muhlenberg suffered its first loss of the season 27-16 at No. 23 Johns Hopkins last Saturday. The Blue Jays held the Mules scoreless in the opening half while building a 21-0 advantage. Muhlenberg picked up a safety in the third quarter and added a three-yard touchdown run by junior Mark Riggio to pull to 21-9. After another touchdown by Johns Hopkins, junior Max Kirin completed the scoring with an 11-yard touchdown reception from sophomore Mike Hnatkowsky. Hnatkowsky completed 23-of-44 passes for 278 yards and was picked off four times. Riggio picked up 53 yards on the ground, while Kirin hauled in a dozen passes for 132 yards. Junior Frankie Feaster posted five tackles for a loss, three sacks, and two forced fumbles for the Mules defense.
 
GETTYSBURG OVERVIEW
Gettysburg has shown significant improvement over the last month despite a rash of injuries to key players. Head Coach Kevin Burke '90 secured his first victory as a head coach in 15 years with the team's win over Juniata, which was also the last program Burke coached to a victory prior to his arrival in Gettysburg as offensive coordinator.  
 
GETTYSBURG OFFENSE
After averaging nearly 378 yards per game in its three prior outings, Gettysburg's offense was ravaged by injuries heading into a rain-plagued game at Susquehanna. The ground game was a big reason for the offensive surge with junior Andrew Howard and senior Nick Rella leading the way. Howard has scored a touchdown in three consecutive games and leads the team with four rushing scores, while Rella paces the team with 366 yards on the ground. Sophomores Mike Welsh (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) and Ryan Finlay (Long Valley, N.J./West Morris Central) have combined for 1,009 yards and three touchdowns under center. Senior Johnny Davis (Mahwah, N.J./Mahwah) has become the team's top deep threat and is averaging nearly 19 yards per catch. Davis has 14 receptions for a team-leading 264 yards.
 
GETTYSBURG DEFENSE
Gettysburg leads the conference with 21 takeaways this season. The team is tied for the league lead with 13 fumble recoveries and it ranks second in sacks with 25. Senior defensive end Logan Aikey has already tied his school record with 17.5 tackles for a loss this fall and he is tied for seventh in the country. Aikey also ranks second in the CC in sacks with nine. Senior linebacker Jake Skinner leads the team and ranks sixth in the conference with 70 tackles. Skinner needs 19 more tackles to reach 300 for his career. Despite missing two games this season, sophomore Thomeir Richardson (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Central) is tied for the conference lead in interceptions with four.
 
GETTYSBURG SPECIAL TEAMS
Junior Justin Geisel (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Country Day School) paces the CC with nine made field goals and he is 11-of-11 on extra-point attempts. His only misses this season have come from 49 and 50 yards, distances which would break the program record of 48 held by Rich Eppleman '78 and Josh Huson '09. Freshman Doug Cummings (Saylorsburg, Pa./Pleasant Valley) took over punting duties last week and averaged 33.8 yards on five kicks.  Sophomore Thomeir Richardson has fielded a total of 33 kickoffs and punts for a total of 501 yards. Richardson ranks second in the CC with 21.5 yards per kickoff return.
 
MUHLENBERG OVERVIEW
Muhlenberg dropped out of the national rankings this week, but the Mules have maintained a strong presence in the NCAA regional rankings, sitting sixth in a deep pool of teams out of the South Region. The Mules are looking for a berth in the postseason for the seventh consecutive season. Nate Milne is in his first season as head coach at Muhlenberg, following in the footsteps of long-time coach Mike Donnelly, who passed away last October due to complications from leukemia.
 
MUHLENBERG OFFENSE
Muhlenberg ranks second in the CC in yards per game (444.1), points per game (35.1), and passing yards per game (276.9). The Mules have put up over 400 yards in six games, including 600 in a victory over Ursinus. Sophomore Michael Hnatkowsky ranks second in the league in passing yards per game (270.0) and touchdowns (19). Hnatkowsky has thrown for a TD in every game this fall, including multiple scores in five games. Muhlenberg features the top rusher in the league in sophomore tailback James Diggs. Diggs leads the way with 672 yards and has scored seven touchdowns. Junior Max Kirin is second in the league in receiving touchdowns (8) and third in receiving yards (595).  
 
MUHLENBERG DEFENSE
The Mules lead the conference in interceptions (12), sacks (29), and defensive touchdowns (3). Muhlenberg is allowing an average of 77 rushing yards per game, which ranks 25th in Division III. Junior defensive end Frankie Feaster leads the conference with 10 sacks and three forced fumbles and ranks second with 14.5 tackles for a loss. Nine Mules have picked off a pass this season with sophomore defensive back Nick Sirico leading the way with three. Junior linebacker Mickey Kober leads the team with 51 tackles, while senior counterpart Jack Fitzsimmons has totaled 50 stops.
 
MUHLENBERG SPECIAL TEAMS
Junior Todd Spirt has connected on 5-of-9 field goals and 36-of-38 extra points. His longest kicks of the year were 37-yarders against Susquehanna and Thomas More, the former of which took down the River Hawks in overtime. Junior Joseph O'Hagan and freshman Kevin Olifiers have split punting duties this season, with the former averaging 34.4 yards per kick and the latter averaging 41.3. Freshman Gabe Robles has fielded a total of 46 kickoffs and punts this season for a total of 636 yards. Robles ranks 11th in Division III in total kick return yards.  
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Gettysburg closes the season with its most played rivalry against Franklin & Marshall College next Saturday at 1 p.m. The teams have met 103 times and amazingly the series is tied 48-48-7. The winner claims ownership of The Lincoln Football Trophy, which is modeled after a stove pipe hat and is made from two witness trees from the Gettysburg Battlefield. Gettysburg will also recognize its 16 seniors prior to the game and there will be a special coin toss featuring military veterans from both institutions.