GETTYSBURG, Pa.  – The start of the Centennial Conference slate sees Gettysburg College welcome Ursinus College to Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium this Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
GAME COVERAGE
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THE SERIES
Gettysburg leads the all-time series with Ursinus 35-23-4. The teams first met in 1903 and have played every season since 1983. The Bullets have won 19-of-31 games on their home turf, while the series against the Bears as members of the Centennial Conference is split 18-18-1. Ursinus has won each of the last two meetings.
 
LAST MEETING
Ursinus racked up 506 total yards to beat Gettysburg 42-7 at Patterson Field last season. The Bullets struck first following a forced fumble by Logan Aikey '19 on Stacey Gardner. Gettysburg found pay-dirt four plays later for the opening score. Ursinus followed up a fumble recovery with a touchdown pass by Thomas Garlick at the start of the second quarter and took the lead on another scoring throw by the quarterback before halftime. The Ursinus defense forced Gettysburg to punt on eight consecutive possessions leading up to the fourth quarter. Samuel Ragland accounted for a pair of rushing touchdowns in the second half. Mike Welsh '21 (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) rushed 19 times for 53 yards to pace the Gettysburg offense. Jake Skinner '19 and Aikey totaled 10 and nine tackles, respectively. Evan Tannenbaum '20 (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) set a new program standard with 448 yards on 11 punts for an average of 40.7 yards per kick.  Tannenbaum placed four punts inside the Bears' 20-yard line with a long of 56 yards.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Gettysburg came out on the wrong side of a 41-10 decision to the projected No. 2 team in the ODAC, Bridgewater, last weekend. The Eagles scored three times in the opening quarter and led 34-0 at the break. Sophomore Doug Cummings (Saylorsburg, Pa./Pleasant Valley) put the Bullets on the board with a 24-yard field goal in the third quarter. After Bridgewater scored its final touchdown to start the fourth period, Gettysburg turned in its first touchdown of 2018 as freshman quarterback Logan Edmond (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) connected with senior Ryan Loftus (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) in the game's final seconds. Junior Matt Harris (Dennisville, N.J./Middle Township) passed for 142 yards and Edmond posted 69 yards rushing. Sophomore Matt Lajoie (Mount Laurel, N.J./Lenape) led the way with 87 yards on four receptions. Senior Ryan Greene (Easton, Pa./Easton) paced the defense with seven tackles.
 
Ursinus rode a strong defensive effort in a 22-10 victory over Bethany to open the season. The offense struggled early with Thomas Garlick throwing three interceptions and the Bears losing two fumbles. The Bears took control in the third quarter with Garlick throwing a pair of touchdowns to Stacey Gardner and Matt Gallagher on the opening two drives. Kyle Wiggins converted a 29-yard run for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to account for the final score.  The Bears tied a single-game school record with nine sacks in the game and held the Bison to just 260 yards of offense, including only 91 on the ground. Marcus Weathers posted three sacks and 4.5 tackles for a loss, while Darren Sipf posted two sacks and four tackles for a loss. Garlick finished 13-of-31 for 183 yards and two touchdowns. Samuel Ragland tallied 156 yards on 21 carries.
 
GETTYSBURG OVERVIEW
More than 80 freshman and sophomores dominate a young roster for Head Coach Kevin Burke's second year at the helm. The upstart Bullets will look to surprise some teams in the Centennial Conference this fall after being selected ninth in the preseason poll.
 
GETTYSBURG OFFENSE
Lots of new faces fill the skill positions for the Bullets this season. One familiar face is senior Kevin Benavente (San Diego, Calif./Mt. Carmel), who returns to the season after missing all but parts of three games in 2018. The senior wide receiver totaled over 200 receiving yards in each of his first two campaigns and is closing in on 1,000 all-purpose yards (889) for his career. After a year under center, junior Mike Welsh shifted over running back this fall, opening the door for junior Matt Harris and freshman Logan Edmond to take over at quarterback. Welsh posted 251 rushing yards last season. Seniors Ethan Kendzulak (Flemington, N.J./Delaware Valley) and Alex Scott (Princeton, N.J./Notre Dame) will anchor the ends of the offensive line this fall.
 
GETTYSBURG DEFENSE
The Bullets were active defensively last season with 29 total sacks and 45 passes defended. Senior co-captain Ryan Greene anchors the defensive line. Greene tallied 45 tackles and six tackles for a loss last season and opened 2019 with a team-high seven stops at Bridgewater. Junior linebacker Jack Humphries (Lutherville, Md./Calvert Hall) is the team's top returning tackler with 56 stops in 2018. Junior Thomeir Richardson (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Central) has established himself as one of the top cornerbacks in the conference and defended 14 passes a year ago with four resulting in interceptions.
 
GETTYSBURG SPECIAL TEAMS
Special teams will be a major strength for the Bullets this season with several key returners, however, the team will have to make do without the services of senior Justin Geisel (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Country Day School) this weekend. Sophomore Doug Cummings stepped in last weekend and knocked in a 24-yard field goal and an extra-point attempt. Senior Evan Tannenbaum finished third in the CC in punt average at 38.2 yards per kick in 2018.  Richardson totaled 503 yards on 34 kick/punt returns last season.
 
URSINUS OVERVIEW
Ursinus went 8-3 last season and knocked off Misericordia 70-14 in the program's first Centennial/MAC Bowl game. Head Coach Peter Gallagher has led the Bears to 11 winning seasons and a conference title in 2010. Ursinus was picked fifth in the CC Preseason Poll, just six points shy of third.
 
URSINUS OFFENSE
Quarterback Thomas Garlick ranks as the program's all-time leader in completions (500) and yards (6,382) and is eight touchdowns shy of the Bears' record. Garlick was an honorable mention all-conference pick a year ago after throwing for a school record 2,772 yards and 17 touchdowns. Senior center James Marinelli was a second-team all-league pick a year ago and anchors the offensive line. Junior Samuel Ragland was named All-CC First Team in 2018 thanks to 1,801 all-purpose yards and 22 total touchdowns. The former CC Rookie of the Year led the CC with 86.7 yards per game as a sophomore. Ragland is the team's top returning receiver with 56 catches for 645 yards, while senior Zach Gravelle hauled in 25 catches for 380 yards in 2018.
 
URSINUS DEFENSE
Ursinus jump-started its 2019 campaign with an outstanding defensive effort, highlighted by a nine-sack performance against Bethany. The Bears managed just 23 sacks a year ago, while allowing 20.6 points and 333.6 yards per game. A pair of all-conference performers return in the secondary in Mitchell Bradford and Jack Spingler. Bradford topped the CC with five interceptions last fall, while Spingler posted 40 tackles and a fumble recovery as a safety. Linebacker Jacob McCain led the Bears with 112 tackles last season.
 
URSINUS SPECIAL TEAMS
Sophomore Mike Reilly handled punting duties in the opening game against Bethany, booting four kicks an average of 34.8 yards. Freshman Dakota Wherrity hit two extra-point attempts and missed a field goal from 28 yards. After averaging 22.4 yards on five kick-offs last season, Wiggins returned his only kick return 30 yards against the Bison last week.
 
CENTENNIAL OPENERS
Gettysburg has split its 36 Centennial Conference openers since 1983. The Bullets have faced Ursinus in each of the last eight seasons with those meetings split as well. The Bears have won the last two conference openers against the Bullets, including a 35-28 decision at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium in 2017.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
The Battle for the Little Brown Bucket sits on the horizon for Gettysburg. The Bullets will host long-time rival Dickinson College next Saturday, Sept. 21, at 1 p.m. The Red Devils have lifted the Bucket in each of the last three seasons, but Gettysburg remains ahead in the series 44-38-2, including 23-13-1 on its home turf.