Gettysburg College Athletics

OPENING KICKOFF: Tonight’s Centennial Conference (CC) game marks the 50th meeting between Gettysburg (2-2, 1-0 CC) and No. 9 Johns Hopkins (4-0, 0-0 CC) in a series that dates back to 1911. The Blue Jays lead the all-time series 27-20-2, including wins in the last 14 meetings. The last Gettysburg win was a 41-10 victory in Baltimore on Sept. 14, 2007.

WHEN LAST WE MET: Then-No. 8 Johns Hopkins scored 26 points in the second quarter to open up a 40-7 lead en route to a 60-7 win over Gettysburg last season. Chris Singleton, Jr. (Catonsville, Md./Georgetown Prep) led the Bullets with three tackles and two more blocked kicks. Quinn Revere led the Blue Jays with eight catches for 123 yards and four first-half touchdowns. Andrew Rich ran for 135 yards and two scores on 16 carries.

COACHES’ CORNER: Moe Banks is in his fourth year in charge of the Gettysburg program and third season with games. Banks enters today’s game with a 4-20 record on the sidelines. He came to Gettysburg after six seasons at Georgetown (2014-18) and Penn (2019). At Georgetown, he coached defensive backs and oversaw special teams, including mentoring a secondary that ranked third in the FCS in team passing efficiency defense (97.2 percent) and fourth in interceptions (20) in 2018. At Penn, Banks assisted with the development and implementation of defensive and special teams schemes. He coached a pair of All-Ivy League selections at linebacker and was also the play-caller for the kickoff unit, which finished third in the Ivy League in net kickoff average… Greg Chimera is in his fifth season at the helm of the Blue Jays, entering today with a record of 31-6. After a 14-year association with the Johns Hopkins football program, Chimera was named head coach on February 22, 2019.  Chimera, who served as the Blue Jays' offensive coordinator since 2014, became the 27th head coach in program history. A four-year player, he was integral to the greatest 10-year run in program history since joining the staff in 2009. He helped Johns Hopkins to a 102-7 record with 10 straight conference titles. Chimera’s offense played a large role in that success as Johns Hopkins averaged 550.3 yards and 45.8 points per game in 2018. The Blue Jays’ fast-paced offense ran more plays (1,051) for more yards (7,704) than any other team in the nation on its way to the national semifinals. In his first season as the offensive coordinator in 2014, Johns Hopkins averaged 37.2 points and 434.4 yards per game and scored at least 27 points in 10 of 12 games and 21 or more in all 12 games.

LAST TIME OUT: Gettysburg jumped out to a 24-7 halftime lead and held off a fourth-quarter surge to topple McDaniel 27-20 in the CC opener for both teams last Saturday. Rocco Abdinoor (Edgewater, Md./St. Mary’s Annapolis) led the Bullets with 151 yards on 13 of 32 passing, adding two touchdowns. He also ran the ball 14 times for 117 yards. Matt Mikulka (Lititz, Pa./Manheim Twp.) led the defense with nine tackles, including 2.0 for loss, and recovered the onside kick that allowed Gettysburg to run out the clock and secure the win. Tony Miller completed 15 of 24 passes for the Green Terror for 186 yards. Sean Carter caught 12 passes for 137 yards.

LEADING THE WAY: Sam Burk (Swarthmore, Pa./Strath Haven), Chris Lessel (Orefield, Pa./Parkland) and Chris Singleton, Jr. (Catonsville, Md./Georgetown Prep) will captain the squad in 2023. Lessel and Singleton are two-time captains while Burk will captain Gettysburg for the first time as a senior.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: Tonight marks the 21st time Gettysburg has played a Friday night football game since 1988. It is the 16th time that the Bullets have traveled to Homewood Field to take on Johns Hopkins under the lights. The Blue Jays are 12-3 in Friday night games. The last time Gettysburg traveled to Baltimore and won on a Friday night was its last victory over Johns Hopkins – a 41-10 victory on Sept. 14, 2007. The only other teams that the Bullets have faced on Friday nights are Hampden-Sydney (1988), Dickinson (2007, 2009) and Bridgewater (2015, 2017).

CONFERENCE REALIGNMENT: It’s not just the Power 5 conferences dealing with realignment. It hits the Centennial Conference in 2023 with the Landmark Conference now sponsoring football and the three associate members – Juniata, Moravian, and Susquehanna – now playing football in their primary conference. The remaining Centennial teams will play just six leagues games for the first time since 2006 but also entered a scheduling agreement with the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) for three of those four non-conference games. Gettysburg was able to maintain an agreement with Juniata to open the season before taking on Montclair and Christopher Newport in NJAC crossover games the next two weekends. After a bye in Week Four, the Bullets will open the CC schedule and play conference foes in six of the final seven weeks. Gettysburg was one of three CC teams to take on Landmark teams on opening weekend.

HALF AND HALF: The Bullets enter October with a .500 record for the first time since 2015 when they started the season with five straight victories. Between 2016 and 2022, Gettysburg found itself in a hole early in the season, posting just four wins in those six seasons (26 games). The fast start in 2015 catapulted the Bullets to their last winning season with a 7-3 record.

POPPIN’ THE TOP RIGHT: Gettysburg also opened the CC slate with a victory of the first time since 2016, ending a stretch of five straight seasons without a win in the conference opener. Saturday’s win over McDaniel snapped a five-game losing streak in the series and moved the Bullets to 19-21 all-time in CC lidlifters. 

RUN, RUN RUDOLPH: Gettysburg ran the ball 40 times for 215 yards against the Green Terror on Saturday. It was the second time this season that the Bullets have rushed for 200 or more yards. It was also – by far – the most rushing yards allowed by McDaniel in 2023. The Green Terror had given up just 173 yards on the ground combined in the first three games, entering the weekend 17th in Division III in rush defense at 57.7 yards per game. Gettysburg is currently third in the conference in rushing offense (170.0 ypg).

SOMETIMES YOU RUN, SOME TIMES YOU PASS: Rocco Abdinoor posted his second 100-yard rushing games in three appearances this season. He toted the rock 14 times against McDaniel on Saturday for a game-high 117 yards. The sophomore signal caller also completed 13 of 32 passes for 151 yards and two touchdown passes. Abdinoor leads all CC rushers at 117.0 yards per game and his 8.36 yards per carry is seventh-best in Division III. In addition to his 351 rushing yards on the year, he has thrown for another 553 and is completing nearly 50 percent of his passes with one interception and five TD tosses.

DOING IT WITH DEFENSE: Matt Mikulka (Lititz, Pa./Manheim Twp.) led a defense on Saturday that pressured the McDaniel offense all day. The senior defensive back matched his career high with nine tackles, including a career-best 2.0 for loss. Mikulka also recovered the final onside kick that allowed the offense to run the clock out and secure the victory. It was part of a defensive effort that allowed a season-low 80 rushing yards behind 10 tackles for loss. The defense also had two interceptions, five pass breakups and five quarterback hurries. Mikulka now leads the team with 20 tackles this season. 

KICKIN’ IT: Rob Meyer (Doylestown, Pa./Archbishop Wood) has hit at least one field goal in each of his first four games this season. He connected on two more attempts at McDaniel on Saturday. He did, however, miss his first field goal in the fourth quarter, pushing a career-long 39-yard attempt wide left. He is also 11-for-12 in extra-point attempts this season.

BOOTIN’ IT: Matthew Van Istendal (Haddon Heights, N.J./Haddon Heights) had his best day punting of his career on Saturday. The junior averaged 42.5 yards on his four punts. He dropped two punts inside the 20 and blasted a pair 50 or more yards that included a career-long 56-yarder late in the third quarter.

BULLET POINTS: Gettysburg has scored first in three of its first four games… The Bullets are second in the conference in time of possession. Saturday was the first time all season Gettysburg did not win that battle… Games involving the Bullets this season have been the most penalized games in the league. Gettysburg is last in the league in penalty yardage (81.3 ypg) and first in opponent penalty yardage (87.8)… Last Saturday was the earliest in a season that the Route 97 Rivalry renewed since 2002 – the first year that the Green Terror was no longer Western Maryland. Gettysburg is now 12-9 all-time against the Green Terror in the month of September… The Bullets were picked sixth in the CC preseason coaches’ poll… This is the final of three straight road games for the Bullets, who played the first two games at home and finally return to Shirk Field next Saturday for Homecoming. It is one of three Homecoming games over a four-week stretch for Gettysburg.

The Blue Jays enter today’s game ranked ninth in the latest D3football.com poll, holding steady just inside the top 10 for a second straight week… Johns Hopkins opens its conference schedule tonight after a 55-20 win at Rowan last Saturday. The Blue Jays outgained the Profs 464-344 on the day, including 313-124 through the air. Ben Harvey earned CC Offensive Player of the Week honors six total touchdowns. He went 18 of 25 passing for 310 yards and five touchdowns with just one interception. He also rushed for 22 yards and a score. The five touchdown passes are a career high. He guided JHU to touchdowns on seven of its first eight possessions of the game. Geoff Schroeder rushed for 83 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries while Cole Crotty caught seven passes for 93 yards. Defensively, Oliver Craddock led the way with eight tackles, including a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss… The Blue Jays defense got to the Rowan quarterback six times, nearly doubling their season sack total. Johns Hopkins had seven sacks coming into the day and are now tied for second n the conference with 13 – one behind Ursinus’ conference-leading total of 14… Schroeder is averaging 82.0 yards per game rushing with two touchdowns… Harvey has thrown for 983 yards through four games with 13 touchdown passes and just four interceptions. He is completing nearly 70 percent of his passes this season (73 of 105). His touchdown total is tied for best in the conference… The Blue Jays have two of the top three receivers in the CC. Crotty has caught 22 passes for 337 yards with five touchdowns while Josh Polce has 20 grabs for 287 yards and three scores. The duo has combined for more than 61 of the team’s receiving yards and team’s receiving touchdowns… Craddock leads a quartet of defenders with 20 or more tackles this season.