THE FACTS
Gettysburg (1-0) 40, Juniata (0-1) 20
What: Non-Conference football game
When: Saturday, Sept. 2
Where: Gettysburg, Pa.
THE SKINNY STORY
Gettysburg scored 16 straight points in the second half to turn a three-point halftime edge into a 33-14 lead early in the fourth quarter en route to a 40-20 win over Juniata in the season opener for both teams.
THE LEADERS
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Rocco Abdinoor (Edgewater, Md./St. Mary's Annapolis) led the Bullets offensively with 380 yards of total offense and four total touchdowns. He threw for 205, completing 15 of 27 with two touchdowns, while running for another 175 on 18 carries and two scores.
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Walle Harwigsson Lundblad (Malmo, Sweden/Rabun Gap Nacoochee School) accounted for 193 all-purpose yards, catching five passes for 75 yards and returning three kickoffs for another 118.
• Defensively,
Joshua Williams (Baltimore, Md./Catonsville) led the way with seven tackles, a pass breakup, and interception.
FOR THE FOES
• Quintin Stephens led the Eagles with 98 receiving yards on seven catches with a touchdown.
• Noah Wright threw for 182 yards on 14 of 32 passing and ran for another 48 yards.
THE REST OF THE STORY
• Gettysburg started the game with back-to-back completions to Walle Harwigsson, moving the ball 49 yards in just two plays.
Rocco Abdinoor guided the Bullets down the field before the drive stalled after eight plays and 69 yards.
Rob Meyer (Doylestown, Pa./Archbishop Wood) got Gettysburg on the board first with a 27-yard field goal with 11:19 to play.
• After forcing Juniata into a punt on its initial possession, the Bullets needed just seven plays to go 81 yards for their first touchdown of the season. Abdinoor hit
Ryan McAndrew (Denville, N.J./Morris Catholic) on a deep ball down the near sideline for a 41-yard gain to set up a first down in the red zone. Four plays later, Abdinoor took off for the last nine yards on a sprint out right and found the end zone for a 10-0 lead with 6:11 showing.
• Juniata took advantage of a fumble, taking over at the Gettysburg 20 early in the second quarter. Hunter Wolfley capped off a four-play march with a five-yard direct snap touchdown up the middle to cut the deficit to 10-7 with 11:37 on the clock.
• Harwigsson had the answer, though, fielding the ensuing kickoff at his own 12 and sprinting to pay dirt and re-establishing the 10-point lead 14 seconds later.
• The Eagles responded once again, however, with a nine-play, 75-yard drive that Quintin Stephen paid off with a 15-yard touchdown grab with 8:30 to play before the two offenses combined for no first downs and five punts over the remainder of the first half.
• After Juniata netted negative yards on its opening possession of the second half, Abdinoor led the Bullets on a 12-play, 75-yard march despite a 62-yard rush being called back on a holding penalty. McAndrews had another 27-yard grab on the drive, converting one of three third-and-longs.
James McCarren (Glen Ridge, N.J./Glen Ridge) capped the drive with his first touchdown, catching a seven-yard score. The ensuing PAT was blocked to keep it a 23-14 game.
• The defenses once again took over until a sack-fumble from
Chris Singleton, Jr. (Catonsville, Md./Georgetown Prep) gave the Gettysburg offense possession in plus-territory. Abdinoor nearly paid it off in just one play but his touchdown was taken off the board on a blindside block downfield but still set up a first down at the Juniata 18.
Peter Schelling (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) rushed for 14 yards on second-and-12 to set up a first-and-goal but the Bullets had to settle for another Meyer field goal from 21 yards out to make it 26-14 with 11:27 to play.
• After another Eagle punt,
Luke Denison (Madison, N.J./Madison) nearly broke the punt return for another special teams score but instead settled for a 35-yard return to give the offensive the ball at the Juniata 28. Abdinoor connected with McAndrew on the first play from scrimmage for a 28-yard touchdown pass and 33-14 lead with 9:34 remaining.
• The Eagles put together an eight-play drive that covered 64 yards, ending with another Wolfley rushing touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, keeping it a 33-20 game with 6:57 on the clock.
• Abdinoor did most of the work on the ensuing drive that stretched the lead to 20, including a 41-yard scamper and 14-yard touchdown run with 3:07 to play.
THE INSIDE STORY
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Rocco Abdinoor's 380 yards of total offense was the most by a Gettysburg player since 2010.
• The Bullets won their season opener for the first time since 2015 and opened the season with a home win for the first time since 2013.
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Walle Harwigsson Lundblad's kickoff return for a touchdown was the first by for Gettysburg since Fred Caruso housed an 89-yarder in the 2012 season opener against Misericordia.
• Gettysburg finished with a 458-316 advantage in total offense, including 238-134 on the ground.
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Peter Schelling ran for 67 yards on 13 carries.
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Ryan McAndrew finished with three catches for 96 yards.
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Chris Singleton, Jr. and
Nate DeLorenzo (Chesapeake, Va./Norfolk Academy) had six tackles each. Singleton added two sacks, including the forced fumble.
NEXT UP
Gettysburg returns to action at home against Montclair State on Saturday. Game time is 2 p.m.
