Gettysburg College Athletics

OPENING KICKOFF: Today’s Centennial Conference (CC) opener marks the 76th meeting between Gettysburg (1-2, 0-0 CC) and McDaniel (0-3, 0-0 CC) in a series that dates back to 1891. The Bullets lead the all-time series 51-23-1 but the Green Terror has won five straight games to snap a six-game losing streak in the series. The last Gettysburg win was a 38-23 victory in 2016.

WHEN LAST WE MET: McDaniel scored on its first and its last drive of the game to escape with a 19-16 win over Gettysburg in Westminster last season. Joshua Williams (Baltimore, Md./Catonsville) led the Bullets defense with eight tackles. Rocco Abdinoor (Edgewater, Md./St. Mary’s Annapolis) threw for 196 yards on 14 of 37 passing. He also ran the ball 14 times for 55 yards. Hunter Sigler led the Bullets with three catches for 71 yards and two touchdowns.

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 3-20 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… David Sartin is in his first season as interim head coach at McDaniel. He enters today with an 0-3 record and served the last two seasons as offensive line coach for the Green Terror. A 26-year collegiate coaching veteran, Sartin spent two seasons at Finlandia, where he served as the assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and defensive line coach, prior to his arrival in Westminster. He spent 10 seasons as the offensive line coach at Michigan Tech from 2009-18, mentoring 17 All-GLIAC selections and one All-American. From 2006-08, Sartin was the scout team coordinator and assistant offensive line coach at Division II Grand Valley State. He spent six years at North Park. He started his coaching career at his alma mater, Mount Union.

LAST TIME OUT: LAST TIME OUT: Gettysburg was idle last week. Two weeks ago, a 21-point second quarter gave host Christopher Newport a 28-3 lead en route to a 49-17 victory over Gettysburg. Peter Schelling (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) led the Bullets with 46 yards rushing but scored both touchdowns. Anad Charles (Riverview, Fla./Riverview) paced the defense with seven tackles. Connor Barry went 14-for-20 for the Captains for 287 yards and two touchdowns. Trey Hayes caught six passes for 136 yards and a score.

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.

OPENING STATEMENTS: Gettysburg has dropped its last five CC openers and are 18-21 all-time in CC lidlifters. The Bullets and Green Terror return to being the opening conference foe on each other’s schedule for the first time since 2006. The two rivals squared off in CC lidlifters for the first 24 years of the league with Gettysburg holding a slight 13-11 advantage before four straight openers against Johns Hopkins (1-3). Nine straight years of opening against Ursinus followed the Bullets going 4-5 before Moravian defeated Gettysburg in the opener the last two years.

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.

AIN’T THAT SPECIAL?: Gettysburg has excelled in the kickoff game through the first three weeks of the season. The Bullets enter conference play, averaging a conference-best 25.0 yards per return. That total is also 29th in Division III. On the other side, Gettysburg is 11th in Division III – and also leads the CC – in kickoff return defense, allowing opponents an average of just 13.4 yards per return. In addition to Walle Harwigsson Lundblad’s (Malmö, Skane, Sweden/Rabun Gap Nacoochee School) 88-yard return for a touchdown, he also has returns of 31, 25 and 21. Peter Schelling (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) had a 37-yard return against Montclair.

HOLD ON TO THE ONE YOU LOVE: The Bullets have won the time of possession battle in each of their first three games. The Gettysburg offense is holding the ball for an average of 33:04 per game, which is second in the conference. The Orange and Blue have run 67 or more offensive plays in each of the first three games. In the opener, Gettysburg ran 67 offensive plays against Juniata before piling up 82 against Montclair in Week Two. In their first road game of the year, the Bullets ran 77 plays at Christopher Newport. All of that time on offense has led to a conference-high 70 first downs this season. The only Centennial team with a higher average time of possession this season is McDaniel (34:46). 

KICKIN’ IT: Rob Meyer (Doylestown, Pa./Archbishop Wood) has hit at least one field goal in each of his first three games this season. The senior is 5-for-5 on the year. After connecting on field goals of 27 yards and 21 yards in the opener, Meyer hit a 30-yarder in the first quarter against Montclair before later adding a 21-yarder. He hit a 23-yarder at Christopher Newport. He is also 8-for-9 in extra-point attempts this season.

DOUBLED UP: Peter Schelling scored a pair of rushing touchdowns at Christopher Newport two weeks ago. It was the senior’s second two-score outing of his career. He found the end zone twice as part of a 129-yard rushing day at Juniata last season for his first. Schelling’s rushing touchdowns at CNU both came in the second half and were from one- and two-yards out.

LEADING FROM THE BACK: The Bullets’ top three tacklers at Christopher Newport two weeks ago were all out of the secondary. Freshman Anad Charles (Riverview, Fla./Riverview) established a career best with seven stops in his second career start. Senior Matt Mikulka (Lititz, Pa./Manheim Twp.) and Chris Lessel (Orefield, Pa./Parkland) has six tackles each. All six of Mikulka’s stops were solo tackles. Charles is the team’s leading tackler on the year with 15 stops. Despite not having any single player with more than 15 tackles through three games, the Bullets do have nine defenders with nine or more tackles.

BULLET POINTS: This the earliest in a season that the Route 97 Rivalry has renewed since 2002 – the first year that the Green Terror was no longer Western Maryland. Gettysburg is 11-9 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 second of three straight road games for the Bullets, who played the first two games at home and will not return to Shirk Field until Oct. 14. Gettysburg will play in three Homecoming games over the next four weekends.

The Green Terror was idle last week. Two weeks ago, McDaniel dropped a 35-14 decision at William Paterson despite outgaining the Pioneers 333-143 on the afternoon but turned the ball over eight times. Three of William Paterson’s five touchdowns were non-offensive scores – a 65-yard fumble return, an 89-yard kickoff return, and a 25-yard interception return. Furthermore, the Pioneers’ two offensive scorers were quick strikes – both coming on the first play of a drive. Those were a 32-yard pass play and an 86-yard pass play. McDaniel had 22 first downs in the game compared to just four for William Paterson… Eric Grinwis went 23-for-38 through the air for 213 yards with two touchdown throws but four interceptions and was sacked four times… Trent Gaskins rushed for 188 yards for his second career 100-yard rushing game… In three games this season, the Green Terror is being outscored 118-49, allowing 34 or more points in each contest… McDaniel has the best rush defense in the conference this season. Teams are averaging just 57.7 yards per game on the ground against the Green Terror. However, the Green and Gold has the worst pass defense in the league, allowing 265.7 yards per game through the air… Gaskins ranks fifth in the conference in rushing yards per game, averaging 81.3 ypg. He accounts for more than two-thirds of the Green Terror’s rushing yards this season… Jevin Tranquillo and Mike Dunn lead the defense in the early going with 22 and 21 tackles, respectively. Both players have 3.0 sacks while Tranquillo has a pass breakup and Dunn has a forced fumble.