THE FACTS
Gettysburg (2-2, 1-0 CC) 27, McDaniel (0-4, 0-1 CC)
What: Centennial Conference (CC) football game
When: Saturday, Sept. 30
Where: Westminster, Md.
THE SKINNY STORY
Gettysburg jumped out to a 24-7 halftime lead and held off a fourth-quarter surge to topple McDaniel 27-20 in the Centennial Conference opener for both teams.
THE LEADERS
•
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.
FOR THE FOES
• Tony Miller completed 15 of 24 passes for the Green Terror for 186 yards.
• Sean Carter caught 12 passes for 137 yards.
THE REST OF THE STORY
• After the quarterbacks traded interceptions on back-to-back drives, Gettysburg took over at the McDaniel 13 before settling for a
Rob Meyer (Doylestown, Pa./Archbishop Wood) 27-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead with 9:20 to play in the opening quarter. After the Green Terror muffed the ensuing kickoff,
Rocco Abdinoor connected with
Walle Harwigsson Lundblad (Malmo, Sweeden/Rabun Gap) on the first play for a 36-yard touchdown pass and 10-0 lead just seven seconds later.
• Converting a pair of fourth downs helped McDaniel move 69 yards on 13 plays that Trent Gaskins was able to pay off with a 16-yard touchdown run. The hosts closed to within 10-7 on the Connor Schoene PAT with 10:45 to play in the second quarter. Gettysburg responded with an 11-play, 72-drive of its own – the last two coming from
Michael Zrelak (Monroe, N.Y./Monroe-Woodbury) up the middle for a touchdown. A 20-yard Abdinoor run on third-and-5 coupled with a facemask penalty set the Bullets up in McDaniel territory. Taking over at his own 33 with 61 seconds remaining in the first half, Abdinoor engineered a six-play drive, finding
Hunter Klein (Shohola, Pa./Delaware Valley) for a touchdown as the first half expired for a 24-7 halftime lead.
•
Anad Charles' (Riverview, Fla./Riverview) first career interception was returned 77 yards to set up first down at the McDaniel 4 but the offense had to settle for a second Meyer field goal from 28 yards out to push the lead to 27-7 with 6:58 to play in the third quarter.
• A Hunter Sigler touchdown made it 27-13 with 7:18 to play in the fourth quarter. Angel Granado then found Sigler again from 15 yards out to close the margin to seven with 1:17 to play.
Matt Mikulka recovered the ensuing onside kick but the offense still faced fourth-and-1 from the McDaniel 39 with 53 seconds left. Klein took the direct snap on a fake punt and scampered nine yards down the near sideline to allow the Bullets to take two knees and end the game.
THE INSIDE STORY
• It was the first win for the Bullets over McDaniel since a 38-23 victory on Oct. 1, 2016 and first in Westminster since 2015.
• Walle Harwigsson caught two passes for 60 yards and the touchdown.
•
Michael Zrelak and
Peter Schelling combined for 87 yards rushing on 20 carries.
• Gettysburg won its conference opener for the first time since 2016.
NEXT UP
Gettysburg returns to action at No. 9 Johns Hopkins on Friday. Game time is 7 p.m.
