Gettysburg College Athletics

OPENING KICKOFF: Today’s game marks the first meeting between Gettysburg (1-0) and Montclair State (0-0). This is the first of three times this season that the Bullets will meet a team they have not faced in the previous 129 yards of football.

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 3-18 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… Mike Palazzo took the reins of the Montclair program at the end of the 2022 season after spending the last nine years on staff, including the 2022 season as Associate Head Coach, Defensive Coordinator, and Recruiting Coordinator. This is his third stint as a member of the coaching staff for the former Red Hawk player, who was a student assistant in 2007 when Montclair claimed the ECAC South Atlantic Championship and tight ends/video coordinator from 2012-13 following his playing career. He spent the 2014 season as the defensive quality control coach at Towson before returning to Montclair in 2015. He also served as wide receivers coach during his time as an assistant.

LAST TIME OUT: 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 last Saturday. Rocco Abdinoor (Edgewater, Md./St. Mary’s Annapolis) led the Bullets offensively with 385 yards of total offense and four total touchdowns. He threw for 205 yards, completing 15 of 27 with two touchdowns, while running for another 180 on 18 carries and two scores. Quintin Stephens led the Eagles with 98 receiving yards on seven catches with a touchdown.

HEAD OF THE CLASS: Two Gettysburg players claimed Centennial Conference (CC) Player of the Week honors after Week 1. Rocco Abdinoor earned the offensive nod after accounting for 385 yards of total offense, rushing for 180 yards and two touchdowns in addition to his 205 yards passing with two more touchdowns. Walle Harwigsson Lundblad (Malmo, Sweden/Rabun Gap Nacoochee School) was tabbed the top special teams players after returning three kickoffs for a total of 118 yards that included an 88-yard return for a touchdown. He also had five catches for 75 yards to finish with 193 all-purpose 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.

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.

STARTING WITH A BANG: Gettysburg opened the 2023 season with a 20-point victory over Juniata. The Bullets improved to 59-69-2 on opening day and snapped a six-game losing streak in lidlifters. It was the first Week 1 victory for Gettysburg since a 49-10 win over Bridgewater in 2015 and the first time the season started with a home victory since toppling Misericordia 62-40 on Sept. 7, 2013. 

MANY HAPPY RETURNS: Walle Harwigsson made a big impact in the early going of Saturday’s victory. After not getting much going on the game’s opening kickoff return, he caught the first two passes of the game for 49 yards. Then after a Juniata touchdown with 11:37 to play in the second quarter, Harwigsson settled under the kickoff at his own 12 and raced down the middle of the field for a touchdown. It was the first time a Gettysburg player returned a kickoff for a touchdown since Fred Caruso did it with an 89-yard house call in the 2012 opener against Misericordia.

DUAL THREAT: Rocco Abdinoor did it with both his right arm and his feet on Saturday. The signalcaller opened his sophomore campaign with 385 yards of total offense. Abdinoor had his third career 200-yard passing game, completing 15 of 27 passes for 205 yards with two touchdowns. He also ran for 180 yards on 18 carries and two more touchdowns. He broke off runs of 41 and 42 yards in the contest. Abdinoor’s 180 yards rushing was the third most by a Bullet quarterback in program history and most since Sam McDermott ran for 183 against Bridgewater on Sept. 4, 2015. It was also the most yards of total offense in a single game since McDermott amassed 439 against Juniata on Sept. 19, 2015. McDermott threw for 349 and ran for another 90.

SACK LUNCH: Chris Singleton, Jr. recorded a pair of sacks in Saturday’s victory for the Bullets’ first multiple-sack game since Oct. 6, 2018 when Jordan Mason also had two against Juniata. Singleton added a forced fumble with a strip-sack fumble that ultimately led to a field goal.

KICKING IT THROUGH THE STICKS: Rob Meyer (Doylestown, Pa./Archbishop Wood), in his first action as the starting placekicker, converted a pair of field goals in addition to going 5-for-6 on extra-point attempts. The senior connected on a 27-yard field goal for the Bullets’ first points in the first quarter before adding a 21-yarder in the fourth quarter. 

GOING LONG: The Gettysburg offense ripped off six plays of 20 or more yards in the opener last Saturday. In addition to Rocco Abdinoor’s two 40-plus-yard runs, he also connected on four deep balls. Ryan McAndrew (Denville, N.J./Morris Catholic) hauled in a 41-yard catch-and-run while also snagging balls that covered 27 and 28 yards. Walle Harwigsson also had a 32-yard reception on the opening drive.

ALWAYS REMEMBER YOUR FIRST: James McCarren (Glen Ridge, N.J./Glen Ridge) made his first collegiate reception count – for six points. He hauled in a seven-yard swing pass for a third-quarter touchdown that started a stretch of 16 straight points for the Bullets that put the game out of reach early in the fourth quarter.

BULLET POINTS: Five defenders had five or more tackles in the opener led by Joshua Williams (Baltimore, Md./Catonsville), who had seven stops to go with an interception and pass breakup… The Orange and Blue had two players earn CC Player of the Week honors for the first time since 2017 when Glenn Benson (defensive) and Justin Geisel (special teams) earned the nods… All three opponents that the Bullets drew for their NJAC crossover games are new foes for Gettysburg… Gettysburg’s September schedule features four teams that went a combined 12-28 last season. Christopher Newport accounted for seven of those victories.

The Red Hawks open the season this afternoon and will do so with a new head coach for the first time in four decades. Rick Giancola retired at the end of the 2022 season after 40 years at the helm of the Montclair program and Mike Palazzo was elevated to head coach… The Red Hawks lost their final seven games in 2022 after starting the year 2-1. Montclair scored 58 points in its two victories but failed to score more than 22 in any of its eight losses and were limited to single digits in half of those setbacks… Aidan McLaughlin saw action in three games last year as a quarterback, going 3-for-4 for 99 yards. Mason Murdock went 113 of 226 as the starting signalcaller a year ago, throwing for 1,223 yards and seven touchdowns. However, he was also intercepted 13 times… Abellany Mendez returns in the backfield after leading the way in the ground game last year with 121 carries for 506 yards and two touchdowns… Eric Cowan, who had a team-high 25 receptions for 345 yards and two touchdowns moves to defensive line this season… Six of the other seven receivers with double-digit receptions are all back in a crowded wide receiver room… Nicholas Burgess led the defense from the middle of the field last year and is back to once again patrol the inside ‘backer position. He had 94 tackles, including 3.5 for loss and 1.5 sacks to go with two interceptions, two quarterback hurries, and two forced fumbles. Burgess was a first-team All-NJAC performer last season… The Red Hawks had a Week One bye and will now play 10 straight games without a week off.