THE FACTS
College of New Jersey (5-2) 41, Gettysburg (2-5) 31
What: Non-conference football game
When: Saturday, Oct. 26
Where: Gettysburg, Pa.
THE SKINNY STORY
College of New Jersey scored 27 straight points, overcoming an early 13-0 deficit and defeating Gettysburg, 41-31.
THE LEADERS
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Rocco Abdinoor (Edgewater, Md./St. Mary's Annapolis) led the Bullets once again with 237 yards passing, completing 24 of 40 passes with two touchdowns. He also ran the ball six times for 114 yards with a touchdown and caught a 10-yard pass.
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Matt O'Connor (Stamford, Conn./St. Luke's School) accounted for two rushing touchdowns, totaling 10 yards on three carries. He also caught three passes for nine yards and was 1-for-1 passing.
FOR THE FOES
• Jayson Schmidt ran the ball 35 times to lead the Lions, racking up 247 of the team's 253 yards on the ground with four touchdowns.
• Trevor Bopp had three carries for seven yards and a touchdown in addition to his 329 yards passing on 18 of 23.
THE REST OF THE STORY
• Gettysburg took the opening possession 68 yards down the field on 11 plays, eating up more than five minutes of the first quarter before
Rocco Abdinoor hit
Walle Harwigsson Lundblad (Malmo, Sweden/Rabun Gap) in the front of the end zone for a three-yard score. The Bullets then put together another 11-play, 84-yard drive that consumed 7:34 but the TCNJ defense held on fourth-and-4 from inside the 10 to keep it a 7-0 game.
• After an 11-yard punt gave Gettysburg possession at the Lions 36, Gettysburg needed just four plays before
Matt O'Connor found the pylon with an eight-yard touchdown run but the missed conversion kept it a 13-0 game with 13:14 to play in the second quarter. College of New Jersey had an answer, though, and Trevor Bopp moved the visitors 65 yards down the field in nine. Schmidt finished off the drive with a five-yard run for his first score. An O'Connor one-yard read off the left end capped a 10-play answer that pushed the lead to 19-7 with 5:07 remaining. A deep ball to Malin Jasinski went for a 36-yard touchdown with 4:14 left then Schmidt added his second score of the day with a three-yard run nearly three minutes later to take a 20-19 lead into the break.
• The Lions took the opening possession 78 yards in six plays, including Schmidt breaking a 49-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-1 to push the lead to 27-19 just 2:32 into the third quarter. Another three-yard Schmidt touchdown made it a 34-19 game with 4:03 on the third-quarter clock.
Jason Roskam (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) responded with a 43-yard catch-and-run on third and seven to cut the margin to 34-25 in the final 75 seconds of the quarter.
• TCNJ made it 41-25 on its first drive of the fourth quarter before the Bullets marched 70 yards in 10 plays that Abdinoor capped by breaking a 20-yard run off the right side to make it a 10-point game. The Lions, however, were able to convert a third-and-16 and fourth-and-5 to run out the clock
THE INSIDE STORY
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Nick Wonsala (Manasquan, N.J./Wall Twp.) caught six passes, establishing a career high of 60 yards.
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Jason Roskam had 96 receiving yards on five grabs.
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Michael Zrelak (Monroe, N.Y./Monroe-Woodbury) carried the ball 24 times for 91 yards.
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Ryan Weems (Plant City, Fla./Strawberry Crest) and
Nate DeLorenzo (Virginia Beach, Va./Norfolk Academy) led the defense with eight tackles each. DeLorenzo added his third interception of the season – one of three picks by the Gettysburg defense.
NEXT UP
Gettysburg returns to action at Dickinson on Saturday. Game time is 1 p.m.
