Gettysburg College Athletics

OPENING KICKOFF: Today’s season opening non-conference game marks the 38th meeting between Gettysburg (0-0) and Juniata (0-0) in a series that dates back to 1923. The Bullets lead the all-time series 27-10, including wins in the last six meetings. The only Eagle win since 2013 came by a 41-35 margin in Gettysburg on Sept. 17, 2016.

WHEN LAST WE MET: 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 season. 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. (Full Recap) (Box Score)

COACHES’ CORNER: Moe Banks enters his fifth year in charge of the Gettysburg program and fourth season with games. Banks enters today’s game with a 4-26 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… Blake Treadwell enters his second season at the helm after he was elevated to head coach prior to the 2023 season. He went 1-9 in his debut campaign. He joined the Eagles staff last season as offensive line coach, run-game coordinator and academic coordinator. Treadwell was a standout student-athlete at Michigan State, starting on both the offensive and defensive lines at various points in his career, winning two Big Ten Championships, and playing in four bowl games, He served as a team captain in the 2013 Rose Bowl. He began his college coaching career at University of South Florida, serving as an offensive line graduate assistant for two seasons. The Bulls finished 11-2 and No. 19 in the final AP poll in 2016 while ranking in the top-five nationally in rushing offense. After his stint at USF, Treadwell returned to Michigan State as an offensive line graduate assistant for three seasons. He then spent time at Bucknell as a running backs coach and Buffalo State for a season as offensive line coach.

LAST TIME OUT: Franklin & Marshall scored three first-half touchdowns off three Gettysburg turnovers to build a 21-3 lead en route to a 35-10 victory in the 2023 regular-season finale. Peter Corcoran led the Bullets with seven tackles on defense. Rocco Abdinoor added 59 yards rushing and 81 yards passing in the first half. Ty Tremba led the Diplomats with 211 yards passing, going 15-for-30 with three touchdowns. He also ran for 38 yards on seven carries.

WITH HONORS: The Bullets had four all-conference performers in 2023. None of the four, however, return to the Gettysburg lineup in 2024. Ryan McAndrew was a second-team honoree at wide receiver while Sam Burk was a second-team nod on the offensive line. Chris Lessel claimed honorable mention accolades at defensive back while Rob Meyer was an honorable mention kicker.

LEADING THE WAY: Rocco Abdinoor and Vic Hofman (Pasadena, Calif./Maranatha) will captain the squad in 2024. Both are first-time captains. It is the first time since 2019 that the Bullets have had just two captains for a season.

OPENING STATEMENTS: The Bullets begins their 131st season of football this afternoon, entering play with a 59-69-2 record on opening day. Gettysburg snapped a six-game losing streak in lidlifters – all to Bridgewater – with a 40-20 win over Juniata at home last season. It was the first opening day victory since topping Bridgewater 2015 by a 49-10 score in Virginia. This is the 10th straight season that Gettysburg begins the year against a team with Eagles nickname, switching year-opening foes from Bridgewater to Juniata last season, which was played as a non-conference game last year for the first time since 1980.

AIRING IT OUT: While the Bullets will have to replace the 56 catches and 839 yards of Ryan McAndrew from the 2023 passing game, junior signalcaller Rocco Abdinoor will the majority of his weapons back. Abindoor, who enters the campaign with 15 career starts under center, will likely look first to Walle Harwigsson Lundblad (Malmo, Sweden/Rabun Gap Nacoochee School) in the slot to become his go-to option. He caught 39 balls for 455 yards and three touchdowns in his sophomore season. Jason Roskam (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) should become a weapon on the outside after hauling in five passes for 108 yards (21.6 yards per catch) in his limited action last season. Luke Denison (Madison, N.J./Madison) and James McCarren (Glen Ridge, N.J./Glen Ridge) also return with experience as part of the deep junior class of wideouts. 

RUN, RUN, RUN: Pete Schelling (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) and Michael Zrelak (Monroe, N.Y./Monroe-Woodbury) return to anchor the load out of the backfield. Both are viable options in the passing game out of the backfield and combined for nearly 1,000 yards on the ground in 2023. Schelling had 517 yards on 105 carries with six touchdowns while Zrelak toted the rock 102 times for 447 yards and a score. Add in the dual-threat nature of Rocco Abdinoor (86 carries, 536 net yards, four touchdowns) and Gettysburg will have plenty of options on the ground, bringing back nearly all of its production from a year ago.

BACKING IT UP: The strength of the defense comes in the linebacking corps. The unit boasts 30 career starts but a deep rotation includes several with significant experience in the lineup. Kossi Agbo (Silver Spring, Md./Northwood) had 43 tackles, including 3.0 for loss, last season. Nate DeLorenzo (Virginia Beach, Va./Norfolk Academy) added 39 tackles, including 1.5 for loss, an interception and four pass breakups. Alex Estes (Ashburn, Va./Broad Run) had 22 stops in seven games but was third on the team with 6.0 tackles for loss, including a sack, to go with two pass breakups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Arthur Stubbs (Ewing, N.J./Lawrence) rounds out the projected starters with 11 tackles last season.

IN THE TRENCHES: The least experience for the Bullets as 2024 opens comes on both lines. The offensive line returns just one starter in Ethan Ashcroft (Wyomissing, Pa./Wilson) at left tackle. Harsh Shah (Marriottsville, Md./Howard) is the only other Bullet offensive lineman with a start in his career. On the defensive side, Gettysburg has slightly more experience but will look to new faces and a rotation of bodies to make up for it.

NEW FACES ON STAFF: Head coach Moe Banks, in his fifth season, at the helm, has a retooled staff for 2024. Nick Turchyn was promoted to offensive coordinator in the offseason after taking over play-calling duties late last season. Bryce Perkins is charged with the rebuild on the offensive line while Khaliq Coleman and Mike Icenhower joins Turchyn’s offensive staff.

BULLET POINTS: The Bullets have 93 players on the opening-day roster that includes 27 freshmen… The class breakdown is relatively balanced for Gettysburg in 2024 with 25 sophomores and 23 juniors to complement a senior class of 18… The Bullets play just five games this season in the traditional 1:00 Saturday timeslot. Gettysburg has two noon kickoffs, including the opener, and one 3:00 Saturday kickoff along with two Friday night games. The two games on Oct. 4 and 11 will be the first-ever night games played at Musselman Stadium.

The Eagles enter the 2024 season off a 1-9 season in 2023. Juniata snapped its 17-game losing streak with a 31-21 win over Hartwick on Sept. 16 last year but then dropped its final seven by an average score of 49-14… Galvin German is slated to take over as the starting quarter for the Eagles in 2024. He saw action in seven games last year, completing 28 of 48 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns. Noah Wright saw the majority of snaps, throwing for 1,063 yards. German will need to bring more production to a Juniata passing game that ranked 219th out of 238 Division III programs last season… German will have three of the five players back who caught double-digit balls last year, including Quintin Stephens. Stephens led the team with 27 catches for 248 yards and three touchdowns… Joey Menke returns to the backfield after racking up 551 yards on 81 carries last season. He had two rushing touchdowns and also caught one out of the backfield among his five grabs for 95 yards… Ethan Shank anchors the defensive secondary after pacing the Eagle defense with 92 tackles from his free safety position in 2023. He also nabbed a pair of interceptions last year… Four of Juniata’s top five tackles from last season are back in 2024… The defense nabbed 10 total picks last year – six of which came from Shank and Dawson Booher (four for 35 yards)… Juniata enters the year with 34 freshman and 27 sophomores on its roster.