THE FACTS
Juniata (1-0) 31, Gettysburg (0-1) 30
What: Non-conference football game
When: Friday, Sept. 5
Where: Gettysburg, Pa.
THE SKINNY STORY
In a back-and-forth affair, Juniata took a 31-30 lead midway through the fourth quarter and stopped Gettysburg a yard short on the final play of the game to hold on for the victory in the season opener for both teams.
THE LEADERS
•
Rocco Abdinoor (Edgewater, Md./St. Mary's Annapolis) completed 23 of 40 passes for 339 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Bullets. He also ran the ball eight times for 66 yards.
•
Nick Wonsala (Manasquan, N.J./Wall) caught seven passes for a career-best 91 yards and his first collegiate score.
•
Justin Rhyne (Haddonfield, N.J./Haddonfield Memorial) led the defense with 17 tackles, including 2.5 for loss.
FOR THE FOES
• Ivan Foreman ran the ball 30 times for the Eagles, amassing 133 yards and two touchdowns.
• Isaiah Randall threw for three scores, completing 15 of 22 passes for 132 yards.
• Dillon Wakefield led the defense with 11 tackles.
THE REST OF THE STORY
• After a defensive battle early with four combined punts, Gettysburg took over at its own 15 with 9:32 on the clock. After the Bullets' initial first down, Rocco Abindoor hit
Edison Case (Reading, Pa./Wilson) for a 48-yard pass play then
Michael Zrelak (Monroe, N.Y./Monroe-Woodbury) broke off a run off the left end the final 22 yards for a 6-0 lead with 7:40 on the clock. Juniata responded with a 14-play, 75-yard drive that Ivan Foreman paid off with a two-yard touchdown run with 2:15 showing to tie the game at 6-all.
• A 33-yard catch from Makih Hunt keyed a six-play, 58-drive to stat the second quarter. Foreman ran the final five yards up the middle for a score and 13-6 lead with 13:24 to play. After the teams traded three-and-outs, Abdinoor engineered a game-tying drive, finding
Nick Wonsala along the side of the end zone on fourth down for a 30-yard score with 8:43 remaining. Juniata responded with another 14-play march to reclaim the lead on a Jordan Horn four-yard touchdown reception and 19-13 lead with 2:33 to play.
•
Tyler Wells (Rincon, Ga./Effingham County) intercepted a deep pass attempt on the first drive of the second half and the offense turned it in seven points and a 20-19 lead when Abdinoor found
Jason Roskam (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) in almost the same exact spot he found Wonsala for a 24-yard touchdown with 8:53 showing. Another seven-play, 53-yard drive on the Bullets' next possession gave the hosts a 27-19 lead on a Abdinoor 20-yard keeper around the left end with 5:17 on the clock.
• Two plays into the fourth quarter, the Eagles converted another 14-yard drive with a three-yard pass to Hunt on fourth-and-goal to make it a two-point game in the opening minute. An unsportsmanlike penalty moved the ball back to the 18 for the two-point attempt and Juniata failed, keeping it a two-point deficit.
Isaac Parks-Gill (Lewistown, Pa./Mifflin County) hit a 41-yard field goal for a five-point lead with 10:10 on the clock. The Eagles, however, turned to Horn for a 47-yard touchdown with 7:37 showing. The two-point attempt once again failed to keep it a one-point deficit. The Gettysburg offense went three-and-out on the ensuing possession before Juniata was able to grind 3 minutes, 51 seconds off the clock and punted with 2:06 to play. The Bullets, with no timeouts, moved to the Juniata 44 and spiked the ball with six second left. Abdinoor heaved it downfield and
Luke Denison (Madison, N.J./Madison) hauled in the pass at the six-yard line but Caleb Hicks made the tackle at the one-yard line as the clock expired to preserve the win.
THE INSIDE STORY
•
Justin Rhyne's 17 tackles were the most by a Gettysburg player since 2017.
• The 339 passing yards for
Rocco Abdinoor was his second career 300-yard passing game.
• The field goal for
Isaac Parks-Gill was the first of his career.
NEXT UP
Gettysburg returns to action at home against Christopher Newport on Saturday, Sept. 13. Game time is 1 p.m.
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