THE FACTS
Gettysburg (2-1) 34, Western Connecticut (1-2) 28
What: Non-conference football game
When: Saturday, Sept. 19
Where: Gettysburg, Pa.
THE SKINNY STORY
Gettysburg hit a trio of long touchdown passes to help defeat Western Connecticut 34-28 and enter the bye week and conference play with a victory.
THE LEADERS
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Danny Bonato (Rockville, Md./Good Counsel) had his first multiple-touchdown game for the Bullets, scoring on a 26-yard pass play and a one-yard run. He finished the day with three catches for 52 yards.
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Sean Clark (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) completed 22 of 33 passes for a career-high 354 yards and three touchdowns.
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Gabriel Diaz (Orlando, Fla./Winter Park) caught six passes for 118 yards.
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Justin Bardo (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg Area) led the defense with 12 tackles, including 1.5 for loss.
FOR THE FOES
• Dylan Jackson completed 16 of 26 passes for 228 yards and a touchdown to lead the Wolves.
• Quasim Benson ran the ball 22 times for 106 yards and a score.
THE REST OF THE STORY
• After the opening two drives of the games yielded no points, Western Connecticut put together a methodical nine-play, 78-yard drive for the game's first score. Dylan Jackson capped the drive with a 22-yard connection to Jayden Leroy but the point after was missed to keep it a 6-0 game with 2:19 to play in the first quarter.
• After having a big play on first down called back, Gettysburg converted a first down two plays later. Faced third-and-3 from its own 41, a roughing the passer penalty prolonged the drive. On the next play,
Sean Clark found
Gabriel Diaz open down the seam and connected for a 44-yard score and
Isaac Parks-Gill's (Lewistown, Pa./Mifflin County) PAT was good for a 7-6 lead with 12:19 on the second-quarter clock. The defense got a three-and-out on the next drive and the offense put together a 13-play march that ate up 6:12 before having to settle for a Parks-Gill 27-yard field goal and 10-6 lead with 4:13 to play. After the defense got a turnover on downs, the Bullets hit on a shock play right away and Clark connected with
Edison Case (Reading, Pa./Wilson) down the sideline for a 46-yard touchdown and 17-6 lead with 1:49 to play.
• With the opening possession of the second half, the Gettysburg offense marched 54 yards in seven plays but again had to settle for a 28-yard Parks-Gill field goal to stretch the lead to 20-6 with 11:05 showing. Western Connecticut responded with a 10-play drive that Quasim Benson capped with a five-yard run up the middle to make it 20-13 just over four minutes later. A 28-yard
Carson Shoffner (Baltimore, Md./John Carroll) run set up first-and-goal. Four plays later,
Danny Bonato took a direct snap and powered behind the line for a one-yard touchdown run and 27-13 lead with 22 ticks left in the third.
• The Wolves had one more answer, taking the next drive 80 yards in 12 plays before Jackson kept it for a seven-yard run to make it 27-20 with 9:27 on the clock. Clark needed just five plays on the next drive, hitting two big plays. He connected with Case for 33 yards on the second play of the drive then three plays later found Bonato on third-and-3 for a 26-yard touchdown and 34-20 lead midway through the final quarter. A Donald Highsmith one-yard run up the middle on fourth down and Serge Lagardere catch on the two-point try in traffic made it 34-28 with 4:57 to play. The WestConn defense forced a punt but
Luke Ginsburg (Wilton, Conn./Wilton) unfurled a 50-yarder to pin the offense back at its own 7 with no timeouts and just 3:03 to play. The Wolves moved to the 37 but a
Mari Williams (Orlando, Fla./Jones High) on third down and
Collin Morrow (New Cumberland, Pa./Trinity) pass breakup on fourth down allowed Clark to kneel out the final 47 seconds and the win.
THE INSIDE STORY
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Sean Clark's 354 passing yards were the most in a single game by a Gettysburg quarterback since Kyle Whitmoyer had 374 on Oct. 30, 2010.
• Gettysburg outgained Western Connecticut 442-403 on the day.
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Gabriel Diaz added five rush yards and 86 kickoff return yards for 209 all-purpose yards.
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Carson Shoffner finished with 70 yards rushing on 16 carries.
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Dayton Williams Jr. (Henrico, Va./Kenston Forest School) and
Jamison Speikes (Frederick, Md./Urbana) both established career highs with nine tackles.
NEXT UP
Gettysburg is idle next week before returning to action in the Centennial Conference opener at Franklin & Marshall on Saturday, Oct. 3. Game time is 1 p.m.
