BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Senior Sam McDermott (Newtown, Pa./Notre Dame (N.J.)) threw four touchdowns and set the program's single-season record for touchdown passes, but it wasn't enough to overcome a 21-point deficit as Gettysburg College fell at Moravian College 35-32 in a Centennial Conference football match up at Rocco Calvo Field.
Gettysburg (5-3, 4-3 CC) suffered its third-straight setback, while Moravian (7-1, 6-1 CC) ran its winning streak to five games. McDermott finished 21-of-34 for 240 yards. His final touchdown strike to senior Kevin McCarthy (Yardley, Pa./Notre Dame) with 7:45 left in the fourth broke the Bullets' single-season mark shared by Chris Adams '95 and Matt Flynn '10.
McDermott connected with 10 different receivers, including five tosses to senior tight end Fred Pulzello (Glen Rock, N.J./Glen Rock) for 58 yards and a pair of heaves to senior Chris Amicone (West Chester, Pa./Rustin) for 60 yards. Senior Paul Lowry (Midland Park, N.J./Midland Park) paced the ground game with 59 yards on 14 attempts.
Moravian scored touchdowns on each of its first three possessions. Chris Negron and Eli Redmond each rushed for scores on each side of a 26-yard pass from Mike Hayes to Liam Nolan for a score. Gettysburg punted the ball on each of its first six drives.
In the second quarter, momentum began to shift toward the visitors. Following an interception by freshman Mike McKnight (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin), the Bullets made quick work of short yardage with a six-yard toss by McDermott to sophomore Ryan Thompson (Oakland, N.J./Indian Hills).
The Greyhounds followed up with a 12-play, 74-yard drive to put the score at 28-7 with just over eight minutes left in the first half.
McDermott took over Gettysburg's next drive, completing four passes and adding a seven-yard rush. The senior signal caller found Amicone for a 39-yard toss to slice the Greyhound advantage to 28-14.
On Moravian's ensuing possession, junior linebacker Chris Miller (Manasquan, N.J./Manasquan) sacked Hayes and forced a fumble which the Bullets recovered on the Greyhound 18-yard line. Gettysburg was unable to take advantage as Moravian sniffed out a fake field-goal attempt to prevent a score. The Bullets added a 28-yard field goal by senior Robby Fay (New Providence, N.J./New Providence) to close the first half scoring.
Gettysburg held Moravian without a score in the third quarter, while closing the gap to three (28-25) with a touchdown pass from McDermott to senior Brandon Sparks (New Hope, Pa./Central Bucks East).
The Greyhounds closed the third quarter by converting on fourth-and-one on the Gettysburg 23-yard line. The conversion led to the team's final score at the beginning of the fourth period as Hayes completed a 20-yard pass to Andrew Racobaldo in the end zone to make it 35-25.
Later in the fourth quarter, the Bullets turned in their longest drive, covering 80 yards in 14 plays. A 22-yard pass to Pulzello put the visitors on the four-yard line and McDermott found McCarthy to cut the score to 35-32 with 7:45 left.
Moravian operated its next drive nearly to perfection, eating up nearly seven minutes of clock. The Greyhounds rushed the ball 15 times before turning the ball over on downs on the Gettysburg 10-yard line with just 49 seconds remaining.
The Bullets managed one first down, but an incomplete pass and back-to-back sacks sealed the victory for the hosts.
Moravian out-gained Gettysburg 408-368 in total offense. The Greyhounds won time of possession with over 31 minutes, while the Bullets did not commit a turnover.
Miller finished with a full stat line on defense for the visitors. The junior racked up 11 tackles, two sacks totaling a loss of 17 yards, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. Sophomores Joey DeCristofaro (East Windsor, N.J./Hightstown) and Joe Scaglione (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) each posted nine tackles, while senior Kodie McNamara (Manasquan, N.J./Manasquan) and sophomore Frank Olmo (Eatontown, N.J./Red Bank Catholic) each contributed eight tackles.
For Moravian, Hayes finished 23-of-30 for 241 yards and three touchdowns. Negron carried the ball 37 times for 139 yards, while Redmond finished with 45 yards on six carries. Brendan Downey paced the defense with 13 tackles.
Gettysburg will host Dickinson College in the battle for the Little Brown Bucket next Saturday, Nov. 7, at 1 p.m.