Sep 11, 2021
GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Moravian University scored the game-tying touchdown as time expired in regulation and answered Gettysburg College's overtime field goal with a rushing touchdown to clinch a 16-13 victory in the Centennial Conference opener for both teams at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium on Saturday.
| Final Results | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | F |
| Moravian (1-1, 1-0 CC) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 16 |
| Gettysburg (0-2, 0-1 CC) | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
Gettysburg's Top Performers
- Mason Stolarik '23 (Ellicott City, Md./Howard): 24-35, 219 Pass Yards, TD
- Sal DeBenedetto '22 (Old Tappen, N.J./Northern Valley): 3 Rec., 82 Rec. Yards
- Matt Lajoie '22 (Mount Laurel, N.J./Lenape): 7 Rec., 47 Receiving Yards
- Mass Schelling '22 (Chatham, N.J./Chatham): 7 Rec., 52 Receiving Yards
- Sebastian Gibbs '24 (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom): 13 Carries, 34 Rush Yards
- Johnny O'Beirne '22 (Holmdel, N.J./Holmdel): 2 Interceptions, 2 Pass Break-ups, 6 Tackles
- Von Musgrove '22 (St. Petersburg, Fla./Clearwater Central Catholic): 12 Tackles, Interception
- Justin Adedinsewo '23 (Pottstown, Pa./The Hill School): 8 Tackles, Interception
Moravian's Top Performers
- Christopher Mills: 27-46, 327 Pass Yards, TD, 4 Interceptions
- Nate Boyle: 16 Carries, 55 Rush Yards, TD
- Trevor Cunningham: 12 Rec., 167 Receiving Yards
- Noah Breidinger: 14 Tackles, 2.0 TFL, Forced Fumble
- Chad Newhard: 9 Tackles
Game Summary
- First Quarter: Moravian mounted a steady drive into the red zone on the first possession of the game, highlighted by a pair of 20-yard plus passes from Mills to Cunningham and Carrington Smith. The Greyhounds pushed to the Gettysburg five-yard line, but O'Beirne and senior Alex Raimondo (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) hit Boyle for a four-yard loss and then sophomore Chris Singleton, Jr. (Catonsville, Md./Georgetown Prep) sacked Mills for a six-yard loss. Trevor Yacuboski missed a 32-yard field goal try to keep the game scoreless.
- Second Quarter: Facing third-and-long at the start of the period, Stolarik connected with DeBenedetto down the sideline for a 41-yard reception just short of midfield. Gettysburg continued to press all the way down to the one-yard line, but Breidinger managed to punch the ball away from junior Nick Riggio (Verona, N.J./Verona) and the Greyhounds recovered the fumble. The Bullets made the most of a short field on their next possession, claiming the ball on the Moravian 33-yard line after a short punt and using a 28-yard pass from Stolarik to DeBenedetto to get into the red zone. On third-and-goal, Stolarik ran to his right and fired off a pass to senior tight end Andrew Lusardi (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge) for the game's first score with 6:16 on the clock. On Moravian's very next possession, O'Beirne jumped up to grab Mills' pass around midfield for the first of four interceptions by the Bullets. Senior Doug Cummings (Saylorsburg, Pa./Pleasant Valley) made it a 10-0 lead with a career-long 44-yard field goal. Gettysburg stopped Moravian in the red zone once again with Adedinsewo intercepting a pass in the end zone just before the final minute of the half.
- Third Quarter: The hosts were poised to pad the lead to start the second half, but a 47-yard field goal try by Cummings just missed to the right of the uprights. O'Beirne provided another highlight by picking off his second pass of the day to halt another Moravian red zone attempt on the game's next possession. The Bullets weren't done in the air defensively with Musgrove intercepting Mills on a drive into Gettysburg territory late in the quarter.
- Fourth Quarter: The Greyhounds finally dented Gettysburg's defense with a 24-yard field goal by Yacuboski to start the final period. The Bullets' ensuing drive involved 16 plays and ate up nearly eight minutes of clock time. Stolarik found Lajoie for a 22-yard competition for a first down early in the drive, but a rush by Lajoie was halted by Breidinger for a loss and forced Cummings into a 40-yard field goal try. The attempt went wide left, opening the door for Moravian for a final rally. Gettysburg hit Mills for a pair of big sacks early in the drive, but the Greyhound quarterback zoned in on his favorite target, Cunningham, and kept pushing ahead. Cunningham hauled in a big 15-yard catch on third-and-17 and converted a pair of first-down heaves. With only three seconds left, Mills fired a final strike to Cunningham in the end zone and Yacuboski hit the point-after attempt to send the game to overtime.
- Overtime: Moravian won the toss and elected to go second in the extra period. The Bullets picked up six yards before Cummings connected on a 36-yard field goal to make it 13-10. Once again, Mills hit his favorite target Cunningham for a 23-yard reception and two plays later, Boyle rushed up the middle for the winning score.
By the Numbers
- Moravian finished with a 367-270 edge in total offense. For the second consecutive game, Gettysburg held its opponent to less than 40 yards rushing, with the Greyhounds managing exactly that number on Saturday. The last time the Bullets held back-to-back opponents to 40 or less rushing yards was against Misericordia (36) and Ursinsus (17) in the opening two games of the 2012 campaign.
- Gettysburg's four interceptions were one shy of the school record of five, which was last achieved against Hampden-Sydney in 2009. The last time the Bullets managed four picks in a game was against Juniata in 2019.
- O'Beirne and Musgrove both turned in their first career interceptions against Moravian, while Adedinsewo tallied his second career pick.
- Cummings bested his personal long for a field goal by eight yards with his 44-yard boot. He also averaged 62.7 yards on three kick-offs and 40 yards on three punts, and tallied a pair of tackles on special teams.
- Stolarik's 24 completions tied Justin Davidov '18 and Sam McDermott '16 for the most completions by a Gettysburg quarterback since 2009.
- Gettysburg was playing in its first overtime contest since a 27-20 loss to McDaniel in 2017.
Where the Series Stands Now
Gettysburg leads the all-time series with Moravian 12-7. The Greyhounds have won six of the last eight meetings.
Next Up
The Bullets head to Dickinson College to battle for the Little Brown Bucket next Saturday, Sept. 18, at 1 p.m.