By Cameron Burns
Contributor
The College started a winning streak after getting a 30-13 win on Homecoming weekend against the Gettysburg Bullets. The Lions are now 3-4, despite starting out 1-4.
After shutting out Kean University on the road in a 27-0 dominant effort, the College’s defense did not get complacent. Their stifling defense forced four first half turnovers, including three interceptions and a fumble. This allowed their offense to see plenty of opportunities to get the ball in the endzone.
To kick off the turnover frenzy, Gettysburg fumbled on their first drive after the College deferred the coin toss. The Bullets completed a pass but the ball was jarred loose and fifth-year defensive back Cole Groschel recovered the fumble and put the Lions in a good position to score.
The Lions drove down after some key catches by sophomore wide receiver Ryan Gill into the Bullets territory, but missed a field goal attempt. Gill totaled 10 receptions for 152 yards on the day, seeming to be senior quarterback Trevor Bopp’s go-to target. Bopp also had a tremendous day, ending the game with a 135.8 passer rating, nearly 300 yards passing and two touchdowns.
After a missed field goal by the College, Gettysburg turned the ball over again after showing some promise on offense. On a Gettysburg play-action rollout, junior defensive back Amir Vick intercepted a pass, later amassing two interceptions and a pass breakup in a standout defensive performance.
Both offenses struggled early in the first quarter to finish drives. Gettysburg got the ball down to the Lions 17-yard line and elected to go for it on fourth and 3, but was unsuccessful on a pass attempt and turned the ball over on downs.
Later in the game at the start of the second quarter, the College’s defense got another interception. This time it was senior defensive back Jacob Maurice who came up with the big play, taking the ball down to Gettysburg 34-yard line.
After the turnover the College’s offense capitalized on the opportunity. The Lions capped off a six play, 66-yard touchdown drive with a one yard rush up the middle by junior running back Jayson Schmidt to make it 7-0. Schmidt accumulated over 100 yards on the ground and two touchdowns to help his team get a pivotal win.
The Lions’ defense would get another fourth down stop. They got the ball back and scored to make it 14-0. Bopp went 8/8 passing this drive and threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Malin Jasinski. Jasinski scored the first of his two touchdowns on the day on this drive.
To end the first half, Gettysburg drove down to the College’s 29-yard line and elected to go for a fourth-and-11 with 30 seconds remaining. Sophomore defensive lineman Dylan Patscher had a sack on third down to back the bullets up on fourth. The Bullets’ pass was intercepted by junior defensive back Amir Vick for his second of the half. This marked six consecutive shutout quarters for the Lions’ defense.
The Lions received the kickoff to open the second half and drove down to score a touchdown. The drive had a 43-yard catch by Gill on a post route. It concluded with a 16-yard receiving touchdown by Malin Jasinski for his second of the game. It was now 21-0 in favor of the College.
After a couple of drives that ended in punts, Gettysburg was able to punch the ball in the endzone with a 24-yard passing touchdown for the first time of the day. The Lions led 21-7 with about one minute to go in the third quarter, and Gettysburg chose to punt on fourth down on their own four yard line. They muffed the snap and the ball went out of the endzone, leading to a safety for the College, which awarded them two points. The Lions now led 23-7.
After a short punt that went just four yards, Gettysburg had the ball at the end of the third and hit a big play for a touchdown. A 49-yard touchdown made the score 23-13 Lions.
Later, in the fourth quarter, the Lions defense made a critical stop with a pass breakup on the Bullets offense to prevent a fourth and 22 conversion.
To end the game, the College ended a 13-play drive with a 25-yard touchdown run by Jayson Schmidt, while running off practically all the time remaining. The final was 30-13, and the Lions wrapped up an important win for their season.
After the game, Gill, who played a pivotal role in the victory, reflected on his team’s bounce back from a four game losing streak to a two game winning streak.
“The keys were just staying as a team and playing well,” Gill said. “All we got to do is execute and that's what we did this game and the other game.”
