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Football takes 21-13 win at Albright

Football takes 21-13 win at Albright

READING, Pa. – Ursinus senior quarterback Justin Decristofaro (Jenkintown, Pa./Father Judge) threw for 248 yards and two touchdowns in addition to running for another as the Bears (1-0) won their 2010 season opener with a 21-13 win over Albright (0-1) on Saturday night at Shirk Stadium.

Decristofaro was 21-for-35 as the Bears won their season opener for the third time in the last four seasons.

Junior wide receiver Nick Giarratano (Wapwallopen, Pa./Crestwood) had seven catches for 82 yards and a touchdown. Eight different receivers caught passes in the win.

Decristofaro also ran for 45 yards in the win, including his six-yard scoring run with 6:36 left in the third quarter to give Ursinus a 21-7 lead.

Ursinus finished with 369 yards of total offense (121 rush, 248 pass) on 71 plays. They also forced three turnovers as sophomore defensive back Chris Rountree (Lawnside, N.J./Haddon Heights) had two interceptions. Junior defensive end Eric Mannes (South Orange, N.J./Blair Academy) also had a pick.

For Albright, junior tailback Josan Holmes had 16 rushes for 70 yards and a touchdown. The Lions used three different quarterbacks in the game, with junior Mike Cattolico throwing for 123 yards and a touchdown.

Albright struck first as the Lions scored on a five-yard touchdown pass from Cattolico to junior wideout Scott Pillar to give the Lions a 7-0 lead with 13 seconds left in the first quarter.

Ursinus tied the score at 7-all with 11:25 left in the second as Decristofaro completed a four-yard scoring pass to Giarratano, completing a nine-play, 68-yard drive.

The Bears went up 14-7 with 7:58 left in the second as Decristofaro completed a 48-yard scoring pass to freshman Jerry Rahill (Chalfont, Pa./Archbishop Wood), ending a three-play, 72-yard drive.

Albright threatened toward the end of the half, but, its drive stalled when Rountree intercepted a Cattolico pass in the end zone.

The lone score in the third quarter came when Decristofaro ran in for six-yard score to give Ursinus a 21-7 lead with 6:36 left. That play ended a 13-play, 82-yard drive that took 6:03.

Albright put together a potential scoring drive in the fourth quarter. On third-and-19 from the Ursinus 38-yard line, Rountree intercepted the ball at the Ursinus 25 and returned it 17 yards to the Ursinus 42.

Albright did score on its final drive of the game as Holmes ran for a two-yard score with 44 seconds left on the clock to cut the score to 21-13. The onside kick was recovered by junior wide receiver Storm Miller (Jamison, Pa./Central Bucks South).

For Ursinus, junior linebacker Greg Martell (Levittown, Pa./Neshaminy) had 11 tackles, while senior defensive tackle Dave Queroli (Narberth, Pa./Harriton), junior defensive back Mike Rissmiller (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) and junior defensive end Sean Whelan (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks East) each had seven stops.

With the win, head coach Peter Gallagher tied the all-time wins mark in school history at 41.

Ursinus opens up conference play next Saturday at 1 p.m. as the Bears travel to Franklin & Marshall.