COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – In their final game of the 2010 season, the Ursinus College football team went out with a bang as the Bears (8-2, 7-2 Centennial) defeated Dickinson (3-7, 3-6 Centennial) 41-21 on Saturday afternoon.
While the outlook for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament looks bleak, the Bears do have something to remember the 2010 season by as by virtue of a Moravian win over Muhlenberg, the Bears will share the Centennial title with Muhlenberg and Johns Hopkins.
"Our kids gave everything they had today," said head coach Peter Gallagher. "After losing the last two, we came out and took care of things this afternoon. I'm very happy for our kids, our staff and this school that we are able to share a piece of the title."
It was a record setting day as well, as junior wide receiver Nick Giarratano (Wapwallopen, Pa./Crestwood Area) caught five passes for 157 yards and two scores. His two scoring catches now have him tied for the school's career mark at 19 with hall of famer Ron Floyd.
Freshman running back Bryan Ellis (Owings Mills, Md./McDonogh School) rushed for a game-high 136 yards on 32 carries, finishing with 793 yards which is a new school record for yards by a freshman.
Senior quarterback Justin Decristofaro (Jenkintown, Pa./Father Judge) completed his career with a 14-for-26 performance for 309 yards and a three scores, while rushing for another. He finished his season with 2,310 yards in the air and 21 touchdown passes.
The Bears finished the day with 514 yards of total offense, holding the ball for 38:37, while forcing two Dickinson turnovers. One of the turnovers came on an interception as junior defensive back Shane Eachus (Aston, Pa./Garnet Valley) picked off a pass in the third quarter which set up an Ursinus score.
Senior linebacker Joe Galie (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville Area) and senior defensive tackle Wills Wendell (Villanova, Pa./Radnor) each had six tackles on the day.
Dickinson struck first as senior running back Tim Smith rushed for a 13-yard run with 12:41 left for a 7-0 lead, before Ursinus struck back with a 32-yard scoring pass from Decristofaro to Giarratano for a 7-7 tie with 4:09 left in the first.
In the second quarter, Ursinus took a 14-7 lead as sophomore running back Teddy Conrad (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) rushed in from two yards out with 8:52 left. Dickinson answered back on a lateral to junior offensive lineman by Michael Tucker with 6:31 from six yards out to tie the score 14-all.
Ursinus took the lead for good in the third quarter as Decristofaro ran from three yards out with 5:14 left to make the score 21-14. Decristofaro then tossed a 74-yard pass to junior wideout Al Desiderio (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic) to make the score 28-14 with 11:06 left in the game.
The Bears quickly added to the lead as Decristofaro dialed long distance again to Giarratano from 71 yards out for a 35-14 lead with 8:03 left.
Dickinson responded back with a 55-yard pass from junior quarterback Ricky Martz to senior wide receiver Craig Helfer with 7:18 left for a 35-21 Ursinus lead.
Senior quarterback Matt McHugh (Chadds Ford, Pa./Garnet Valley) scored from one-yard out with 1:26 left for the final marker.
For Dickinson, junior quarterback Jordan Kaufman had a team-high 43 yards rushing, while Martz went 4-for-12 for 91 yards and a score. Helfer finished with five catches for 103 yards and a score.