WESTMINSTER, Md. – Ursinus was a perfect 6-for-6 in red zone scoring chances on Saturday, as the Bears (2-2, 1-2 Centennial) defeated McDaniel (0-4, 0-3 Centennial) 40-21 at Gill Stadium in Centennial football action.
Ursinus scored four times in the first half and had a 26-7 lead in the third quarter, before a McDaniel rally put the Green Terror within five at 26-21 in the fourth quarter.
Ursinus responded with two scores in the final period to earn its first Centennial win of the season and end a two-game losing streak.
The Bears gained 435 yards of total offense on the day, including 211 yards on the ground with 144 yards coming from junior tailback Bryan Ellis (Owings Mills, Md./McDonogh School). Ellis, playing up the street from his hometown, carried the ball 29 times and scored late in the fourth quarter.
Junior quarterback Chris Curran (Oceanview, N.J./Ocean City) threw for 224 and three touchdowns on 15-of-33 passing. He also rushed for 64 yards and a score.
All three scores were caught by three different receivers. Junior wide receiver Jerry Rahill (Chalfont, Pa./Archbishop Wood) had a 71 yards receiving and a score on six catches, with sophomore Darius Jones (Lawnside, N.J./Haddon Heights) and sophomore Josh Williams (Jamison, Pa./Central Bucks South) each catching a touchdown pass. Williams finished with a game-high 86 yards receiving, 71 of them coming on a touchdown catch.
Freshman defensive end Steve Ambs (Pottstown, Pa./Pottsgrove) had a team-high nine tackles, with junior defensive end Andrew Fiorentino (Oceanview, N.J./Ocan City) adding a sack.
Senior cornerback Scott Gardus (Allentown, Pa./Salisbury Township) had an interception, as Ursinus forced three Green Terror turnovers. Sophomore linebacker Michael Moronese (Philadelphia, Pa./George Washington) had a forced fumble and a recovery.
Ursinus took a 3-0 lead on its first drive as a 10-play, 70 yard drive ended with a 19-yard field goal from freshman kicker Eric Boyer (Fort Washington, Pa./Upper Dublin) with 10:14 left in the first.
The next score was set up via Moronese fumble recovery on the Green Terror 12-yard line on the Green Terror's third play from scrimmage. After that, Curran rushed for a 12-yard score and a 10-0 lead with 8:24 left.
McDaniel countered with a nine-yard touchdown pass from Nick Valori to Shane Edmund with 6:52 left in the first for a 10-7 Ursinus lead. Green Terror running back Joe Rollins, who finished with 223 yards in the game, set up the score on a 48-yard kick return to the Bears' 42. Rollins finished with 139 yards on four kick returns.
Back came Ursinus as the Bears scored on its next offensive play, a 71-yard touchdown pass from Curran to Williams for a 17-7 lead with 6:34 left in the first.
Another 10-play drive that carried over into the second quarter saw Ursinus take a 23-7 lead just 18 seconds in the quarter on a 17-yard pass to Rahill from Curran.
McDaniel drove down to the Bears' 42 yard and converted a fake punt but the drive would stall at the Bears' 35.
Both teams put together long drives in the back part of the second quarter but would not score.
Ursinus went up 26-7 in the third quarter as Boyer converted a 22-yard field goal with 10:42 left. That field goal ended a 26-yard, eight-play drive that was set up by a 21-yard punt return from senior cornerback Chris Rountree (Lawnside, N.J./Haddon Heights).
Ursinus stopped the next McDaniel drive when Moronese forced a fumble at the Green Terror 41-yard line which was recovered by freshman linebacker Jim Roccograndi (Dallas, Pa./Dallas) with 10:06 left in the quarter.
McDaniel scored on its next drive as two runs by Rollins put the Green Terror at the Ursinus 5-yard line. From there, Patrick Steele rushed for a 1-yard score with 7:06 left for a 26-14 Ursinus lead. The Green Terror then held Ursinus to a 3-and-out, which was followed another Green Terror score on a five-yard run by Valori with 2:28 left for a 26-21 Ursinus lead.
Ursinus then went into ball control mode, going 12 plays and 67-yards for a 33-21 lead when Curran threw a 15-yard scoring pass to Jones with 11:42 lead.
Gardus would stop the next Green Terror drive at the Ursinus 22 when he picked off Valori. The defensive unit stopped the next Green Terror drive at the McDaniel 32-yard line with under five minutes to go when the Bears stopped Valori for no gain on a 4th-and-3.
Ellis then ran the ball the next seven plays, going 32 yards. He scored from one-yard out with 1:43 left for the final score of 40-21. Ellis finished the day with 173 all purpose yards, while senior punter Derek Giannetti (Dresher, Pa./Upper Dublin) averaging 45.8 yards on four punts.
Ursinus hosts Moravian on Family Day next Saturday at noon.