GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Ursinus controlled the ball for almost 40 minutes on Saturday, as the Bears (2-0, 1-0 Centennial) defeated Gettysburg (1-1, 0-1 Centennial) 41-23 in the Centennial Conference football opener for both teams.

The Bears rushed for 259 yards, with senior running back Jason Golderer (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) accounting for 185 of those yards on 33 carries. He also scored on TD runs of 6, 1 and 3-yards on the day.

Senior quarterback Chris Curran (Oceanview, N.J./Ocean City) threw for 165 yards and a score on 13-for-23 passing. Ursinus scored 21 straight points in the fourth quarter, breaking open a three-point game en route to its first win at Gettysburg since 2010.

While the offense had a big day, the defensive unit held the high-powered Bullet offense to just 23 points. Senior defensive end Andrew Fiorentino (Oceanview, N.J./Ocean City) had a team-high ten tackles, adding in a sack and a fumble recovery. Sophomore defensive end Steve Ambs (Pottstown, Pa./Pottsgrove) had nine tackles, two sacks and 3.5 tackles for losses totaling 20 yards.

The ball control start with Ursinus' first drive as the Bears went 62 yards in 14 plays capped by a 26-yard field goal from sophomore kicker Eric Boyer (Fort Washington, Pa./Upper Dublin) with 7:08 left for the 3-0 lead. Gettysburg matched the score with a 29-yard field goal from Matt Perkins with 2:44 left in the first quarter. The Bullets went on a 12 play, 65-yard drive that ate up 4:26.

After Ursinus' next drive stalled at the Gettysburg 41, the Bears punted the ball to the Gettysburg 14. On the second play of Gettysburg's series, junior defensive back Greg DiSanto (Havertown, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) intercepted Bullets quarterback Zach Miller at the Bullets 27.

From there, Ursinus scored six plays later when Golderer rushed for a 6-yard score with 12:02 left for a  10-3 lead. Golderer converted a fourth-and-1 on the drive from the Gettysburg 18 by rushing ten yards.

The defensive unit forced another turnover on Gettysburg's next drive when sophomore linebacker James Roccograndi (Dallas, Pa./Dallas) stripped Miller and the fumble was recovered by Fiorentino. The Bears would add another field goal, this time a 27-yard kick from Boyer for a 13-3 lead with 9:20 left.

Ursinus almost cashed in on a Gettysburg special teams miscue when a bad snap on a punt midway through the second quarter gave Ursinus the ball at the Bullets 25, but, Curran threw an interception on the Bullets 5-yard line.

The defense would keep the Bullets off the board on their next two drives, including a sack by Ambs with just 11 seconds left until halftime at the Ursinus 28, as the Bullets were trying to convert a fourth-and-16.

Gettysburg got to within three at 13-10 in the third quarter when the Bullets went 77 yards in six quick plays, capped by a 38-yard scoring run by Kyle Wigley 1:38 into the quarter. Ursinus would answer right back, as Golderer ended a 70-yard, nine-play drive with a one-yard scoring run at 9:06 for a  20-10 Ursinus advantage.

Gettysburg turned a Curran interception into points late in the third quarter, scoring on a 62-yard from Miller to Twer with 4:02 left for a 20-17 Ursinus lead.

Ursinus scored on its next three offensive drives in the fourth quarter, starting with a 13-yard run from freshman running back Corey Kelly (Conshohocken, Pa./Plymouth-Whitemarsh) with 12:03 left for a 27-17 advantage. After a three-and-out by Gettysburg, Ursinus came right back and scored on a 3-yard run by Golderer with 7:05 left for a  34-17 lead.

Gettysburg would fumble the ensuing kickoff, giving the Bears the ball at the Gettysburg 21. Sophomore fullback Nick Pustizzi (Pittsgrove, N.J./Arthur P. Shalick) forced the fumble, which was recovered by freshman linebacker Tim Rafter (Springfield, Pa./St. Joseph's Prep).

That drive ended when Curran tossed a 8-yard scoring pass to senior wide out Jerry Rahill (Chalfont, Pa./Archbishop Wood) with 5:45 left and a 41-17 lead.

Gettysburg scored with 4:06 left when Miller tossed a 4-yard pass to Twer for the final score of 41-23.

Ursinus was 7-for-8 in the red zone on the day, and converted on 9-of-17 third-down chances.

The Bears host F&M on Saturday at noon.