GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Gettysburg got three touchdown passes from Sam McDermott, including two in the third quarter, as the Bullets (2-0, 1-0 Centennial) defeated Ursinus (1-1, 0-1 Centennial) 22-15 in the Centennial opener for both teams on Saturday afternoon.
The start of the game was delayed close to 90 minutes due to storms in the area.
McDermott tossed scoring passes of 33, 2, and 14 yards in the win, the latter two going to Ryan Thompson.
Ursinus got two field goals from senior kicker Eric Boyer (Fort Washington, Pa./Upper Dublin) and a safety in the first quarter on a high snap during a Gettysburg punt. The Bears held an 8-0 lead just inside the start of the third quarter before Gettysburg scored 22 straight points.
Ursinus got a touchdown in the fourth quarter when junior running back Corey Kelly (Conshohocke, Pa./Plymouth-Whitemarsh) scored on a 1-yard run with 13 minutes left. The Bears had two chances to tie the score in the fourth, but, both drives stalled in Gettysburg territory.
The Bears had one last gasp in the fourth after getting the ball on a turnover, but, turned the ball right back over on an interception.
Kelly finished the game with a game-high 127 yards rushing on 27 carries, and had 35 yards receiving. He passed the 1,000 rushing yard mark for his career.
Junior quarterback Salvatore Bello (Phoenixville, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) had 174 yards on 22-for-43 passing with one interception. Senior wideout Nicholas Lundholm (Barrington, N.J./Haddon Heights) made a game-high seven catches for 65 yards.
Junior linebacker Timothy Rafter (Springfield, Pa./Saint Joseph's Prep) had 14 tackles for the Bears, while sophomore defensive back Jamie Casseus (Berlin, N.J./Eastern Regional) and senior linebacker James Roccograndi (Dallas, Pa./Dallas) had nine.
Ursinus got the opening kickoff and drove down to the Gettysburg 26-yard line before Boyer connected on a 43-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 10:24 left in the first. The Bears went up 5-0 with 4:06 left in the first on a safety. After a Boyer punt pinned the Bullets on the 1-yard line, the Bullets attempted to punt on the 9-yard line but the snap went over the punters head and out of the end zone.
The Bears last scoring drive of the half came late in the first quarter and carried over to the second. Boyer would again connect on a field goal, this time from the 32 yards out for an 8-0 lead with 14:16 left in the first half.
Rafter came up with a big play on the Bullets next drive, as he recovered a fumble at the Gettysburg 34-yard line with 13:30 left in the second quarter. The Bears got the ball, but, could not score and punted the ball back to Gettysburg on its 6-yard line.
Gettysburg would get on the board with 2:38 left in the half when McDermott threw a 33-yard scoring pass to Travis Andrews for an 8-6 Bears lead. The Bullets would get all the way down to the Ursinus 1-yard line right before halftime. After the drive stalled at the 7-yard line, Robby Fay had his 24-yard field goal blocked by Casseus and Ursinus had an 8-6 halftime lead.
The Bullets got the ball in the second half and drove down the field in 16 plays capped by a 2-yard touchdown pass from McDermott to Thompson for a 14-8 lead with 9:38 left in the third. Gettysburg would go up 22-8 with 2:26 left when McDermott found Thompson again, this time on a 14-yard scoring pass.
Ursinus would get back within a touchdown at 22-15 when Kelly scored on a 1-yard run capping a 13 play, 73 yard drive in 4:27.
Ursinus will open its home schedule on Saturday with a matchup against Franklin & Marshall at 1 p.m.