Box Score
(Carlisle, Pa.) – The Dickinson football team battled to the wire with visiting Gettysburg but a score, early in the fourth quarter would lead the Bullets to a 36-27 win to keep possession of the Little Brown Bucket on Saturday afternoon.
After the team traded punts to open the game, the Red Devils struck quickly as senior quarterback Cole Ahnell (Rockville, Md./Walter Johnson) broke a 65-yard run to put Dickinson on the board at the 9:37 mark of the first quarter. The drive took just three plays to cover 75 yards in just over a minute.
Gettysburg moved the ball all the way to the Dickinson two-yard yard, but the Red Devils held, forcing a short field-goal by Garrett Long with 4:57 on the clock.
The Devils were forced to punt and Nick Ulassin came on to be the primary running back for the Bullets. He covered 18 yards on the ground, capped by a three-yard touchdown run to put the Bullets on top, 10-7, with 22 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Quarterback Zach Miller added runs of 17 and nine yards on the drive as well.
The Devils thought they had recovered a fumble on a punt, but the Bullets took over on their own 10-yard line. Miller and Ullasin combined forces to lead Gettysburg on a 15-play, 90-yard drive, capped by a six-yard pass to Fred Caruso for a 17-7 lead with 9:03 to play in the half.
Dickinson answered with a 33-yard field-goal from senior Adam Kaminski (Exton, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) at the 5:01 mark to pull the Devils within a touchdown.
Kyle Wigley covered 40 yards on the first four carries of the next drive. He dove in from the one yard-line to finish the possession with 54 yards, putting Gettysburg up 23-10, with 1:13 remaining in the half.
Junior Mark Manganaro (Horseheads, N.Y./Horseheads), who had come close twice before, blocked the extra-point.
Ahnell completed passes to senior Eric Ondo (Richland, Pa./ELCO), sophomore Anders Overhaug (Yarmouth, Maine/Yarmouth) and then hit senior Devin Gaby (Arlington, Va./Yorktown) for a 32-yard touchdown to make the score 23-17, with just 27 seconds on the clock.
Gettysburg took possession on their own 36 yard line and were not content to sit on the six point advantage. The moved into Dickinson territory but were stopped with a big sack from sophomore Kevin Sherry (Swarthmore, Pa./Strath Haven) to end the half.
The Devils went to junior Cedric Madden (Norristown, Pa./Chestnut Hill Academy) on their first drive of the second half, draining just over eight minutes off the clock in the third quarter. Madden rushed for 39 yards and broke free from a tackle to score on a 10-yard reception from Ahnell, with 5:39 left in the third to put Dickinson on top, 24-23.
The teams traded punts, taking the game into the fourth quarter. Gettysburg regained the lead on a 38-yard scoring strike from Miller to Fred Palzello, pulling in front, 29-24. Junior Teddy Airoldi (Bethlehem, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) broke-up the pass on the two-point conversion to keep the deficit at five.
A roughing the kicker penalty gave the Devils new life and a first-down at the Gettysburg 49-yard line. They moved the ball to the 14, setting up a 31-yard field-goal for Kaminski, pulling the Devils within two at 29-27.
First-year Atura Adkins (Canton, Mass./St. Sebastians) sacked Miller for an 11-yard loss, forcing a Gettysburg punt to their own 15-yard line.
Chris Miller stalled the Dickinson drive with an interception at the Dickinson 39-yard line. They would capitalize as Miller made a great fake and found his way into the end zone from 13 yards out to stretch the lead to 36-27, with just 1:01 remaining in the game.
Ahnell connected with Overhaug for 17 yards and Madden for a 10-yard reception to the Bullets' 42 yard line, but time would run out on the Devils.
Wigley rushed for 130 yards on 28 carries while Miller was just shy of the century mark with 99 yards on the ground. Miller completed 15-of-20 passes for another 147 yards and two touchdowns. Chris Miller led the defensive effort with 10 tackles, a sack and an interception.
Madden led the Red Devils with 105 yards on the ground, adding a pair of receptions for 20 yards. Ahnell completed 17-of-26 passes for 188 yards and ran for 74 while accounting for three Red Devil touchdowns.
Overhaug made seven catches for 82 yards, adding 93 yards on three kick returns.
First-year Kevin Ioannidis (Ringoes, N.J./Hunterdon Central) and junior Pat Schlecker (Wilmington, Del./Wilmington Friends) each tallied a game-high 12 tackles to lead the Red Devils. Jake Myers (Middletown, Del./St. Andrew's) added 10 stops while Sherry recorded eight tackles and a forced fumble to go with three tackles-for-loss including the 11-yard sack.
The Red Devils slip to 3-6 overall and 3-5 in the Centennial Conference. They travel to Ursinus College for the season finale next Saturday. Opening kick-off is scheduled for 1:00 pm.
