Box Score
GRANVILLE, Ohio – Allegheny pulled out a tough, 17-16, win at Deeds-Piper Stadium on Saturday night at Denison, although the Gators needed to overcome several big mistakes in securing its second consecutive conference victory. Ryan Zipf's 28-yard field goal with eight minutes left in regulation marked the only points of the fourth quarter as Allegheny topped The Big Red for the 21st time in the last 22 meetings.
Allegheny (4-2, 2-1 NCAC) spotted Denison 10 points early in the game as The Big Red (3-4, 1-2) capitalized on two crucial turnovers. The costly errors, uncharacteristic for the 2010 Gators, actually led to 13 of Denison's points. Midway through the first, Eric Conrad picked off TJ Salopek and returned the interception 55 yards for the opening score. The pick-six looked like a hand-off in real time as Conrad came blazing up the middle untouched and snatched the ball out of the air as Salopek was beginning his release. Salopek was intercepted on the Gators' next possession on a fourth-down play inside Denison territory. Twelve plays and 66 yards later, Kevin Schneider booted a 30-yard field goal to give The Big Red a 10-0 lead with 13 minutes left in the half.
The Gators turned the tables on the Denison attack as it tried to pass its way out of its own territory later in the quarter. On a second –and-11 from their own 15, Big Red quarterback Max Paulus was picked off on a great effort by Colin Hartford 20 yards downfield. Two plays later, Salopek delivered a perfect 25-yard strike to Matt Griffith to put Allegheny on the board.
After forcing a quick three-and-out, Allegheny went back to work and ended up assembling its best drive of the evening. Covering 71 yards on 10 plays, Salopek connected with Terry Hartford on a 13-yard touchdown to push the Gators in front, 14-10. The toss was Salopek's 44th career touchdown pass as he moved ahead of Mike Ganey '69 into fourth place on the school's all-time charts.
Just when it appeared that Allegheny would shrug off the early errors and roll to a big win, the Denison offense showed a tremendous amount of poise on its next possession. Ending with a 22-yard field goal with less than one minute remaining in the half, The Big Red drove 64 yards against the Gator defense and solidified their intent on making this iteration of the rivalry competitive until the end.
Denison scored the only points of the third quarter, although it needed to move the ball only 13 yards. A botched punt return midway through the frame provided The Big Red with tremendous field position, while Schneider split the uprights on a 37-yard field goal attempt to push Denison back in front.
Although the punt unit cost Allegheny in the third, Terry Hartford made up for the miscue in the fourth with a fantastic 32-yard return that set up the Gators' game-winning drive. Allegheny's ground game, which was neutralized through the first three quarters, enabled the Blue and Gold to control the clock during the final 10 minutes of action. Senior Brian Tamburlin and rookie Sean Acosta split the duties on the scoring drive, while the duo allowed Allegheny to hang on to the ball for the final six minutes of regulation after another stifling effort by the defense.
Tamburlin ran for 40 of his game-high 71 yards on the Gators' last drive, while Acosta added 42 yards on nine carries. Allegheny outgained Denison, 315-209 for the game, although much of the difference can be attributed to Allegheny's rush defense, which held Denison to a season-low 37 yards on 25 attempts. Despite throwing two first –quarter picks, Salopek orchestrated another strong effort, finishing 18-of-27 for 201 yards and two touchdowns. Tight end Robert Carlisle served as the senior captain's top target, hauling in eight balls for 85 yards.
Allegheny's defensive effort can't be overstated as the group was forced into several tough spots. Like last week, the Gators came up big when they needed to, holding Denison to 2-of-13 on third-down conversions and just two first downs in the second half. Vince Luvara and Doug Williams each had eight tackles to pace the defense, while Hartford's first-half interception marked the team's sixth straight game with an interception.
