Box Score
HIRAM, Ohio – Senior quarterback T.J. Salopek tossed three touchdowns and the Gators' ground unit added three more scores as Allegheny dominated Hiram, 43-21, on Saturday at Henry Field. Allegheny scored 19 unanswered points in the third quarter and led 36-7 before lifting its starters and cruising to the conference win.
The Gators (6-3, 4-2 NCAC) led 10-7 at the break, but a commanding performance by Salopek and company in the third quarter quickly quelled any thought of a Hiram upset. Salopek, who finished 18-of-27 for 209 yards, orchestrated a touchdown drive on Allegheny's first possession of the second half. Senior David Strawser had two catches for 24 yards on the drive and drew a pass interference call, while junior back Brian Tamburlin capped the drive with a 14-yard touchdown run to the left side.
The rush resulted in Tamburlin's second career 100-yard game, and the first 100-yard day by an Allegheny player this season. The Gators' starting tail back closed with a game-high 112 yards on 22 carries.
A bad punt snap, which was a recurring issue for the Terriers (1-8, 1-4) throughout the game, marred Hiram's first possession of the half and set up the Allegheny offense for an easy score. The long snap hit one of the blockers protecting the punter, and Colin Hartford recovered and returned the fumble 20 yards to the Hiram 10. On the ensuing play, Salopek continued his productive day and the team's third quarter fireworks with a touchdown pass to Strawser.
After forcing a quick three-and-out, Allegheny went back to work on offense firing on all cylinders. Blake Lyle hauled in a 15-yard reception to open the drive, while rookie back Sean Acosta, who finished with 41 yards on eight carries, had his name called six times on the series. With second-and-goal from the nine, Salopek hooked up with Sean Griffin for his 49thcareer touchdown pass while moving ahead of Kyle Adamson '97 and into second place on Allegheny's all-time charts.
Senior running back Matt Deivert shouldered the work load in the final frame while enjoying his best game donning the Blue and Gold. Deivert rushed nine times for 97 yards, including a 44-yard touchdown to the right side two minutes into the quarter to extend Allegheny's lead to 29. Following another botched punt snap, Allegheny once again took over deep in Hiram territory. With first-and-goal from the five, junior Taylor O'Brien authored his first career touchdown to cap the Allegheny scoring.
Although the Terriers had just 98 yards passing midway through the fourth quarter, blown coverage in the secondary enabled Hiram back-up quarterback Maxwell Bohon to manufacture two late scores. Bohon finished 7-of-8 for 142 yards, and had touchdown passes of 53 and 14 yards to take a bite of Allegheny's otherwise suffocating defensive effort.
The Gators' defense delivered another smothering effort against the opposition's ground game. Hiram gained just 20 yards on 26 carries, while Allegheny held its third opponent of the season under 37 yards.
On the other side of the ball, Allegheny had a season-high 481 yards of total offense. The balanced attack proved tough for the Terriers to contain especially with the Gators boasting a whopping 265 yards rushing – their highest total in a game since rushing for 287 yards against Kenyon on Oct. 14, 2006.
“Having John Steib come back into the lineup really helped us up front,” noted head coach Mark Matlak. “We've lost five offensive linemen this year to injury, and his presence allowed us move (Keith) Beach and get our run game going.”
Several key plays defined an uncharacteristically sloppy first half for the Gators. Ahead 7-0 and driving toward their second score, Steve Brown returned a fumble 85 yards to tie the game. On Allegheny's next possession, a dropped pass in the end zone on a wide-open play forced Allegheny to settle for a 24-yard field goal. Although Hiram's snap miscues were considerable, the Gators were also plagued by bad snaps on the afternoon and missed two extra-point attempts as a result.
“Right now, we're our own worst enemy and we are not where we want to be as a football program,” added Matlak. “I can't praise our players enough for their effort level, but the execution isn't there. Our lack of depth was visible, especially late in the game, but we need to give our starters a rest while getting these other guys some reps. To Hiram's credit, Coach Moore had these guys playing to the end. We're not dominating at the line of scrimmage, so our balance was key.”
The Gators, who locked up another winning season and are guaranteed to finish at least .500 for the 25th time in 28 years as a member of the NCAC, close out the 2010 campaign next weekend at Oberlin College.
