MEADVILLE, Pa. - North Coast Athletic Conference champion Wittenberg used a barrage of 31 points in a 17-minute span over the second and third quarters to defeat Allegheny 52-21 in the Gators' 2014 season finale.

The Tigers, ranked 11th in the most recent D3Football.com Top 25 poll, end the regular season with a 9-1 overall record, and a perfect 8-0 mark in the NCAC.  The Gators were handed their eighth straight defeat, and end the year at 1-9, 1-8.

Wittenberg got on the board first, as Zack Jenkins hooked up with Luke Landis for a 69-yard touchdown pass with eight minutes remaining in the first quarter to make the score 7-0.

The Gators responded by using a healthy balance of running and passing to embark on their most impressive drive of the season.  After Jon Nigro opened the drive with an 11-yard first completion to Derrick Emigh, the Gators were then limited to eight yards on the next three plays.  On fourth-and-two, receiver Andrew Niklaus took a direct snap out of the shotgun and burst through the middle for a nine-yard gain, setting up first down at midfield.  A facemask penalty on Wittenberg set up first down at the Tiger 36, and Nigro would then complete four passes for 24 yards to advance the ball to the Wittenberg 20.  A pair of rushes by Nick Deichler brought the ball to the Wittenberg 13, before Nigro hooked up with Tyler Smith on back-to-back plays, capped off with a five-yard touchdown pass six seconds into the second quarter.  Ben Ziolkowski's extra point was good, tying the game at seven to close out a 15-play, 80-yard drive that amassed eight minutes.

Wittenberg then took control over the remainder of the half, holding the ball for 11 of the final 14 minutes and scoring three touchdowns.  Three minutes after the Smith touchdown, Jenkins hooked up with Zach Culvahouse for a 19-yard scoring strike, before Jimmy Dehnke scored on a two-yard run with 8:30 left, and Sean Gary scampred home from five yards out with just under three minutes left in the half to make the score 28-7.

The Tigers continued to add onto the lead to open up the second half, scoring 17 points in the first nine minutes of the third quarter to up the lead to 45-7.

Allegheny responded by ending the third quarter with momentum. With 3:30 left in the quarter, a pair of Gator seniors playing in their final career game teamed up to post the team's biggest defensive play of the game, as Tyler Clark dropped Jenkins for a sack, forcing a fumble that was recovered by classmate Julian Dean at the Wittenberg 20.  Quarterback Tyler McLaughlin then came on in relief, and completed a trio of passes for 17 yards, capped off with a 10-yard touchdown to Jake Wilson to make the score 45-14 with 50 seconds left in the quarter.

Another senior came up big on defense for the Gators to open the fourth quarter, as Ronny Borne thwarted a Wittenberg drive with an interception at the Gator 25.  The two teams would then trade scoreless possessions, before McLaughlin led another long scoring drive midway through the fourth quarter.  The sophomore began the team's penultimate drive of the game with a pair of runs for 27 yards, before he completed an 18-yard strike over the middle in traffic to Emigh, setting up first down at the Tiger 18.  Two plays later, McLaughlin fired his second touchdown of the day, an 18-yarder to Juwan Campbell, to cut the score to 45-21 with 3:54 remaining in regulation.

Wittenberg answered by putting an exclamation mark on its victory, as Armon Murray returned the ensuing kick 89 yards for a touchdown to close out the day's scoring.

The Tigers out-gained the Gators 426-230 in total offense for the day, with 287 yards through the air.  Jenkins completed 16 of 23 passes for 276 yards and three scores, with Culvahouse his favorite target on the day, making seven grabs for 116 yards.  

McLaughlin ended the day 8-for-11 for 73 yards and the two touchdowns, while Nigro went 14-for-27 through the air for 83 yards and the second quarter strike to Smith, who caught a team-best seven passes.  Emigh caught four passes for 45 yards, while Niklaus and Campbell each made three catches.  

Defensively, Gator freshman linebacker Nick Murgo finished with a team-leading eight tackles, and ends the season with 107 stops, the most for a Gator defender since Andy Schleihauf made 117 tackles in 2009.  Matt Wetzel and Ryan Sherry each totaled seven stops, while Clark ended the afternoon with 2.5 tackles for loss and a pair of forced fumbles.  Fellow senior Raysean Glenn had four tackles, one sack, one pass defended, and one forced fumble, as the Tigers ended the day with four fumbles (one lost). 

The game marked the final game in the careers of 19 Allegheny seniors, who were honored for their time in the Blue and Gold with a pregame ceremony.