THIS WEEK: Allegheny returns home for the first time in 29 days to face North Coast Athletic Conference foe Denison. The Gators will be looking to bounce back from last Saturday's 50-0 defeat at DePauw. The Tigers flexed their muscles on both sides of the ball to improve to 6-0 on the season, out-gaining Allegheny 637-183 in total offense, while limiting the Gators to just 12 net rushing yards. Leading 7-0 after 15 minutes of play, DePauw broke the game open with a 21-point second quarter, scoring three touchdowns in an eight-minute span. Allegheny freshman Logan Lee completed 10 passes for 105 yards and junior Jon Nigro eight for 66, with senior Lucas Morton making a career-high seven receptions for 67 yards. Sophomore Nick Murgo led the Allegheny defense with 10 tackles, while junior Will Aeschbacher recorded two solo TFLs.
The Denison Big Red, under sixth-year head coach Jack Hatem, will look to bounce back from its first loss of the season, falling 45-14 to Wittenberg. The loss snapped a nine-game winning streak for the Big Red dating back to 2014. As was the case for the Gators at DePauw, the second quarter proved to be the undoing for Denison, as Wittenberg scored 21 points to take a 24-0 halftime lead. Denison was limited to a season-low 226 yards of total offense, and committed a season-high four turnovers. Freshman quarterback Canaan Gebele completed 11 of 17 passes for 74 yards and two touchdowns, while adding 66 yards on the ground to pace the Denison offense. Ranked fourth in the NCAC in total offense (356.3 yds/g), Denison also boasts the conference's second-ranked defense, surrendering just 252.3 yds/g, highlighted by a defensive secondary that has picked off a league-high eight interceptions.
GAME SEVEN - DENISON AT ALLEGHENY
Saturday October 24, 2015 - 1 p.m.
Frank B. Fuhrer Field - Meadville, Pennsylvania
RADIO: COOL 101.7 WMVL-FM with Chuck Stopp (play-by-play) and Steven G. Folmar (color)
AUDIO WEBCAST: http://www.mainstreamnetwork.com/listen/player.asp?station=wmvl-fm?
STREAMING VIDEO & LIVE STATS: http://gatorstv.com
2015 Allegheny Schedule/Results 2015 Denison Schedule/Results
2015 Allegheny Roster 2015 Denison Roster
2015 Allegheny Statistics 2015 Denison Statistics
Denison Game Notes
ALLEGHENY GAME NOTES (Click to view/download complete version)
I'LL TAKE DEICHLER FOR A THOUSAND, ALEX: In last week's contest at DePauw, Allegheny senior running back Nick Deichler ran for 37 yards, and eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for his career. He is the first Gator to run for 1,000 career yards since Brian Tamburlin reached the mark in 2011. Deichler enters this week with 1,013 yards on 260 carries in 30 games played, with eight career rushing touchdowns.
SMITH NEARS MILESTONE: Allegheny senior receiver Tyler Smith is close to joining his classmate Deichler in the 1,000-yard club, as he enters this week with 979 career receiving yards. Smith is enjoying a banner year for the Gators, as through the team's first six games, he currently ranks third in the North Coast Athletic Conference in receiving touchdowns (5), fourth in yards per catch (19.8), and fifth in receiving yards (495). A running back for the first two years of his career at Allegheny, Smith made the move to receiver in 2014, and over the past two seasons has totaled 67 receptions for 946 yards and seven touchdowns. Smith has made at least one reception in 18 straight contests dating back to the 2013 campaign, and has posted two or more grabs in 16 games in a row.
A BOURNE IRONMAN: Allegheny senior punter/wide receiver Chris Bourne enters action this week as the only current Gator to appear in all 36 games dating back to the 2012 campaign. An All-NCAC selection at punter during his 2013 sophomore season, Bourne has averaged 35.9 yards on 162 career punts, while he has tallied five career receptions for 13 yards and a touchdown.
CAST A WIDE NET: The Gators enter week seven ranked third in the NCAC in net yards per punt, at 33.1. Bourne is averaging 35.9 yards per punt, with just one touchback, while the Gator punt coverage team yields just 2.4 yards per return, the third-fewest in the conference.
WEALTHY RETURNS: Allegheny freshman Tyler Balla currently ranks third in the North Coast Athletic Conference with an average of 21.3 yards on kick returns, including three returns of 30 yards or longer. His 426 kick return yards already rank fourth all-time in single-season program history. Teammate Tyler Smith set the program record last season with 509 yards. Balla is one of just four players in team history to have 400 or more kick return yards in a single season, joining Smith, LaMarcus Thurman (479 in 1999), and Kyle Geiser (468 in 2005), while his 136 return yards in week three vs. Wabash mark the second most in a game in program history.
GLOBAL GATORS: Seventeen different states are represented on the Gators' 115-player roster. The team includes players from Pennsylvania (40), Ohio (20), New York (18), Maryland (8), Florida (7), New Jersey (6), West Virginia (4), Maine (2), Virginia (2), Massachusetts (1), Rhode Island (1), Connecticut (1), California (1), Michigan (1), Tennessee (1), Georgia (1), and North Carolina (1)
OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN(S): The Gators' 2015 team captains are an experienced group which includes senior running back Nick Deichler, senior left tackle Zach Harvey, senior defensive end Chris Patrick, and senior wide receiver Tyler Smith. All three-year letterwinners, Deichler, Smith, and Harvey have been full-time starters in each of the past two seasons, while Patrick opened the 2014 campaign as the starter at defensive end until missing the duration of the season due to injury.
VETERAN LEADER: The 2015 campaign marks the 14th on the sidelinles for Allegheny head coach Mark Matlak. The 14-year tenure is tied for the longest in the program's 122-year history with Sam Timer, who patrolled the Allegheny sidelines from 1970-83. A 1978 Allegheny graduate, Matlak starred at running back under Timer between 1974-77, having amassed 2,382 career rushing yards and 28 touchdowns. Matlak (62) and Timer (60) rank second and third, respectively, in career coaching wins at Allegheny. Both men are members of the Allegheny Hall of Fame, with the current coach indcted in 1989, and Timer in 1992.
UP NEXT: The Gators will close out the home portion of their 2015 schedule next Saturday, hosting Hiram in a 5 p.m. contest at Frank B. Fuhrer Field. Prior to kickoff, the squad's 11-man senior class will be recognized in an on-field ceremony. The Gators will close out the 2015 campaign with a pair of road contests, beginning with a Nov. 7 trip to Ohio Wesleyan.
THE SERIES: This week marks the 29th meeting all-time between the Gators and Big Red on the gridiron, with Allegheny holding a 22-6 advantage in the series. After dropping the first three meetings between 1984-86, the Gators rumbled off 19 consecutive wins over Denison between 1987-2007. The Big Red have defeated the Gators in each of the past two seasons, however, winning 24-21 in Meadville in 2013, and 45-7 last season in Granville, Ohio. Allegheny is 11-3 all-time against Denison at home.
LAST MEETING (Nov. 8, 2014): Behind a record-breaking performance from wide receiver Dushawn Brown, Denison cruised to a 45-7 home victory over the Gators on Nov. 8 of last season in Granville, Ohio. Brown made 15 catches for an NCAC-record 339 yards, including four touchdowns, as Denison amassed 406 passing yards and 559 yards of total offense. Jon Nigro completed 17 of 28 passes for 131 yards for the Gators, including a 17-yard touchdown to Andrew Niklaus, who led Allegheny with five catches for 49 yards. Allegheny's Nick Deichler ran 14 times for 74 yards, while Nick Murgo and Julian Dean each totaled eight tackles, and Pat Jones six tackles and an interception.
