GRANVILLE, Ohio – Trailing by three touchdowns at halftime, the Gators came up short in a second half comeback bid, falling 42-28 in an offensive battle at #24 Denison.

The loss drops the Gators to 1-6 overall, and 1-5 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, while Denison remains undefeated at 7-0/6-0.

The Big Red controlled play in the first quarter, possessing the ball for nearly 10 minutes en-route to a 14-0 lead, before the Gators opened the second frame with a long drive of their own.

Taking over at their own 28, a nine-yard completion from Logan Lee to Alec Hutchin brought the ball to the Allegheny 40, before the Gators used five straight runs, highlighted by a 12-yard scamper by Lee, to bring the ball to the Denison 39.  A 21-yard pass from Lee to John McFarland set up first down at the Denison 12, before a pass interference penalty just shy of the goal line gave the Gators first-and-goal at the two.  One play later, Tyler Balla rumbled in for the Gator touchdown, closing the gap to 14-7 after Ben Ziolkowski's successful extra point.

The Big Red answered with a six-play, 64-yard touchdown drive, capped off by a five-yard quarterback sneak from Tommy Iammarino, to make it 21-7 with eight minutes left in the quarter, before Allegheny was forced to punt after a promising drive was hampered by a pair of penalties.  Denison answered with another long scoring drive, going 80 yards in 11 plays to take a 28-7 lead in the closing seconds of the half.

Denison received the opening kick to start the second half, eventually advancing to its own 32, before the Gators' Marcus Davenport forced Big Red running back Dara Laja to fumble.  Freddy Ruiz recovered the loose ball and scampered 27 yards for the Gator touchdown, the junior's first career touchdown and the first fumble recovery score for the Gators since Doug Williams' in a win over Carnegie Mellon on Sept. 10, 2011.

Looking to keep the momentum, the Gators went for the on-side kick, but were unsuccessful, giving Denison prime field position on its ensuing drive at the Allegheny 39.  After converting a fourth-and-two, the Big Red offense was stifled by the Gator D, as a three-yard sack from Jahnaaman Boone was followed by an intentional grounding penalty to set up third and 23 at the Gator 24.  Allegheny forced an incompletion, and then a 41-yard Denison field goal attempt went wide right, keeping the score at 28-14 with 9:39 left in the third quarter.

The Gators were unable to cut more into the Denison lead, as their next possession ended in a fumble.  The Big Red made them pay for the miscue, covering 51 yards in seven plays to take a 35-14 lead on a pass from Iammarino to his brother Matt. 

A 56-yard punt by Tyler McLaughlin on the Gators' next trip pinned Denison inside its own 15 yardline, and the Allegheny defense came up with another big play, as Adrian Garcia tallied his first career interception on a long ball from Iammarino at midfield to close out the third quarter.

The Gators needed little time to make the Big Red pay for the turnover, as Lee completed a 17-yard pass to Alex Victor and a six-yarder to McFarland to set up third and four at the Denison 25, before Lee found McFarland yet again for the touchdown to once more cut the deficit to two scores, 35-21, with 13:20 left in regulation.

Denison countered by using another lengthy scoring drive to ultimately put the game away.  The Big Red were aided by a pair of 15-yard Allegheny penalties on the 13-play, 77-yard jaunt that was closed with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Tommy Iammarino to David Carter with 5:44 left that made it 42-21.

Lee opened the next drive with a pair passes to Hutchin that covered 21 yards, before a 15-yard completion to McFarland and an eight-yard throw to Ben Bachik gave the Gators first down at the Denison 35.  A roughing the passer penalty moved the ball up 12 yards, and two plays later, Lee found Victor for a 13-yard touchdown pass, the freshman's seventh touchdown grab of the season.  Ziolkowski's extra point made it 42-28 with 3:28 left.

The Gators held on Denison's next trip, but the Big Red punt pinned Allegheny to its own 14 with 30 seconds left, and time ran out on the comeback attempt.

Lee went 17-for-31 through the air for 194 yards, while McFarland finished with seven catches for a career-high 115 yards, and Victor five catches for 34 yards.  
Defensively, the Gators finished with a season-high five sacks, led by three from Boone and one apiece Colten Buzard and Jon Scroxton, who each tallied 2.0 tackles for loss.  Tristan Rhoades led the Gators with 14 tackles, while Ruiz added 11 in addition to his fumble return.

Iammarino went 24-for-30 through the air for 277 yards and three touchdowns to pace the Denison offense, with Cody Farley making six grabs for 81 yards and a score.  Alex Raynor, Hayden Hatten, and Zach Neufield each made eight tackles to lead the Big Red, with Neufield tallying a pair of quarterback sacks.

The Gators will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 29, as they travel to Hiram for their final road contest of the year, set to begin at 1 p.m.