MEADVILLE, Pa. - Nineteenth-ranked Wittenberg defeated the Gators 45-8 in the 2016 season finale at a sun-splashed Frank B. Fuhrer Field.

The Gators (1-9, 1-8 NCAC) rushed for 144 yards and held the ball for over 35 minutes, but Wittenberg (9-1, 8-1 NCAC) took advantage of a pair of Gator turnovers and nine Allegheny penalties to earn the win and clinch the 2016 North Coast Athletic Conference championship.

Allegheny sophomore Brandon Sellers ran for a career-high 73 yards on 13 carries, while classmate Logan Lee completed 13 passes for 113 yards, adding 49 yards on the ground in the defeat.

Wittenberg quarterback Jake Kennedy led the way for the Tigers, completing 13 of 18 passes for 198 yards and two scores to go with 91 yards on the ground, bolstering a Tiger offense that totaled 426 yards.

The game started as a defensive battle, as the teams traded scoreless possessions in the opening seven minutes.  The Allegheny defense came up big on Wittenberg's first possession, with Miles Oladimeji turning in a two-yard sack, before Jahnaaman Boone and Marcus Davenport combined for a five-yard sack on third down at the Tiger 34.  The Gators couldn't cash in on the stop, however, and Wittenberg scored the game's first points on its next possession on a 32-yard run from Desahwn Sarley with 4:45 left in the opening stanza.

The Gators countered with a productive drive to wrap up the first quarter, with a 33-yard pass from Lee to Nick Cervone followed by three runs from Sellers that netted 25 yards and set up first down at the Wittenberg 12 as the quarter ended.  On the first play of the second quarter, Lee found John McFarland for a six-yard gain to push the ball inside the six yardline, but the drive would stall, and the Gators came up empty after a field goal attempt rang off the crossbar with 14:08 remaining in the second quarter.

Led by Kennedy, the Tigers would take advantage of the empty Gator possession by marching 80 yards in seven plays to take a 14-0 lead.  The Tiger signal-caller ran three times for 39 yards, before completing a 38-yard touchdown strike to Luke Landis with 11:06 left until the break.

Allegheny's next drive also had a productive start, as the Gators picked up first downs on an 11-yard run by Lee and a 13-yard rush from Cervone to move the ball to the Tiger 36.  Another nine-yard run by Lee moved the ball closer to the red zone, but the Tiger defense would hold, ceding just one yard over the next three plays to hold on fourth down.  

On the ensuing drive, Wittenberg got an early first down, before the Gator defense buckled down to allow just two yards over the next four plays and gain the turnover on downs.  After Lee picked up a 15-yard run on the Gators' next play, a false start penalty would stall the drive, which ended on a fumble on fourth down.  Wittenberg quickly answered with a 55-yard drive that took 85 seconds, as a 33-yard pass from Kennedy to Landis set up a one-yard touchdown run from Sarley to make the score 21-0 in the closing seconds of the first half.

Allegheny forced a punt on Wittenberg's first trip of the third quarter, but the Tigers would add to their lead on their second possession on an 18-yard pass from Kennedy to Bryce Bailey with 9:50 left in the quarter.

The Gators' next drive began in promising fashion, as Jon Nigro completed a 13-yard pass to Cervone and a 14-yarder to McFarland, but the Wittenberg defense again buckled down to force another Gator punt.  A 10-play, 75-yard Wittenberg drive would then end with a 29-yard Will Gingery field goal to push the lead to 31-0 with 30 seconds left in the third quarter. The Wittenberg lead would quickly grow on the first play of the final stanza, as Dustin Holmes returned an interception for a 33-yard touchdown.  

Led by Sellers, the Gator offense would then go back to work.  The sophomore gained 39 yards on a pair of carries to advance the ball to the Wittenberg 35, before Lee found Francisco Guzman for a pair of passes netting 18 yards, followed by a 10-yard completion to McFarland, to set up first-and-goal at the Wittenberg two yardline.  Allegheny couldn't punch it in, turning it over on downs, but were given a reprieve, as the opening play of the Tigers' ensuing drive resulted in a fumble recovered by Gator senior Jon Scroxton.  Allegheny made the most of its second chance, as Tyler Balla rumbled around the left end for a two-yard touchdown run.  The Gators successfully converted on the two-point conversion, as Lee made the most of a broken play to scramble into the end zone and make the score 38-8 with just over five minutes left in regulation. 

The Tigers then struck quickly to close out the day's scoring, as on the second play of their ensuing drive, Nick Kendall ran for a 55-yard touchdown score to make it 45-8.

Despite the final score, the Gators held the ball for 35:44, and amassed 19 first downs, just two fewer than Wittenberg.  In his final game in the Blue and Gold, Nigro completed five of nine passes for 38 yards, ending his career ranked fifth in program history in career completions (351), sixth in pass attempts (631), and seventh in career passing yards (3,452).

With a team-high six catches for 64 yards, McFarland ends his career with 98 receptions, sixth-most in team history, and second-most among tight ends, just behind three-time All-NCAC honoree Nathan Six, who tallied 102 catches between 1995-98.

Defensively, Boone led Allegheny with nine tackles, including a sack and 3.5 tackles for loss, while Davenport was credited with eight stops, and Oladimeji, Ben Capella, and Wyatt Boyler five apiece.

Prior to the game, the team's 16 seniors, including Boyler, Capella, Nigro, McFarland, Scroxton, Will Aeschbacher, Brett Albinson, Juwan Campbell, Parker Codd, Joe DeSanti, Stefan Edmiston, Chris Mutz, Tyler McLaughlin, Dante Paris, Dylan Ukasik, and Ben Ziolkowski were recognized for their four-year Allegheny careers.

The Gators will open the 2017 season on Sept. 2, traveling to Greenville, Pa. to face non-conference rival Thiel College.