MEADVILLE, Pa. - For the second straight week, the Allegheny football team will play under the lights, as the Gators travel to Wooster to open up the North Coast Athletic Conference schedule with a 7 p.m. tilt at John P. Papp Stadium.
Both teams will be looking to bounce back from week one losses to Presidents' Athletic Conference foes, as the Gators were defeated 44-21 by Thiel, and the Fighting Scots 58-20 at Washington & Jefferson.
GAME TWO - ALLEGHENY AT WOOSTER
Saturday, September 10 - 7:00 p.m.
John P. Papp Stadium - Wooster, Ohio
Radio: COOL 101.7 WMVL - with Chuck Stopp (play-by-play) and Steven G. Folmar (color)
Streaming Audio: http://www.mainstreamnetwork.com/listen/player.asp?station=wmvl-fm
Streaming Video: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/wooster
Live Stats: http://woosterathletics.com/sports/fball/2016-17/boxscores/20160910_u6ty.xml
GAME NOTES (click for complete PDF version)
THIS WEEK Allegheny opens the North Coast Athletic Conference schedule with a 7 p.m. game at the College of Wooster. The Gators will be looking to bounce back from a 44-21 week one loss to Thiel, a game in which Allegheny was unable to recover from five first half turnovers that resulted in a 21-0 halftime deficit. Junior Jake Wilson established a new Allegheny record with 223 kick return yards in the loss, including runs of 76 and 41 yards. In his first game as feature running back, sophomore Tyler Balla ran for 113 yards and a touchdown, while classmate Logan Lee completed 11 passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns, all in the second half. Wooster is also looking to bounce back from a week one loss to a Presidents' Athletic Conference foe, as #25 Washington & Jefferson handed the Fighting Scots a 58-20 loss. Wooster's Gary Muntean threw for 311 yards and two scores in the loss, while Kea'Shaun Phillips totaled 12 tackles. This week's meeting is the 38th all-time between the Gators and Fighting Scots, with Allegheny holding a 20-17 advantage in the set.
RECORD RETURNS In the Gators' week one bout with Thiel, junior Jake Wilson established a new Allegheny single-game record with 223 kick return yards, shattering the previous record of 169, set by Jim Lieb on Oct. 14, 2006 at Kenyon. Wilson had returns of 28, 76, 37, 41, 27, and 15 yards. His 76-yarder in the first quarter was Allegheny's longest since Jon Opet's 86-yard touchdown return on Nov. 9, 2013 vs. Denison.
THE CENTURY CLUB In his first game at running back last week, sophomore Tyler Balla had 21 rushes for 113 yards and a touchdown. It marked the Gators' first 100-yard rusher since Nick Deichler gained 143 rushing yards on Nov. 1, 2014 vs. Kenyon. Balla is the first Gator to eclipse the century mark in the team's season-opener since Shane Ream ran for 140 yards on 28 carries at Mount Union on Sept. 1, 2001.
CAPTAINS PRODUCE In last week's opener against Thiel, both the Gators' offensive and defensive captains performed well. On the offensive side, senior tight end John McFarland led both sides with five receptions, gaining 58 yards. Defensively, sophomore end Marcus Davenport produced seven tackles (six solo), including an eight-yard sack, and forced a fumble.
OFFENSIVE GAINS Allegheny gained 305 yards of total offense in last week's opener against Thiel, marking the first time that the Gators eclipsed the 300-yard mark since Nov. 1, 2014, when they rolled up 380 yards at Kenyon. The team's 133 rushing yards last week were also its highest total since the 2014 Kenyon contest.
FRESH FACES Sixteen Gators made their career debuts in week one against Thiel, with eight starting, including receivers Ben Bachik and Alex Victor, offensive linemen Rafael Belanquet, Dom Antinozzi, Gavin Guntrum, and Zach Wilson, linebacker Matt Ledesma, and corner back David Perez. Bachik made four catches for 34 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown in the third quarter, while Victor made four grabs for 27 yards. Ledesma tallied four tackles, including three solos, while Perez recorded one stop.
GLOBAL GATORS Fifteen different states are represented on the Gators' 2016 roster, which is comprised of players from Pennsylvania (41), New York (21), Florida (13), Ohio (9), Maryland (8), New Jersey (8), California (5), Arizona (4), West Vrginia (3), Georgia (2), Maine (1), Tennesse (1), Connecticut (1), Massachusetts (1), and Michigan (1).
WELCOME ABOARD In addition to new head coach B.J. Hammer, the Gators also have a number of members of the coaching staff in their first seasons at Allegheny. Defensive coordinator Randy Moore was hired in March after working the past six seasons as head coach at NCAC member Hiram College. Linebackers coach A.J. Akinribade wrapped up a star-studded four-year playing career at fellow NCAC power Wabash College, while offensive tackles coach Justin Smith is coming off of a two-year stint on the coaching staff at Limestone College, where he held a variety of roles.
UP NEXT Allegheny will return to the road next week, making the long trek to Crawfordsville, Indiana to face defending NCAC champion Wabash at 1 p.m. The Gators will be looking for their first win over the Little Giants since a 20-17 overtime decision in September 2012. They'll then play their third straight road contest on Sept. 24 at Kenyon, before returning home for an Oct. 1 Homecoming date with Oberlin.
LAST TIME OUT
Visiting Thiel took advantage of five first half Allegheny turnovers to defeat the Gators 44-21 under the lights at a packed Frank B. Fuhrer Field. Each of Allegheny's first our possessions in th opening half resulted in a turnover, allowing Thiel to jump out to a 21-0 halftime lead. The Gator offense got on track in the second half, but the early miscues, coupled with a strong Thiel running game, proved too much to overcome.
In his first game at running back after spending the 2015 season at receiver, sophomore Tyler Balla ran for a career-high 113 yards, including a 10-yard fourth quarter touchdown. Sophomore quarterback Logan Lee completed 10 passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns, all in the second half, while junior Jake Wilson established a new Allegheny single-game record with 223 kick return yards, averaging 37.2 yards per try.
Thiel immediately capitalized on a pair of Gator turnovers in the first quarter to jump out to a 14-0 lead 12 minutes into play, before taking advantage of a fourth Gator miscue in the opening stages of the second to jump ahead 21-0. The teams traded scoreless possessions over the final 10 minutes of the half, and Thiel entered the locker room with the three-touchdown advantage.
Thiel went up 27-0 on their opening possession of the third quarter, but their second trip was thrwarted when Allegheny's Marcus Davenport pounced on a fumble on the Thiel 22. Five plays later, Lee found freshman Ben Bachik with a 12-yard touchdown pass to put the Gators on the board with 9:30 left in the quarter. Thiel answered right back, before Lee threw his second touchdown pass of the quarter, a 30-yarder to Alec Hutchin, to make the score 34-14 with six minutes left in the quarter.
The Tomcats' ensuing 12-play drive would end with a field goal in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, and the Gators would then counter with a lengthy possession of their own, marching 63 yards in 14 plays, capped off with a 10-yard Balla run up the middle to make it 34-21.
Thiel took advantage of the Gators' third interception of the day to score the game's final touchdown with 3:25 left, thwarting Allegheny's second half comeback bid.
Thiel out-gained Allegheny 445-305 in total offense, with the Tomcats amassing 297 rushing yards, led by the two-headed monster of Nick Barca (20 att/132 yds/1TD) and James Lewis (6 att/93 yds/2 TD). The Gators' John McFarland led both sides with five receptions, gaining 58 yards, while Balla, Bachik, and Alex Victor added four catches apiece.
Defensively, Tristan Rhoades topped Allegheny with 12 tackles, including 10 solos, while Marcus Davenport made seven stops, including an eight-yard sack, and Max Sessions five tackles, with 2.0 TFLs and a 12-yard sack.
ALLEGHENY VS. WOOSTER
THE SERIES: This week marks the 38th time in which Allegheny and Wooster will do battle on the gridiron dating back to the 1905 season, with the Gators holding a 20-17 advantage in the series. Wooster has won three straight in the series, with Allegheny most recently winning in the 2012 season-opener by a 17-14 score.
LAST MEETING: Visiting Wooster forced six Allegheny turnovers, and then held off a late rally, to earn a 28-13 win in a driving rainstork at Frank B. Fuhrer Field. The Fighting Scots used a persistent running game, amassing 204 yards on 52 carries, while limiting the Gator rushing attack to just 19 net yards while forcing four fumbles. Wooster ended the night with a 304-169 advantage in total offense, with 204 of the yards coming on the ground. Antonio Bailey ran for 100 yards on 22 carries, while Russell Boston ran 15 times for 95 yards.
Allegheny quarterback Jon Nigro completed 10 passes for 105 yards, including fourth quarter touchdown tosses to John McFarland and Tyler Smith. In his season debut, Tyler Balla made three catches for 39 yards, while he netted 78 yards on a pair of kick returns, including a 41-yarder early in the fourth quarter that set up the Nigro-Smith touchdown connection.
Defensively, Allegheny's Nick Murgo recorded 19 tackles, the most in a single game for a Gator in nine seasons, while Joe Wesolowski added 10 stops, and Chris Patrick eight.
In addition to the four aforementioned fumble recoveries, the Wooster defense also tallied a pair of interceptions, along with four quarterback sacks, including two apiece by Aaron Roberson and Stephen McKinney.
