MEADVILLE, Pa. – Zach Bednarowicz's 26-yard field goal with 11 seconds left in regulation lifted the Gators to a 20-19 victory over visiting DePauw on Homecoming at Frank B. Fuhrer Field.
Bednarowicz's kick completed a late comeback for Allegheny (5-3, 5-2 NCAC), which trailed by nine points with less than seven minutes left to play, and lifted the Gators to their first win over DePauw (3-5, 3-4 NCAC) since 2012.
Senior Tyler Balla ran for 90 yards and two touchdowns, while the Gator defense forced four DePauw turnovers and totaled three sacks.
After returning the opening kickoff to midfield, DePauw looked primed to take an early lead on their first trip. The Tigers would quickly pick up a pair of first downs to move the ball inside the red zone, but Zach Martin broke up a pass on third down to bring the field goal unit onto the field. Jake Tanner's attempt from 38 yards was wide left, and the game remained scoreless with 11 minutes left in the opening quarter.
The teams would trade punts over the next several series. With just over three minutes left in the quarter, a 62-yard punt from Cody Wendt pinned the Tigers inside their own 10-yard line. On the third play of the ensuing drive, Kyle McGee stepped in front of a Chase Andries pass at the 18, and returned it back to the 10 to put the Gators in prime position to take the lead. After a personal foul backed the Gators up to the DePauw 12, the drive would stall, but the hosts managed to put points on the board with Bednarowicz's 28-yard field goal that put the Gators up 3-0 with five seconds left in the quarter.
On the second play of the second stanza, Andries completed a 38-yard touchdown pass over the middle for Ethan Hudson, and after a failed extra point attempt, the Tiger lead stood at 6-3 with 13:44 remaining in the first half.
The margin would remain at three points as the next two possessions ended in turnovers, with DePauw picking off an interception, before the Gators' Marcus Davenport forced a fumbled recovered by teammate McGee.
Following two more punts, the Gator offense would come back to life. Taking over at their own 40, Balla opened with a 27-yard burst up the middle, before a nine-yard completion from Logan Lee to Alex Victor set up first down at the DePauw 24. Balla would then close out the drive with two more runs, capped off with a 20-yard touchdown scamper through the middle that gave the lead back to the Gators, 10-6, with 6:05 left in the second quarter.
The lead was short-lived, however, as DePauw put together an 8-play, 65-yard drive that was capped off with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Andries to Will Harris that put DePauw back in front 13-10, which is how the score would stand at the intermission.
Chase Balla opened the second half with a 55-yard kickoff return to the DePauw 39, but Allegheny's drive would stall, as the Gators turned it over on downs. The ensuing DePauw drive commenced with Andries completing a pair of passes for 48 yards to set up first-and-goal at the Allegheny nine. The Gator defense buckled down, allowing just four yards over the next three plays, and the visitors were forced to settle for a 24-yard field goal from Jake Tanner to go in front 16-10 with 10:50 to go in the third quarter.
The Tigers looked primed to add onto their lead on their final drive of the third, eventually advancing inside the Gator 12-yardline. Facing second-and-six, Davenport stopped a run for no gain, before Chase Balla burst around the edge to throw Andries for a 13-yard sack and back the ball up to the Allegheny 24. A delay of game would push the Tigers five yards further, and they would turn it over on downs after a fourth down pass to the end zone fell incomplete.
Each of the next three possessions would again end with punts, before DePauw appeared to score the game's decisive points midway through the fourth quarter on what appeared to be a 40-yard touchdown run. However, an unsportsmanlike penalty negated the score, and the Tigers had to once again settle for a field goal, a 31-yarder with 6:52 remaining that gave the visitors a 19-10 lead.
Allegheny quickly went to work. Tristan Rhoades returned the ensuing kickoff 37 yards to the DePauw 43, before a leaping grab from Ben Bachik gained 40 yards and set up first and goal inside the three. Balla would then bowl into the end zone for his second score of the day, and ninth of the season, and Bednarowicz's extra point pulled Allegheny to within two, 19-17, with 5:55 left in regulation.
The Gator defense forced another DePauw three-and-out, highlighted by a 13-yard sack on third down by Chase Balla and Corey Laskey. Following the punt, a 39-yard completion from Lee to Bachik brought Allegheny into the DePauw 20, but the Gators' drive would come up empty, and the Tigers took over with the two-point lead and 2:14 left in regulation.
Allegheny's defense went back to work, ceding just five yards on the next three plays to force DePauw's fifth punt of the day, which was returned by Victor to the Allegheny 46 with 1:11 remaining.
The Gators opened their final drive of the game with a pair of incompletions, but on third-and-10, Rhoades made a leaping catch over the middle for a 29-yard gain for a first down at the DePauw 25. Two plays later, Lee hooked up with Dwaine Barber for a 16-yard gain to set up first and goal at the DePauw nine-yard line with 31 seconds left to play.
Three straight passes into the end zone fell incomplete, bringing Bednarowicz out for the 26-yard field goal from between the hashes with 14 seconds to go. After a pair of DePauw time outs, the Gator veteran calmly buried the kick to put the Gators in front 20-19, setting off a frenzied Frank B. Fuhrer Field crowd.
Following a fair catch on the ensuing kickoff, Depauw took over at its own 25 with nine seconds left, but Andries' desperation heave down the middle of the field was picked off by Allegheny's Moses Snell with no time remaining to seal the Gator comeback win.
Lee completed 15 passes for 211 yards and one interception, with Tyler Balla totaling five catches for 35 yards, Bachik three for 85, and Barber three for 46.
Allegheny's strong defensive effort was led by McGee, who totaled 12 tackles, recovered a fumble, and picked off an interception. Davenport finished with 10 tackles, including two for loss, while Bryan Lopez made nine stops, and Zach Martin eight. Chase Balla was credited with six tackles, and accounted for 2.5 of the Gators' three quarterback sacks.
DePauw's Andries completed 14 of 30 passes for 216 yards, with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Harris led the receiving corps with five catches for 52 yards, while Noah Jones ran for 41 yards to pace the Tigers.
The Gators will now take to the road for their final away game of the season, scheduled for Sat. Nov. 3 at 1 p.m. at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana.
