MEADVILLE, Pa. – A tenacious rushing attack and a stout defensive performance lifted Allegheny to a 25-17 victory over Ohio Wesleyan in North Coast Athletic Conference action at Frank B. Fuhrer Field.
Allegheny (2-2, 2-1 NCAC) senior
Tyler Balla rushed for a season-high 175 yards and a touchdown, while the Gator defense forced four Ohio Wesleyan (1-2, 1-1 NCAC) turnovers and totaled seven quarterback sacks, as the Gators earned their first win over the Battling Bishops since 2010.
Trailing 17-9 early in the third quarter, the Gators scored two touchdowns in a six-minute span to re-gain the lead, and the defense made the advantage stand up, surrendering just 60 yards over the final 18 minutes of play.
The teams would trade scoreless possessions over the opening stages of a briskly-paced first quarter, before the Gators took advantage of Ohio Wesleyan's first offensive miscue. With just over six minutes left in the frame,
Seth Warburton's sack forced OWU quarterback Kameron Smith to fumble, and
Corey Laskey pounced on the loose ball to give the Gators possession at the OWU 25. The Battling Bishops' defense yielded just two yards over the next three plays, but Allegheny senior
Zach Bednarowicz came on and buried a 40-yard field goal to put the hosts on top 3-0 with 5:07 left.
Just two plays after the field goal, Warburton yet again made a strip sack on Smith on the OWU 17, but this time, Allegheny couldn't cash in on the turnover, as on second-and-goal, the Battling Bishops' Alec Varteressian forced a fumble that was recovered by teammate Ryan Rubel at the five yardline.
The Battling Bishops used a pair of long gainers to escape the shadows of their own goal posts, with a 37-yard keeper from Smith followed by a 19-yard pass to Gabe Miller to move the ball to the Allegheny 37 to close the quarter. Another 19-yard pass, this time to Curtis Duren, pushed the ball inside the red zone, before an Allegheny pass interference penalty would set up first-and-goal from inside the three.
A pair of OWU rushes brought the ball to the one yardline, but on third and goal,
Marcus Davenport burst through the line to throw Smith four a three-yard loss, and the Bishops had to settle for a 22-yard field goal from Gabe Philhower to tie the game at 3-all with 12:50 left in the half.
On the ensuing trip, the Gators rode the legs of Balla to mount an impressive 17-play drive that spanned over eight minutes. The veteran back ran seven times for 27 yards, while also catching a 12-yard reception, and capped off the trip with a one-yard touchdown plunge with 4:52 left in the half to put the hosts in front 9-3, which is how the score stood at halftime.
The Battling Bishops looked to seize the momentum out of the break. After Miller returned the opening kickoff 42 yards to midfield, OWU needed just two plays to take the lead, as Smith connected with Fields for a 48-yard touchdown strike to go up 10-9 just 80 seconds into the half.
Less than a minute later, the Bishops upped their lead. On the second play of the Gators' ensuing drive, Nick Heidel stepped in front of a Greer pass at the 11-yard line, and found the end zone untouched to push the lead to 17-9 with 12:43 remaining in the quarter.
The Gator offense then went to work.
Logan Lee started the squad's next possession with a 12-yard pass to
Tristan Rhoades, before connecting with
Alex Victor for a 12-yard gain on third-and-nine to set up first down at the 50. A 16-yard run from Balla brought the ball inside the OWU 35, before Rhoades corralled a quick pass on the sideline, made a pair of defenders miss, and raced into the end zone. The two-point conversion try failed, but the Gators cut the gap to 17-15 with 9:59 to go in the quarter.
Allegheny's defense surrendered just three yards on OWU's next trip, and Lee and Balla would then lead the Gator offense on another productive drive. Taking over at their own 13, the trip began with a seven-yard run from Balla and an eight-yard completion to Victor. Two plays later, the Gators faced a third-and-three at their own 35, and Balla bruised his way up the middle for the required yardage. An 11-yard run from Balla brought the ball near midfield, before a 13-yard pass to Rhoades gave Allegheny first down on the OWU 36. Balla hauled in back-to-back screen passes from Lee to move inside the red zone, before the 11-play, 87-yard drive was capped off with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Lee to Bachik that put the Gators in front 22-17 with 3:50 left in the quarter.
Following another three-and-out from OWU, the Gators were in the midst of another lengthy drive to open the final stanza. Balla did the bulk of the work to start the drive, rushing five times for 27 yards, while another timely third down catch by Rhoades, this one for 18 yards, gave Allegheny a first down just inside the OWU 30. A dazzling one-handed grab from
Jared Shaw moved the ball to the OWU 23, but the drive would then stall. Bednarowicz then pounded home a career-long 41-yard field goal with 9:50 left in regulation to give the Gators a 25-17 lead.
The Gator defense continued its stout performance down the stretch, forcing a punt and a turnover on downs on the Battling Bishops' next two possessions, before
Charles Ross picked up his first career interception at the Allegheny 43 to quash OWU's third drive of the final quarter with 2:12 left to play.
Allegheny was able to milk a little more than a minute off the clock on its next trip, with OWU taking over at their own 20 with 1:07 left following a punt. After an 11-yard completion from Smith and a 21-yard run from Curtis Duren, the Battling Bishops had life, with first down a midfield. With just over six seconds left, Smith uncorked a long ball down the sideline, but it was picked off by
Zach Martin at the 15-yardline as time expired, sealing the Gator win.
Balla finished with 214 all-purpose yards, as he hauled in five catches for 39 yards in addition to his 174 yards on the ground. Rhoades turned in a game-high 85 receiving yards on five grabs. Lee led the Allegheny passing attack, completing 13 of 18 passes for 154 yards and two TDs. Greer connected on four of eight tries for 35 yards.
For the game, the Gators nearly doubled-up the Battling Bishops in total offense, 398-205, while the Gator defense surrendered just 48 rushing yards.
Davenport led the Allegheny defensive effort, as he turned in five tackles for loss, including 2.0 sacks. McGee topped the Gators with 11 tackles on the day, including a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss, while Lopez, Warburton, and Laskey each made 2.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. The Gators' seven sacks were a season-high, and the most since posting eight on Sept. 30 of last season against Hiram.
For Ohio Wesleyan, Smith completed 11 of 21 passes for 157 yards, while also leading his team with 36 rushing yards. Sasoun Tcholakian made three catches for 25 yards, and Fields two for 55, while Rubel paced the OWU defense with nine tackles.
The Gators will now return to action on Sat. Sept. 29, when they make the short trip to NCAC foe Hiram for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
GATOR BYTES: Allegheny recognized the 1968 Gator football team during halftime. That squad earned the Gators' first Presidents' Athletic Conference title, finishing 7-1 overall… Bednarowicz's 41-yard field goal in the fourth quarter was the longest for a Gator kicker since Ben Ziolkowski's 42-yarder on Nov. 1, 2014 against Kenyon… Warburton is now the first Gator with four forced fumbles in a season since Jon Olshock in 2000… The 204 yards of total offense from OWU is the lowest amount allowed by the Gators' since last year's season-opener at Thiel, when the Gators yielded 184, while the 48 rushing yards allowed were the fewest for the Allegheny defense since giving up 32, also to Ohio Wesleyan, on Oct. 5, 2013… The Allegheny win snapped a six-game losing streak against the Battling Bishops… Balla turned in his eighth career 100-yard rushing performance, the most for a Gator runner since Mario Tarquinio's 14 between 2003-06.
