MEADVILLE, Pa. -- Allegheny dominated the ball and held Hiram to just 12 yards rushing as the Gators celebrated Blue & Gold Weekend with a 45-22 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) win over the Terriers.

Chase Balla (New Kensington, Pa./Valley) did it in all facets, contributing seven tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, forcing a fumble and recovering it, from his normal linebacker position, while also carrying 10 times as a running back and putting up 59 yards and two touchdowns. The junior, reigning NCAC Special Teams Player of the Year, also returned a kick for 21 yards in the win.

Balla opened the scoring 2:56 into play with a 28-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-one on the game's opening drive, which marked the first carry of his career. Nick Leinenweber (Neptune Beach, Fla./Episcopal School) converted the point-after attempt for the 7-0 lead, which held up through the end of the first quarter.

Hiram knotted the game at 7-7 on the first play of the second quarter, but on the ensuing possession, Balla gave the Gators the lead back when he capped an eight-play, 65-yard drive with a one-yard carry into the end zone. Hiram just needed the kickoff to get back on the board as the kick was returned 78 yards for a touchdown, matching both teams at 14-14.

Allegheny went on to answer right back, when the Gators again converted a fourth down into a long touchdown when Nazareth Greer (Apache Junction, Ariz./Marcos De Niza) connected with Austin French (Beaver Falls, Pa./Beaver Falls) on an out route that French took 53 yards to the house and gave the Gators the lead for good at the 6:20-mark of the second quarter, 21-14. The Blue & Gold lit the scoreboard once again with just under 12 seconds to play in the first half when Greer found Shane Cafardi (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) from three-yards out for the latter's first career touchdown.

The home team dominated time of possession in the first half, holding the ball for nearly 24 minutes.

Hiram got on the board to open the second half, but Quinten Hunt (Buckeye, Ariz./Buckeye) blocked the point after, his NCAC-leading fourth of the year, to keep the lead at 28-20. The two teams traded possessions twice before Leinenweber enlarged the margin to 31-20 with a 21-yard field goal at 5:42 of the third quarter. The spread grew to 18 by the end of the third as Greer tossed his third score of the game, this one to Ben Bachik (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) from 10 yards out, with exactly 2:00 on the clock.

The first drive of the fourth quarter for Hiram ended with a blocked punt by Troy Scott (Baltimore, Md./Millford Mill Academy) that set the hosts up with first and goal at the nine-yard line with 13:03 to play. French, lined up in the wildcat, rushed in from two yards out to cap the three-play drive. The final points of the contest came on a safety for Hiram by way of a snap over Marcus Wolf's (Bloomfield, N.J./Bloomfield) head that the sophomore alertly pushed out of the back of the end zone.

Offensively, the Gators ran 86 plays (the most this season) for 496 yards thanks to a balance of 269 in the air and 227 on the ground. Allegheny held Hiram to 235 yards and only 12 rushing on 23 caries.

Greer completed 26-of-33 passing for 269 yards and three scores, with Alex Victor (Miami, Fla./G. Holmes Braddock) his favorite target as the senior pulled down nine passes, totaling 82 yards. In the process, he became the first Allegheny wide receiver to top 200 receptions in a career. Bachik led all players with 113 yards, the second 100-yard effort of the year, and his career, for the senior. French led a four-headed rushing attack by amassing 68 yards on four carries, with Balla ranking second, and Tonye Hamilton (Richmond Heights, Ohio/Richmond Heights) and Trey Adams (Grove City, Pa./Grove City) putting up 59 and 50 yards, respectively.

Darian Parrish (Princeton, Fla./Miami Palmetto) match Balla for the team lead with seven tackles, while turning in his second-straight 3.0 TFL effort. Hunter Cazin (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Lebanon) and Corey Laskey (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) each made four stops, while Grayson Lee (Shrewsbury, Mass./Shrewsbury) was one of three players with three tackles and also added 2.0 TFL, a sack, a forced and recovered fumble, a pass break-up and a quarterback hurry. In total, Allegheny posted 9.0 TFL and 3.0 sacks. Jake Fedell (Allison Park, Pa./The Kiski School) and Willie Knight (Pittsburgh, Pa./Westinghouse) each recorded sacks.

Allegheny improves to 2-6 on the year and 2-5 in the NCAC, while Hiram drops to 0-8 overall and 0-7 in league play. The Gators will concluded the home portion of the 2019 campaign next Saturday, Nov. 9, when they host Wooster for Senior Day at 1 p.m.