GREENVILLE, Pa. -- Despite a season-high 162 rushing yards, the Allegheny College football team dropped a 21-7 road contest against Thiel College on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Alumni Stadium.

Led by first-year running back Dominic Berarducci (Erie, Pa./McDowell), the Gator offense turned in its best performance on the ground this season. Allegheny (1-5, 1-5 PAC) churned out 162 rushing yards, nearly twice its previous season best, and Berarducci accounted for 140 of those yards. The freshman averaged seven yards a carry while adding two catches for an additional 22 yards.

In contrast, however, the Gators were unable to establish a consistent passing attack. Quarterback Christian Coudriet (Saint Marys, Pa./Saint Marys), who faced an aggressive pass rush from the Tomcats (1-4, 1-4 PAC), was limited to just five completions on 20 attempts and was sacked five times.

Berarducci did the majority of the work on Allegheny's first drive, and despite a fumble near the goal line, the Gators recovered the ball in the end zone to jump ahead 7-0.

Thiel tied the contest on its first offensive drive in the first quarter, the start of a 21-0 run to finish the game. On their second drive, the Tomcats completed a third-down pass and Blake Joseph took it 95 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.

Trailing 14-7 midway through the fourth quarter, the Gators nearly took advantage of excellent field position following a poorly kicked punt. Allegheny began on Thiel's 35 yard, and the first play from scrimmage was a 23-yard rush by Berarducci. Facing a fourth-and-seven from the 19 yard line, Allegheny elected to send out the field goal unit. Alas, Garrett Paxton's (Freedom, Pa./Freedom Area) 27-yard attempt was blocked, and the Tomcats drove 80 yards on the ensuing possession to seal the win.

Inside the Box Score

• Allegheny finished with 208 total yards of offense.
• Thiel's offense compiled 305 total yards.
• The Gators had the edge on the ground, rushing for a game-high 162 yards.
• The Tomcats had the advantage through the air with 226 passing yards.
• Berarducci ran for 140 yards and was not tackled behind the line of scrimmage on any of his 20 carries.
• Debvrin Smith (Paterson, N.J./Cary (N.C.)) added 35 rushing yards on eight carries.
• Tight end Austin Williams (Warsaw, N.Y./Warsaw Central) led all Gators with three catches for 24 yards.
• Linebacker Azary Matsuda (Roseville, Calif./Granite Bay) and lineman Jermone Williams II (Strongsville, Ohio/Strongsville) finished with a team-high eight tackles.
• Fellow linebackers Coltin Colucci (Brewster, Ohio/Fairless) and Cameron George (New Kensington, Pa./Valley) each had one sack.
• Nigel Williams (Buffalo, N.Y./Cardinal O'Hara) blocked a 29-yard field goal attempt by Thiel in the second quarter and added six tackles.
• Thiel quarterback Daniel Rennie completed 12-of-18 (66.7%) of his attempts for 226 yards and three touchdowns.
• Luke Faber led the Tomcats with 2.0 sacks and had eight total tackles.

News and Notes

• Saturday's loss snapped a streak of four consecutive wins against Thiel.
• Berarducci ran for a season-high 140 yards.
• Berarducci is the first Gator running back to surpass 100 yards on the ground since Kyrie Miller '24 ran for 151 against Washington and Jefferson College on October 7, 2023.
• Colucci added to his team-leading sack total and now has 5.5 this season.
• Nigel Williams' blocked field goal was the second of his Allegheny career.

Up Next
Allegheny travels to Geneva College on Saturday, October 19, for a 7:00 p.m. PAC contest against the Golden Tornadoes.