HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- The Allegheny College football team suffered a heartbreaking loss on the road Saturday afternoon, as Juniata College scored the game-winning touchdown with seven seconds remaining to secure a 40-38 nonconference win at Knox Stadium.

In a back-and-forth affair that featured a little bit of everything, Allegheny (0-2) looked ready to play the role of spoiler late in the fourth quarter. After Juniata (2-0) drove 75 yards on 11 plays to jump ahead 34-31 with 1:22 remaining, Terran Mitchell (St. Louis, Mo./Affton) turned a muffed kick return into an 80-yard touchdown by breaking multiple tackles and streaking down the far sideline with a convoy of blockers. It was an electric play that turned a near disaster into a 38-34 lead with 1:07 left on the clock.

Mitchell's return nearly deflated the Juniata faithful, but the Eagles had enough left in the tank to drive another 75 yards in less than a minute. Quarterback Ethan Eisenberg made several key throws to pick up multiple first downs, including a key pass to Carter Marr over the middle to the four-yard line. Eisenberg's next pass was swatted down at the line of scrimmage by Huriel Calice (Peabody, Mass./Phillips Academy Andover), but on second and goal, he connected with tight end Jordan Horm for the go-ahead touchdown.

After the two teams entered the halftime intermission tied at 14-all, the Gators jumped out to a 14-point lead in the third quarter. Facing a second-and-18 on the first drive of the third quarter, Allegheny quarterback Carson Colucci (Brewster, Ohio/Fairless) scrambled out of the pocket and found Devin Larry (Loganville, Ga./Loganville Christian) for a 43-yard touchdown. The Gators quickly got the ball back when Eisenberg fumbled a snap from under center, and Dominic Berarducci (Erie, Pa./McDowell) punched home a one-yard score that put Allegheny up 28-14.

The Eagles trimmed the deficit to 28-20 in the third quarter, before putting up 20 points in the fourth to secure the come-from-behind win.

Inside the Box Score

• Allegheny's offense posted 377 total yards with 203 through the air and 174 on the ground.
• Colucci was very efficient with 17 completions on 20 pass attempts. He threw for one touchdown and ran for a second.
• Berarducci carried the ball 20 times for 117 yards and two rushing touchdowns.
• Larry was Allegheny's leading receiver with six catches for 91 yards and one touchdown.
• Javi Edwards (Youngstown, Ohio/Ursuline) led the defense with nine tackles, followed by fellow linebackers Coltin Colucci (Brewster, Ohio/Fairless) and Ryan Croston (Jefferson, Ohio/Pymatuning Valley) with seven apiece.
• Defensive lineman Andrew Urda (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy) picked off Juniata's starting quarterback, Isaiah Randall, in the second quarter, but fumbled the ball back to the Eagles on the return.
• Juniata's offense finished with 500 total yards, led by running back Ivan Foreman, who rushed for 115 yards and three touchdowns.
• Eisenberg, who played the second half for the Eagles, was 14-of-21 for 169 yards with two touchdown passes.

News and Notes

• Saturday was the eight all-time meeting between Allegheny and Juniata and the first since 2009.
• Colucci's 85.0 completion percentage is the best by a starting quarterback since T.J. Salopek '11 finished 31-of-35 (88.6%) against Ohio Wesleyan University on October 23, 2010.
• Berarducci surpassed 100 yards rushing for the second time in his career.
• Mitchell's kickoff return touchdown was the first by a Gator since Levi Swartz's 89-yard return against Westminster College on September 17, 2022.

Up Next
The Gators return to Frank B. Fuhrer Field on Saturday, September 20, for a 7:00 p.m. Blue and Gold Weekend kickoff against Thiel College.