GREENVILLE, Pa. -- The win streak continues.
Allegheny College improved to 5-0 with its third straight Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) victory on Saturday night, as the Gators (5-0, 3-0 PAC) rolled to a 41-10 road win against Thiel College.
With their fifth win in a row, the Gators are guaranteed to finish with a record of .500 or better for the first time since 2018. They opened the season with five consecutive wins for only the seventh time in program history and the first time since 1996, a year when Allegheny posted an undefeated regular season and qualified for the NCAA tournament.
After giving up a field goal on the game's opening drive, Allegheny put up 41 unanswered points across the first three quarters. The offense didn't rely on very many big plays, instead using a balanced approach to pick the Thiel (0-5, 0-3 PAC) defense apart. Six of the team's seven drives in the first three quarters resulted in touchdowns before the Gators let their foot off the gas in the fourth quarter.
Leading the charge on the ground was running back
Malik Jefferson (New Castle, Pa./New Castle). The junior transfer from Division II PennWest California enjoyed a breakout performance in his third game with the Gators, churning out 117 rushing yards and a season-high three touchdowns. The bruising back punched in scores of four yards, three yards, and two yards, with his last touchdown giving the Gators their largest lead of the night, 41-3, near the end of the third quarter.
Inside the Box Score
- Allegheny produced 394 yards of total offense and averaged 6.7 yards per play.
- The defense held Thiel to 216 total yards and an average of less than four yards per play.
- The Gators did most of their damage on the ground with 221 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
- The Tomcats finished with 74 rushing yards and lost two fumbles.
- Jefferson led all running backs with 117 yards and three rushing touchdowns.
- Quarterback Carson Colucci (Brewster, Ohio/Fairless), who threw for 169 yards and two scores, also carried the ball into the end zone once.
- Colucci completed passes to 13 different receivers, led by Remington Rossow (West Palm Beach, Fla./Forest Hill), who had three receptions for 48 yards and one touchdown.
- Thiel's backup quarterback, Braxton Dente, threw the team's only touchdown to Drevon Newton in the fourth quarter.
- Allegheny's defense produced six sacks, with Robbie Janis (Fombell, Pa./Riverside), Drew Evans (Erie, Colo./Erie), Cortlon Campbell (Rocky River, Ohio/Lutheran West), Gary Anderson (Vero Beach, Fla./Saint Edward's School), and Phil Murray Jr. (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Hartley) each earning one solo sack.
- Senior safety Landon Wayne (Albion, Pa./Northwestern) had a team-high six tackles with a half-tackle for a loss.
- Thiel's Tyrese Madry collected a game-high nine tackles.
News and Notes
- Allegheny improved to 5-0 overall and 3-0 against PAC foes.
- The Gators are 5-0 to start a season for the first time since 1996.
- Allegheny has won six of its last seven matchups against Thiel, and its 41 points scored Saturday night are the most against the Tomcats since a 42-14 win in 2021.
- Jefferson rumbled for a season-high 117 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
- Colucci broke the 1,000-yard mark and now has 1,009 passing yards and 11 touchdowns so far this season.
- First-year running back Brady Vrcic (Pittsburgh, Pa./Serra Catholic) ran for six yards on the first two carries of his collegiate career.
- Freshman receiver Caelen Bailey (Lakeland, Fla./Lakeland) produced 28 all-purpose yards with his first two collegiate catches and a 16-yard jet sweep rush.
Up Next
The Gators head into their bye week but will return to action on Saturday, October 17, with a 1 p.m. matchup against Washington and Jefferson College at Frank B. Fuhrer '48 Field.
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