GETTYSBURG, Pa. - The visiting Western Connecticut State University Wolves fell behind, 17-6, at halftime and could not recover despite some late scores in a 34-28 loss to the Gettysburg College Bullets in football action this afternoon at Musselman Stadum. WestConn falls to 1-2 with second loss in a row, while the Bullets improve to 2-1. The Wolves will return home to entertain Kean on Saturday, September 26 at 1 p.m. Senior RB
Quasim Benson (Wilmington, Del. ) ran for a 106 yards and a touchdown for the WestConn offense and classmate
Eamon Moran (Stratford, Conn.) had 10 tackles and an interception for the Wolves, defensively.
Moran's pick with 6:44 left in the first quarter led to the first points of the game. Senior QB
Dylan Jackson (Monroe, Conn.) threw a 27-yard pass to senior WR
Dylan Dunn (North Bellmore, N.Y.) and then ran five yards for a first down on 3rd-and-5 to key a 78-yard scoring drive for the Wolves. Jackson found junior WR
Jayden Leroy (Danbury, Conn.) on a 22-yard touchdown pass at the 2:19 mark of the first frame, but the PAT failed and the visitors led, 6-0. Gettysburg took its first lead on a 44-yard scoring strike from Sean Clark to Gabriel Diaz that capped off an 80-yard drive and made the score, 7-6, with 14:01 left before halftime. Isaac Gill made a 27-yard field goal and Clark added a 46-yard touchdown toss to Edison Case to give the Bullets a 17-6 advantage at the break.
A 28-yard field goal by Gill gave Gettysburg a 20-6 lead early in the third quarter, but Benson had two runs of over 10 yards to help push WestConn into the Gettysburg red zone and then finished off a 75-yard drive for the Wolves with a five-yard scoring scamper to make the score, 20-13. Gettysburg went ahead, 27-13, on a one-yard touchdown run by Clark with 22 seconds remaining in the third frame. The WestConn continued its momentum and went 90 yards in 12 plays, scoring its third TD on a seven-yard run to paydirt by Jackson with 9:27 left to play. Sophomore WR
Quinn Speller (Waterford, Conn.) caught a 39-yard pass and both Jackson and senior RB
Paul Ronga (Garrison, NY.) had 10-plus yards on rushes during the drive.
The teams traded touchdowns once more in the fourth quarter, including a 26-yard scoring pass from Clark to Danny Bonato and a one-yard touchdown plunge by Wolves sophomore Donald Highscmith (Middletown, Conn.). WestConn senior
Serge Lagardere (Stamford, Conn.) returned a kickoff 45 yards and Jackson threw a 50-yard bomb to senior WR
Thomas Schiavoni (Middletown, Del.) to set up the final scoring for the visitors. WestConn had one last chance at the end of the fourth quarter, getting ball at the own seven-yard line with 3:03 on the clock, but Collin Morrow broke up a Jackson pass attempt to Schiavone on 4th-and-10 to put the game away.
Jackson was 16-for-26 for 228 yards with a passing and a rushing touchdown, while Schiavone caught four passes for 77 yards and Speller had three grabs for 66 yards. Clark was 22-for-33 for 354 yards, including six completions to Diaz for a game-high 118 yards. Carson Shoffner paced the Bullets with 70 rushing yards. Senior LB
Luis Jaquez (Holbrook, N.Y.) was WestConn's second-leading tackler with eight, while senior S
Ryan Rondeau (Carmel, N.Y.) added seven tackles, and junior
Corey Rock-Blanco (Bronx, N.Y.) had four tackles and a sack. Justin Bardo had 12 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss for Gettysburg. WestConn was victimized by 12 penalties for 111 yards.
