Allegheny Upends Wooster To Gain Control of NCAC

Oct 18, 2003

Boxscore

The Allegheny College football team secured their grasp on first-place in the North Coast Athletic Conference, upsetting the College of Wooster, 26-20, on the road on Saturday afternoon. The Gators, now 3-3 overall and 3-0 in the NCAC, have faced two of the top three favorite teams in the conference and come away with victory in both.

Allegheny now plays three of their final four games at Robertson Field, where they are 152-82-5 (.646) all-time and 50-11 (.820) since 1990. One of those four remaining opponents is perennial-power Wittenberg, whom the Gators haven’t beaten since 1996. That showdown comes on November 1 at 1:00 p.m. The Tigers were saddled for a loss last week against Wabash, a team Allegheny beat 7-6 at Robertson on October 4.

Against Wooster (4-2, 0-2 NCAC), the Gator defense spent nearly 40 minutes on the field and faced 82 plays, but held the Scots to just a 4.5 average per play as they came up with timely stops and an interception to end any Wooster comeback prayers. Sophomore Elliot George (Bradford, Pa./Bradford Area) came up with the interception with 44 seconds left in the game, capping a 10-tackle performance. The Gator defense also faced 38 rushes from All-America Tony Sutton, giving up 195 yards to the back, but shutting him down in key situations.

Trailing 14-13 at the half, Allegheny drove 83 yards on 14 plays on their first drive of the second half and took the lead when senior quarterback Bubba Smith (Doylestown, Ohio/Chippewa) hit senior fullback Brian O’Malley (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) for a three-yard score. The Gators were called for illegal motion on a successful two-point attempt and then missed the extra point to make it a 19-14 lead.

The Gator defense then forced a three and out on the next possession, but fumbled the punt giving the Scots the ball at the Allegheny 33-yard line. A holding penalty on Allegheny gave Wooster a first down after it looked like the Gator defense held, but the drive was thwarted when senior Matt Komar (Chesterland, Ohio/West Geauga) tallied a sack on third-and-goal from the one, forcing a Scot field goal and a 19-17 game.

Senior Brian Woods (Pittsburgh, Pa./Avonworth) sealed the game when he returned a punt 77 yards with 9:54 left in the fourth quarter, giving Allegheny a 26-17 lead.

Wooster added a field goal with 3:00 minutes left, setting up George’s final-minute interception.

Wooster jumped on the Gators early, going 65 yards in 12 plays on their first possession to take a 7-0 lead. Allegheny answered with a 54-yard pass and catch from Smith to Casey Devlin (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley), but the extra-point attempt was blocked, making it 7-6. Smith, who was 10-18 for 195 yards and two TD’s, was intercepted on the Gators next possession, setting up an 11-yard run by Eddie Sutton, but again Allegheny responded with a big play on the very next play from scrimmage as Smith hit Woods for a 65-yard score.

Justin Schafer completed 17-of-34 passes for 225 yards a score for the Scots.

Allegheny hosts Denison on Saturday, October 25, at 1:00 p.m. at Robertson Field.

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