Gators Upset #21 Wittenberg; Eyeing NCAC Title

Nov 1, 2003

Boxscore

For the first time in six tries dating back to 1997, the Allegheny College football team defeated Wittenberg University and now have just Earlham and Ohio Wesleyan standing in the way of the Gators first North Coast Athletic Conference title since 1997. The Tigers and Gators traded scoring punches throughout the second and third quarters with Allegheny landing the finishing blow on a 25-yard pass from senior Bubba Smith (Doylestown, Ohio/Chippewa) to senior Jon Turner (Franklin, Pa./Franklin Area) with 10:10 left in the third quarter to take the 27-21 win.

Allegheny (5-3, 5-0 NCAC) has Earlham next weekend on the road and Ohio Wesleyan in the regular season finale on November 15 back home at Robertson Field. Two wins will give the Gators, the only undefeated team remaining in the conference, the NCAC title and the automatic qualifier into the NCAA playoffs.

Smith led finished the game 15-for-27 for 213 yards and three touchdowns and became Allegheny's all-time leader with his 49th career scoring strike in the first quarter. Junior tailback Jamie Sye (Titusville, Pa./Titusville) rushed the ball for 94 yards on 20 carries, including seven carries for 64 yards on the final clock-killing drive of the game.

The Allegheny defense once again rose to the challenge in a difficult position as Wittenberg (6-2, 3-2 NCAC) took over, trailing 27-20 with 11:35 left in the fourth quarter. The Tigers put the ball on the ground, rushing 10 times on 11 plays, but the last proved costly. Having gone 55 yards in just over six minutes, Wittenberg ame into the game ranked 21st in the nation and looked to be going in for the winning score in the fourth. Senior defensive tackle David Pisanick (Duncansville, Pa./Hollidaysburg) forced a fumble at the Gator eight-yard line and junior Adam Klimas (Boardman, Ohio/Boardman) jumped on the loose ball, setting up Sye's performance on the final drive of the game.
Klimas finished with a game-high 11 tackles while Pisanick had nine tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Allegheny the first punch of this bout with a 14-yard pass from Smith to Brian O'Malley (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) with 2:24 left in the first quarter. Wittenberg answered on the next play from scrimmage as Ryan Holmes hit Jered Glover for a 65-yard pass to knot the game 7-7. Allegheny then hit their own long ball on the next play from scrimmage when Smith hit Michael Sober (West Leechburg, Pa./Leechburg) for 67 yards down the left sideline.

On the ensuing drive, the Tigers went 65 yards in nine plays, culminating in a Tyler Harmon two-yard touchdown to tie the score at 14-14. A little trickery gave the Gators the lead on the following drive when tailback Kyle Geiser (Orrville, Ohio/Orrville) faked a sweep right and wheeled a pass into the left flat where Smith caught and ran in for a 12-yard score. The extra point was blocked, giving Allegheny a 20-14 lead at the half.

The scoring blows continued on the first two drives of the third quarter when Raymar Hampshire, who had 26 carries for 147 yards, scored on a 25-yard run with 11:35 left in the third quarter. Just five plays later, Smith hit Turner from 25 yards out to give Allegheny the lead for good. Turner finished with four receptions and 53 yards and became the all-time leader with 19 career receiving touchdowns.

Holmes finished the game 11-21 for 154 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the game. Glover had four receptions for 97 yards.

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