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Allegheny Football Falls in OT to Baldwin-Wallace
September 3, 2005
BEREA, Ohio – The Allegheny College football team kicked off the 2005 season tonight against Baldwin-Wallace. The game was close all the way, and ended in Baldwin-Wallace's favor, as the Yellow Jackets claimed a 23-17 win in overtime.
The ball started in the Gators hands as Baldwin-Wallace won the toss and deferred until the second half. A good return by Kyle Geiser (Orrville, Ohio) got Allegheny out near their 35-yard line. A series of runs by junior Mario Tarquinio (Charleroi, Pa.) and a penalty by B-W got the Gators to the Baldwin-Wallace 35-yard line. A sack by the Yellow Jackets, however, stalled the drive.
A great punt salvaged field position, as B-W had to start from its own two-yard line. The Yellow Jackets got a quick first down, but from there went three and out. On Allegheny’s second possession, Tarquinio again led the way, and got Allegheny inside B-W’s 35, but a missed field goal from 44 yards out by Josh Whiteside (Pittsburgh, Pa./ Upper St. Clair) gave the ball back to the Yellow Jackets.
On Baldwin-Wallace’s ensuing possession a dropped snap on third down put the Yellow Jackets deep in their own territory. The punt was returned 26 yards by RaShawn Allen (Columbus, Ohio/ St. Charles Prep) to the B-W 37-yard line. Fourth and two from the 29 led to a QB draw by Savage that got the Gators inside the 10. A carry to the six by Nick Jones ended the first quarter in a 0-0 tie. A short carry by Savage got the second quarter rolling, and got Allegheny inside the five. Tarquinio, who had 58 yards in the first half, finished the drive with a three-yard touchdown run. Whiteside converted on the extra point, giving Allegheny the 7-0 lead after a seven-play, 37-yard drive that took 3:15 off the clock.
After the teams swapped possession, Baldwin-Wallace got things going with a 14-yard run by QB Rob Lewis. A pair of rushes by Lewis and running back Brandon Hedges then got B-W to the Allegheny 14, but Mike Anthony missed a 31-yard field goal wide left and Allegheny maintained its seven point advantage.
An 11-yard pass to wideout Dallas Robinson (Wooster, Ohio/ Northwestern) started Allegheny’s last drive of the half, with 1:45 to play. Another pass to Geiser got the Gators to the Yellow Jacket 33-yard line. A Savage pass on second down was intercepted by B-W’s Finamore, however, and it looked as if the Gators would have to settle for the 7-0 halftime lead. The Yellow Jackets had a different goal in mind, as they took the ball with just 33 seconds remaining. From their own 29-yard line the Yellow Jackets got the ball all the way to the Allegheny 16-yard line. A thirty-three yard field goal by Anthony capped a five play, fifty-five yard drive that took just 30 seconds.
Baldwin-Wallace got the ball to start the second half, and quickly carried over the momentum from the end of the second quarter. Hedges, who had 43 yards on just six carries in the first half, led a 10-play, 74-yard touchdown drive. His two-yard run for six points was his eighth of the drive, on which he had 61 yards. The kick by Mike Anthony was good, giving B-W the 10-7 lead.
Allegheny looked as if they would answer, when a 46-yard pass to Matt Pertile (Conway, Pa./ Freedom) got the Gators to the Yellow Jacket 32-yard line. A 15-yard penalty took Allegheny out of scoring range, though, and the Gators were forced to punt with 7:59 remaining in the third quarter.
After a three-and-out by the Yellow Jackets, Allegheny’s Savage wasted no time in hitting Michael Sober (West Leechburg, Pa./ Leechburg) for a 31-yard gain down to the 10-yard line. After a series of runs got the Gators to the two, Josh Whiteside nailed a 19-yard field goal. The seven-play, 60-yard drive tied the game at 10 apiece, and took 3:05 off the clock.
Baldwin-Wallace regained possession with 3:29 remaining in the third quarter. An Allegheny punt started the fourth quarter after three-and-outs by both teams ended the third. Through three quarters Allegheny out-gained the Yellow Jackets 276-205. Both teams were playing tough defense on third down, as Allegheny was just 2-10 on third down conversions and Baldwin-Wallace was 1-8.
Action picked up again with 8:09 left in the fourth quarter. A sack by Michael Folk (Mentor, Ohio/ Notre Dame Cathedral) put B-W at its own 10-yard line, and after the Yellow Jacket punt Allegheny began its next drive on the 50-yard line. On third and seven Savage made a key conversion to Geiser for a first down. On the next set of downs the Gators faced another third down, but the problem of converting on third down had seemingly disappeared, as Sean Locklin (Export, Pa./ Franklin Regional), who came in after an injury to Tarquinio in the first half, broke free for a 29-yard run down to the one-yard line. Savage finished off the seven-play, 60-yard drive with a QB-keeper, and with 4:18 to go Allegheny had a 17-10 advantage.
Baldwin-Wallace made things interesting on their next drive, as the team faked a punt from their own 26 with a direct snap to Justin Princehorn. After Princehorn rumbled for 21 yards, the Yellow Jackets offense came alive. A 25-yard pass from quarterback Mike DiAngelo to David Peterson got Baldwin-Wallace to the Allegheny 25-yard line. Three plays later the Yellow Jackets were faced with a fourth and seven. DiAngelo then connected with wide receiver Tom Murphy for a 22-yard touchdown strike, which capped an eleven-play, 77-yard drive. The extra point by Mike Anthony was good, tying the game at 17-17. The drive took 2:59, and left just 1:11 on the clock for the Gators.
On the ensuing kickoff Allen returned the ball 46 yards to the B-W 46-yard line. A pass from Savage to Pertile on fourth and 10 from the B-W 35 was good for just eight yards, and the Gators turned the ball over on downs with 12 seconds left on the clock. The Yellow Jackets took a knee, and the game headed to overtime.
Allegheny won the toss in overtime, and chose to defend. Baldwin-Wallace took just three plays to get from the 25 to the nine-yard line, and on first and goal Hedges ran it in for the touchdown. Anthony missed the extra point, however, leaving an opening for the Gators.
On first down for Allegheny Ryan Lewis collected his fourth sack of Savage in the game, pushing the Gators back to the 28-yard line. A screen to tight end Marko Fonzi (Pittsburgh, Pa./ Brentwood) got the ball to the 24-yard line. On third down Savage threw incomplete to Robinson in the end zone, spelling fourth and long for the Gators. Savage again looked for Robinson, but this time found him at the 10-yard line. On first down Locklin carried the ball down to the five, who then carried it again for no gain on second down. On third down Savage’s pass was tipped and then intercepted by B-W’s Matt Stevens. The final score, B-W 23, Allegheny 17.
B-W kept its five-year home opener win-streak alive, and swept the Gators in their non-conference series of four games over the last four seasons.
Savage finished 20-30 for 234 yards. Locklin rushed for 61 yards on 15 carries, while Tarquinio had 58 yards on 11 carries. Geiser led all receivers on the night with seven receptions for 76 yards.
Mike DiAngelo had 175 yards passing for the Yellow Jackets while Hedges carried the ball 13 times for 72 yards.
On defense, Josh Dracup (Meadville, Pa.) and Adam Duncan (Blairsville, Pa./ Derry Area) led the way for the Gators with nine tackles each.
Overall, Allegheny won the time of possession battle by nearly five minutes, and outgained the Yellow Jackets 357-284. Despite this, and the school's best performance against B-W in their four-game series, the Yellow Jackets managed to come out on top.
Allegheny returns to the field next Saturday, September 10, when the Gators will host the Westminster Titans at 1:00 p.m. Allegheny will also celebrate Community Day and recognize the school’s NCAC Team Champions from last spring on gameday.