Gators Lose Heartbreaker To #17 Wooster

Oct 1, 2005

Boxscore

MEADVILLE, Pa. – The Allegheny College Gators fell to 0-4 on the season and 0-1 in North Coast Conference with a heartbreaking 37-34 loss to 17th ranked Wooster on Saturday afternoon. A 32-yard field goal with two seconds left in the game gave the visiting Scots the three-point victory.

Mario Tarquinio (Charleroi) returned after a two-game layoff due to injury to rush for 123 yards on 29 carries and a pair of scores in the loss, as the Gators had 199 total yards on the ground.

Allegheny reached the scoreboard first when kicker Josh Whiteside (Pittsburgh/Upper St. Claire) booted a 27-yard field goal in the team’s opening drive, giving the hosts a 3-0 lead with 8:49 to play in the first quarter. The Scots responded a play later, when quarterback Justin Schafer found tight end Greg Peltz for a 73 yard score just 17 seconds later.

The Gators responded with a nine-play, 76-yard drive, eating up 3:40 of the clock, culminating with Tarquinio’s first touchdown of the game, giving the hosts a 10-7 advantage that they kept for the remainder of the first quarter. Wooster scored back-to-back touchdowns, the first on a Dustin Shepherd one-yard touchdown scamper, and the second on a 77-yard pass from Schafer to wide receiver Aaron Gertz.

Allegheny scored the final points of the first half on Tarquinio’s second touchdown of the half, from two yards away, cutting the Gator deficit to three at 20-17 heading into the locker room.

The Gators scored first in the second half when Jimmy Savage (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) scampered in from five yards away, giving the hosts a 24-20 lead. Gertz caught his second touchdown of the game for the next score of the contest, giving the Scots a three-point, 27-24 lead.

Whiteside hit his second field goal of the game, a 42-yard kick, with 9:27 to play in the game, tying the game at 27 apiece. The Scots then took 5:47 off of the clock, driving 67 yards on 10 plays, giving the visitors a 34-27 lead. The Gators would not let go, driving 66 yards on three plays, using just 35 seconds to knot the game at 34 when backup quarterback James Jones (Ellington, N.Y./Falconer Central) scooted in from nine yards away with 2:46 to play.

Wooster took the kickoff and drove 57 yards on 10 plays, converting on on two third downs on the dirve, third and five and third and six, putting the ball on the 15 yardline with six seconds to play , when Wooster kicker, Andrew Milligan, booted a 32-yard field goal, leaving the Gators with just two seconds to attempt to score, as the kickoff return fell short, giving the visiting Scots the 37-34 win.

Tarquinio led all rushers in the game with 123 yards on 29 carries and a pair of scores, while Jones rushed for 57 yards on nine carries and a score. Sheppard led the Scots with 74 yards on the ground and a pair of touchdowns.

Savage was 8-of-19 passing for 85 yards while Jones was 4-of-8 for 74 yards passing in the loss. Schafer, the Scots starting quarterback, was 16-of-25 passing with three touchdowns and a pair of interceptions to go with 314 yards passing. Bobby Reiff, the Wooster backup, was 7-of-10 passing, leading the game-winning drive with 70 yards through the air.

Michael Sober (West Leechburg/Leechburg) hauled in three passes for a team-high 62 yards, while Kyle Geiser (Orrville, Ohio) had three caches for 14 yards. Peltz and Gertz had five and four catches, respectively, hauling in those passes for 114 and 147 yards each. In all, the Scots hauled in 23 passes for 384 yards.

Defensively the Gators were led by Curt Anderson (Batavia, N.Y./Batavia Notre Dame) and Elliott George (Bradford), as each had 13 tackles, while Brad Stotsky (Evan City/Seneca Valley), Pat O’Neil (Souderton) and Eric Rupp (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster Central) each had seven stops. Stotsky had a pair of interceptions, totaling 31 yards of returns, while George, Tom Glamuzina (Williamsville, N.Y./St. Joseph’s) and Keith Keenan (Bloomingdale, Ohio/Indian Creek) each had a quarterback sack.

Wooster was led by Phil Vitalbo, who had 10 stops while Josh Feesler had nine stops in the victory.

With the loss, the Gators fall to 0-4 for the first time since 1981 and 0-1 in the NCAC. Wooster, ranked 17th by the National Football Coaches Association, improves to a perfect 4-0 overall and 1-0 in league action.

The Gators host Ohio Wesleyan University on Saturday, October 8, homecoming for the Blue and Gold, as the team looks to avoid its first 0-5 start since 1953.

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