Allegheny College Athletics

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The Heartbreak Continues in a 34-27 Loss to Kenyon

October 15, 2005

GAMBIER, Ohio – For the second time in as many games, an Allegheny Gator drive fell short on the two yard line, this one as time expired in a 34-27 loss to the Lords of Kenyon College.

Kyle Geiser (Orrville, Ohio) was one catch away from the school record with 13 catches for 97 yards, and Mario Tarquinio (Charleroi) grounded out a season-high 165 yards on 33 carries and a trio of touchdowns, but it was not enough in the seven-point loss.

Kenyon took the opening kickoff and used 14 plays to go 73 yards, scoring when defending NCAC Player of the Week Alby Coombs plunged into the end zone with 11:05 to play in the first quarter. A missed extra point, however, kept the Gator deficit to just six at 6-0. AC responded by driving 64 yards, down to the one yard line, before the Blue and Gold fumbled into the end zone, giving the hosts the ball on their own 20 yard line.

After the Lords gained 49 yards on their next drive, the Gator defense tightened, holding Kenyon short on fourth down, giving the visitors possession of the ball at their own 31 yard line. The Gators methodically drove down the field, using 15 plays to drive 69 yards, scoring when Tarquinio scored his first touchdown of the game, from four yards away, as a blocked extra point kept the score at 6-6 with just over 12 seconds to play in the opening stanza.

After giving up one first down to the Lords on their next drive, the Gators forced the only punt of the first half, as punter John Currier pinned AC on its own five yard line. For the second consecutive drive, the Gators used a varying combination of passes and rushes to drive 95 yards on 20 plays, their longest drive of the season in both plays and yardage, eating up 6:54, the second straight drive for the Gators that used nearly seven minutes. The drive culminated when Tarquinio scored his second touchdown of the half, a one-yard plunge, giving the visitors a 13-6 lead with 5:25 left on the first half clock.

Kenyon responded with a 14-play drive of its own, eating up 4:49 of the clock and scoring with 27 seconds remaining in the first-half clock when quarterback Rafael Sanchez found Phelipe Johnson in the back of the end zone, knotting the score at 13 apiece heading into the locker room.

The Gators came out firing to open the second half, as Geiser took the third-half kickoff on his own six yard line and sprinted 94 yards for the touchdown, the fifth longest kickoff return for a touchdown in school history, giving the Gators a 20-13 lead just 16 seconds into the period.

The Lords responded with a quick, three-play, 76-yard drive, scoring when Sanchez found Johnson for a touchdown for the second time in the game, this one from 71-yards away, knotting the game at 20. The Gators took the next kickoff and drove 70 yards in nine plays, scoring on Tarquinio’s third touchdown of the contest.

In the back-and-forth game, the Lords scored again, tying the game at 27 when Sanchez scrambled in from six yards away with 3:10 remaining in the third quarter.

After a Gator fumble with 8:30 to play in the game, the Lords took the ball and used just five plays to cover 48 yards, scoring on Sanchez’s second rushing touchdown of the game, giving the hosts the 34-27 lead.

After each team had a failed possession, the Gators took the ball on their own 27 yard line with 3:38 remaining in the contest. Eighteen plays later Allegheny took the ball to the Kenyon five yard line with seven seconds left to play in the game. Quarterback Jimmy Savage (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) found Logan Kaleta (Kirtland, Ohio), but he was held short of the goal line in the loss.

Tarquinio led all rushers in the game with 165 yards while Savage had 85 yards on 21 carries. Sanchez led the Lords with 123 yards and a pair of scores while Alby Coombs ended the game with 76 yards on 25 carries.

Savage was 29-of-38 passing in the contest for 231 yards, while Sanchez was 18-of-30 for 240 yards in the victory.

Geiser led the receiving corps with 13 catches while Javier Arbolaez and Johnson each had 100 yards receiving on eight and four catches, respectively.

Defensively, Mateo Villa (Windsor, Ohio/Middlefield Central) led the team with 10 tackles, while Vincent Werner (Sheffield) had eight tackles in the loss. Kenyon’s Casey McConnell had 21 tackles in the game, while Joey Furnari and Jordan Kircher had 17 and 10 tackles respectively.

The Gators look to end their losing skid on Saturday, October 22, when the team takes the road to face off against the Terriers of Hiram College, who fell 66-0 to Wittenberg on Saturday, in a 1:00 p.m. kickoff.