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Allegheny Falls to 19th Ranked Wabash 27-21
October 29, 2005
MEADVILLE, Pa. – The Allegheny Gators (1-7, 1-4 NCAC) took the 19th ranked (American Football Coaches Association) Wabash Little Giants to the wire, falling in the final minutes by a 27-21 score at Robertson Field .
Jim Lieb (Carrolltown/Northern Cambria) hauled in a game-high 10 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown in the loss.
Wabash (8-0, 6-0 NCAC) took a 13-0 lead into the locker room at halftime, scoring a touchdown in each of the first two quarters. The first came from a 36-yard pass from quarterback Russ Harbaugh to Eric Summers, as a missed extra point kept the Gator deficit to six at 6-0.
The Little Giants, on their next possession, drove 69 yards on 15 plays, scoring when Harbaugh found Mike Russell from four yards away, giving the visitors a 13-0 lead that they took into the locker room.
Wabash took the second half kickoff and drove into the Allegheny red zone before safety Brad Stotsky (Evans City/Seneca Valley) picked off his fourth pass of the season at the Wabash two yardline and took it to the Wabash 14 yardline, where a pair of Mario Tarquinio (Charleroi) rushes gave the Gators the score, reaching the end zone on a five-yard plunge, cutting the deficit to six at 13-7.
The Little Giants responded with an 11-play 68-yard drive, scoring when Harbaugh found Ray Green from 24 yards away, as the two-point rush by Brandon Roop went into the end zone, taking the score to 21-7. The Gators did not back down, scoring with 10:50 left in the game when Jimmy Savage (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) found Lieb for his first passing touchdown of the game, taking the score to 21-14.
A Don Juan Brown nine-yard touchdown with 7:17 to play in the game provided the game-winning points with 7:17 to play in the game, but a missed extra point kept the Gators within striking distance at 27-14. Allegheny drove on their next drive, scoring when Savage found Tarquinio from 18 yards away, cutting the Little Giants lead to six at 27-21.
After stopping the Little Giants on their next drive, the Gators took possession on their own 43 yardline, but the hosts were unable to cut into the deficit, as the team was held short on fourth and three at midfield. A Wabash first down on third-and-eight allowed the Little Giants to run down the clock in the six-point Little Giant win.
Savage was 18-of-31 passing in the game for 195 yards and a pair of scores, while James Jones (Ellington, N.Y./Falconer Central) was 2-for-3 passing with 14 yards. Harbaugh was an impressive 30-of-39 passing for the victors, throwing for 309 yards and a trio of scores.
Tarquinio led all rushers in the game with 20 carries for 59 yards and the score while Jones and Savage each had five carries for 24 and 17 yards, respectively. Brandon Roop led the ground game for the Little Giants, carrying the ball seven times for 31 yards while Ogden had 10 carries for 25 yards.
Lieb led all receivers with 10 receptions for 117 yards while Michael Sober had four catches for 37 yards. Mike Russell led the Little Giants with eight catches for 89 yards and a score, while Eric Summers had seven catches for 73 yards.
Defensively the Gators were led by Keith Keenan (Bloomingdale, Ohio/Indian Creek) and Nick Jones (Blairsville/Homer Center), who each had eight tackles while three other Gators had seven stops. Wabash was led by Adrian Pynenberg, who had 15 tackles, while Tim Parker was also in double figures with 10.
The next game for the Blue and Gold is on Saturday, November 5 when the team treks to Richmond, Indiana to face off against the Quakers of Earlham College, with kickoff set for 1:00 p.m.