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Gators Look for Second Win in Richmond
November 2, 2005
Gators of the Week
Game Notes (PDF)
Two-Deeps (PDF)
MEADVILLE, Pa. - It has been said over and over again, but it is the truth. It might even be cliché. The 1-7 record that Allegheny takes into game nine of the season is very deceiving. Six times this year, the Gators had the ball with a chance to score the winning or tying points late in the fourth quarter, and for the sixth time, the team came up short. Twice the final outcome was decided by a field goal, while the other four had the Gators with the ball as time wound down in the game.
Last week the Gators fell victim to the Little Giants of Wabash College. Wabash, ranked 18th in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Poll, and 20th in the D3football.com poll, escaped Robertson Field in Meadville, with a narrow 27-21 victory. The Gators had possession of the ball on the 50 yard line with just over two minutes to go in the game, but were held, giving the visitors from Crawfordsville, Indiana the victory.
“It is frustrating,” said head coach Mark Matlak, who has seen his career record go from 17-14 at the start of the season to 18-22 heading into the next to last game of the year. “The object of the game is always to win, and we’ve been very close. We just haven’t been making the plays to do it.”
Over the season, a remarkable six of the seven losses have come down to the wire for the Gators, including a pair, the first pair, in overtime. The only big loss this season came from the nationally ranked Washington & Jefferson Presidents in week three of the year. Overall, the Gators have been outscored by a paltry 23 points, a total more appropriate for a .500 team, not one that is 1-7.
The AC coaching staff has been credited with a lot, some good, some bad, but some of the most poignant remarks came a week ago by Wabash head coach Chris Creighton, who commented after the game that “We knew they are a tough team, probably one of the best 1-6 teams ever. They fought hard with pride and passion. I hope if I am ever in the position of coaching a 1-6 team that I can hold it together like they have. They are fighters; a good football team that may just be a little snake bit.” Matlak, in response to those comments said, “I really think that you have to give the players all the credit for hanging in there and being positive. This is a tough situation, and no one likes to lose. Certainly not the kids or the coaches.”
As the team looks to break out of its doldrums, it has to hit the road for quite a trip, a six-hour bus ride to Richmond, Indiana, to face off against Earlham College, its second Indiana opponent in as many weeks. Matlak knows that a long trip can take some of the zip out of a team, but he knows it is this kind of trip that can make a season. “I think that anytime you are having the season that we are, and you go on a long trip, that you worry about the guys mentally. I think our guys have been able to focus each week and concentrate. It is like anything, just another opportunity to compete.”
The Quakers, the new focus for the Gators, have had a struggling season of their own. The season started promising for head coach Gerry Keesling’s squad, until quarterback Justin Rummell went down with an injury. It is usually said that an offense is a team, not just one player, but not in this case. In the first game of the year, the Quakers fell just short against Rose-Hulman in a 41-48 loss. In their next game, the Maroon and White put on an offensive clinic, scoring 69 points as Rummell went 22-for-28 passing for 476 yards and seven touchdowns, numbers that more closely resemble a PlayStation game than an actual Division III contest.
In their next game against Anderson, the worst case scenario happened, as Rummell went down with an injury just before halftime. Things have been downhill since, as the team has scored just 41 points since he went down, including just four points in the three games following the injury, back-to-back two-point games, losses to both Wabash (50-2) and Hiram (7-2) and a 48-0 shutout loss to Wittenberg. Since the Rummell injury, the highest point total the Quakers have scored was last week, where they fell in overtime to the Lords of Kenyon College 16-13.
Filling in for Rummell has been freshman Randy Kerns, who is 85-of-154 passing for 734 yards in seven games on the year. He has thrown two touchdown passes, while also tossing 11 interceptions. Before he was injured, Rummell tossed for 901 yards, including 844 in the first two games of the year. James Jewell and Mike Keesling, both wide receivers, have also seen time at the signal caller position since the injury.
Leading his receivers has been Joe White, a sophomore, who has 34 catches for 552 yards and four touchdowns. Running back Manny Myers is second on the squad with 27 catches, while Chris Owens’ 295 yards and three scores are second best for the Quakers.
Myers, the team’s starting running back, leads the team with 847 yards in nine games, an average of 94.1 per game, while scoring a trio of touchdowns on the ground. Brandon Warner and Derreck Parkevich are second and third on the team with 112 and 25 net yards, respectively.
Pacing the defense has been Mike Thompson, who has 90 total tackles, 55 solo, while picking off a pass and picking up a fumble. Stephen Groce has 61 tackles for the Quakers, while Kenny Kincy has 47. Evan Williamson leads the team with a trio of quarterback sacks, while Terrel Brown has picked off four passes and broken up four more.
“They have stuck with their freshman quarterback, Randy Kerns, and you can see that they’ve been getting better each week,” said Matlak. “They have a good running back, and two fine wide receivers, Joe White and Jeremy Hosier. They’re blocking up front better, so from the offensive side they are much improved from last year. On the defensive end they are a lot like us – they play some real good stretches, but then give up a lot of yards.”
In their last game, a 27-21 loss to Wabash, the Gators fell behind 13-0 at halftime and Wabash was inside of the Allegheny five yard line before safety Brad Stotsky picked off quarterback Russ Harbaugh at the two yard line, returning it 84 yards to the Wabash 14, where two plays later, running back Mario Tarquinio rambled into the end zone for his seventh rushing score of the season. From that point on it was a dog fight, as Wabash would score and Allegheny would answer, as the Gators trailed by six with 2:43 to play in the game, however, the drive fizzled at midfield, giving the Little Giants the six-point win.
Jim Lieb had a career day in the loss, catching 10 balls for 117 yards and a touchdown, as quarterback Jimmy Savage completed 18 of his 31 passes for 195 yards and a pair of scores. Tarquinio was held to 59 yards, the first time he has been held below 100 yards for a full game this season, but was able to find the end zone in the third quarter. Cornerbacks Keith Keenan and Nick Jones led the defense with eight tackles apiece, while Devin Cruea had a pair of quarterback sacks.
For the year, the team is led by Tarquinio, who is averaging 111.4 yards per game in his five games to go with seven rushing touchdowns. Savage and fullback Sean Locklin are second and third on the team with 247 and 145 yards, respectively.
Savage and James Jones, the rotating quarterbacks, have completed 135-of-220 passes on the year for six touchdowns and 1,238 yards. Savage (104-of-167) has thrown for 907 yards, Jones (31-of-53) for 331.
Kyle Geiser leads the receiving corps with 40 catches and 385 yards, while Lieb is second with 17 grabs for 153 yards. Matt Pertile and Michael Sober each have 14 catches for 188 and 171 yards, respectively.
Defensively, the team is led by Stotsky, who has 50 tackles through eight games on the year, to go with a team-high four interceptions. Adam Duncan has 43 tackles while Curt Anderson has totaled 40. Cruea is the team leader in quarterback sacks with 2.5, while Keenan and Josh Dracup each have six tackles for loss to pace the squad. Keenan has picked up two fumbles on the year, a team high, while Stotsky has forced a pair.
Game time for Saturday’s contest is at 1:00 p.m. at Earlham’s M.O. Ross Field in Richmond, Indiana.