Gator Comeback Falls Short in 2007 Finale

Nov 10, 2007

BOX SCORE

OBERLIN, Ohio – A furious last-second comeback came up short as the Allegheny College Gators dropped their 2007 season finale to the Oberlin College Yeomen by a 27-22 score. The Gators recovered an onside kick with 48 seconds left in the game, and drove to the Oberlin 25 yardline, before the final pass in the end zone was caught; however the Allegheny receiver landed with his foot on the back line, marking the pass incomplete and giving the Yeomen the victory.

Gator senior wide receiver Jim Lieb (Carrolltown, Pa./Northern Cambria) set the single season reception mark in the loss, as he came into the game needing four catches to top Jon Turner’s 2000 total of 62, and pushed past the former record adding five more to push his total to 67 - finishing the day with nine catches for 127 yards and a score, while Rodney Still (Hummelstown, Pa./Dauphin) and Matt Dievert (Russelltown, Pa./Eisenhower) combined to rush for 128 yards on 17 carries, as Allegheny out-rushed and out-gained Oberlin 161-to-75 and 385-to-311.

Allegheny reached the scoreboard first in the game when Matt Cellini (Trumbull, Conn./St. Joseph) plunged into the end zone from one yard out with 7:58 remaining in the opening stanza, capping an eight-play, 29-yard drive; however the extra point snap was offline, forcing holder Pat Kahle (Franklin, Pa./Franklin) to scramble, and his ensuing two-point conversion pass attempt was intercepted, keeping the Allegheny lead at 6-0.

The Yeomen answered by reaching the scoreboard when Jason Black’s (Warren, Ohio/Champion) punt was blocked by Cody Hartley, who followed by jumping on the ball in the end zone, giving the hosts a 7-6 lead, one that they would not relinquish for the remainder of the game.

The hosts increased their lead with 7:20 left in the second quarter when quarterback Greg Mangan found Cassius Harris for a 48-yard touchdown pass, giving Oberlin the 14-6 advantage. The Yeomen lead moved to 17-6 as time expired in the first half when Zach Richard booted a 34-yard field goal, giving the hosts an 11-point lead heading into the locker room at halftime.

Scoring was at a premium in the third quarter, as the only points of the stanza came on a 31-yard field goal by Josh Brannan (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe), cutting the deficit to within a touchdown and two-point conversion at 17-9. On their next possession, their first of the fourth quarter, Allegheny drove 66 yards on five plays, scoring when quarterback T.J. Salopek (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) found Lieb open from 29 yards away, but Oberlin kept their lead as the two-point conversion pass went incomplete, keeping Oberlin with a slim 17-15 advantage.

The Yeomen added some breathing room on a 24-yard field goal with 2:25 to play, followed by an interception return for touchdown, giving the hosts a 27-15 lead with just under a minute and a half to play in the contest. After the interception return, Oberlin was flagged for an excessive celebration penalty, forcing the hosts to kickoff from their own 15 yardline. A 20-yard return was aided by a personal foul call, giving Allegheny possession of the ball on the Oberlin 27 yardline. Two Salopek rushes later found the sophomore in the end zone, and the extra point cut the deficit to five with 55 seconds to play in the contest.

The Gator special teams came up big, as the onside kick off the foot of Bryan Davis (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) was recovered by Allegheny, giving the visitors new life. Salopek responded by completing four of his next six passes, giving Allegheny the ball on the Oberlin 25 yardline with six seconds to play. The ensuing pass was tipped twice by Allegheny, with senior wide receiver Pete Obourn (Farmington, N.Y./Victor) coming down with the ball; however the celebration would be short lived, as Obourn’s foot landed on the back end line of the endzone, rendering the pass incomplete and giving Oberlin the five-point win.

The Oberlin win was the first for the Yeomen since the 1985 season, snapping a 14-game losing skid in the series. Allegheny led in most tangible team categories other than the scoreboard, gaining 20 first downs to Oberlin’s 13, out-rushing the Yeomen 161-to-75 and holding over a four-minute advantage in time of possession (32:01-to-27:59).

Lieb’s big day gave him 67 receptions for the year, gaining 704 yards, the seventh highest total in school history. He ends his career with 150 receptions, the second highest total in Allegheny football history, while gaining 1,727 yards, third most in the history of the program. In the finale Lieb was aided by Jake Vite (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg Area), Shane Sullivan (McMurray, Pa./Peters Township) and Cellini who each hauled in two passes for 30, 15 and (-1) yards, respectively.

Throwing to the receivers was Salopek, who completed 17-of-35 passes for 234 yards and the one score, while also throwing a trio of interceptions. Greg Mangan led Oberlin by going 20-of-34 from the pocket for 236 yards and a score, completing five passes each to Harris and Chris Schubert for 94 and 52 yards.

The Allegheny ground game had a productive day, as sophomore Still rushed 13 times for 70 yards with freshman Dievert going for 58 yards on 14 carries. Cellini added 18 yards on eight attempts, while Salopek grounded out 15 yards on seven carries, with the latter two each picking up a rushing score. Oberlin’s R.V. Carroll took home the NCAC rushing title, gaining 77 yards on 22 carries, his second lowest output of the season, gaining 1,038 for the 2007 season. Overall Oberlin rushed for 75 yards, as the remaining three Yeomen to carry the ball netted a total of negative two yards.

Defensively the Gators were led by senior Mateo Villa (Windsor, Ohio/Middlefield Cardinal) who led three Gator seniors in double figure tackles with 13. Curt Anderson (Batavia, N.Y./Batavia Notre Dame) added a dozen stops with Ross Simcoe (Coudersport, Pa./Coudersport) adding 10, including a team-leading two tackles for loss. Doug Macik (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) picked up the team’s only turnover, a fumble recovery on a quarterback sack by Simcoe, while Anderson broke up a pair of passes.

Oberlin’s Chase Palmer picked up 14 tackles, one of which was solo, while breaking up a quartet of passes. Geoff Sirockman added 10 tackles, while Michael Evans picked off two passes, which he returned for a combined 39 yards.

The loss ends the Gator season with a 5-5 record, and 3-4 in the NCAC while Oberlin improves to 5-5 overall and 5-2 in league action. The team has the offseason to prepare for the 2008 calendar, which starts on September 6 with a trip to Juniata before traveling to Westminster on September 13. A rematch of today’s game will come in both teams’ NCAC opener on September 27, following the Allegheny’s bye week.

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