Bullets football fails to bring the Tin Cup home
Gettysburg football stands 2-3 for the season in the Centennial Conference.
Photo Credit: David Sinclair, GC C&M
By Stephanie Karalis, Staff Writer
The Gettysburg College football team lost to Muhlenberg College 43-7 Saturday, October 22. The game marked the eighty-first meeting between the two teams in Bullets history.
Each battle determines who will take home the Old Tin Cup for the season, and Muhlenberg has shown dominance in 13 of the past 16 match-ups. Saturday’s competition marked the Mules’ fifth consecutive win.
Muhlenberg stands 5-1 on the season, good for a tie for second place in the Centennial Conference. Gettysburg holds a record of 2-4, placing the team seventh among ten.
The game started off with a fumble by Gettysburg on the opening kickoff. Muhlenberg misses the field goal at the 35-yard line and had to begin again in Bullets territory.
The Mules followed with a four-yard rushing touchdown by senior Nick Savant, who earned the first points of the game. A failed two-point conversion held the score to 6-0 for the remainder of the quarter.
The second quarter began with a 35-yard rush down the one-yard line by the Bullets’ junior quarterback Justin Davidov. Gettysburg was not able to convert; after two plays, Davidov passed the ball into the end zone. Muhlenberg senior John Feaster prevented the completion, and the Mules’ senior quarterback Nick Palladino then took the field to complete a 42-yard pass to Savant for the touchdown.
With less than six minutes remaining in the half, Muhlenberg sophomore Luke Wiley intercepted the ball from the Bullets again to earn another touchdown. With the home field advantage, the Mules were able to pour in 24 points in the first half, and they maintained the lead for the duration of the game.
The second half began 24-0 Mules, and the game continued in the favor of Muhlenberg. The Mules earned a 26-yard field goal by first-year Todd Spirit in the last 1:24 seconds of the third quarter, making the score 43-0.
Gettysburg posed the biggest threat during the fourth quarter. The Bullets blocked a Muhlenberg punt and set up for a touchdown on its first drive. Senior quarterback Danny Thompson completed a pair of passes to junior Ty Abdul-Karim. The latter being a length of 36 yards, and Abdul-Karim’s capture brought in the first and only points for the Bullets.
The touchdown represented Abdul-Karim’s fourth of the season.
Saturday’s results marked a season-low point total (7) for the Bullets. Gettysburg also had its lowest rushing output since its last face-off with Muhlenberg in the 2015 season.
The Mules forced five turnovers and had a total offensive lead of 491-234, including on the ground of 172-86 with 41 minutes of possession time.
The blue and orange’s Thompson ended the game with 115 yards while Davidov led the ground game with fifty-six yard on seven carries. Thompson and Davidov place eighth and tenth for conference yard leaders respectively.
Wide-receiver Abdul-Karim received 48 yards, while first-year wing back Kevin Benavente earned 23 yards off four passes.
On the defensive side for the Bullets, juniors Kamau Bridges and Glenn Benson each finished the game with 10 tackles. Junior Dakota Brovero ended the game with two sacks and nine tackles.
“The team has been putting in the time each week of practice since pre-season to get better,” said senior captain Chris Miller. “The team’s practice efforts have yet to show on the field and that is what I expect to see in the last couple games of the season. Johns Hopkins is always a good opponent. If we play the way we practice it should be a good test for us.”
