Football Struggles in Opener, Falls to Bridgewater 41-10
Gettysburg lost its season opener to Bridgewater, 41-10 (Photo courtesy of Gettysburg College Athletics)
By Kyle Miller, Contributing Writer
The Bullets made the trip down to Virginia this past Saturday to start their season with an out of conference game against a highly touted Bridgewater Eagles team. Bridgewater came out blazing hot in the first half taking a 34-point lead into halftime, and the Bullets could not recover despite a more competitive effort in the second half.
QB Jay Scroggins ‘20 and WR Jarrod Denham ‘20 led the Bridgewater offensive charge. The two seniors connected on the first drive with a 41-yard touchdown pass to give Bridgewater the lead. The next score came from an interception that was returned for a touchdown, also known as a pick-6, and was followed up by a 58 yard touchdown pass by Scroggins to Trey Stephens ‘20 to end the quarter with Bridgewater up 20-0.
The Gettysburg offense was flat in the first quarter, failing to record a single first down against a solid Bridgewater defense. It was not until the second quarter that the Bullets finally put together a nice drive.
Gettysburg drove the ball inside the Bridgewater twenty-yard line on their first drive of the second quarter after some great scrambling and passing by Quarterback Logan Edmond ‘23. But the Bullets came away empty-handed as they could not complete a 4th down pass at the Bridgewater seven yard line. Bridgewater took the next play 93 yards, the second longest play in Eagles history, for a touchdown on a jet sweep by Jarrod Dehnam. The first half ended 34-0 after another touchdown pass from Scroggins.
The Gettysburg defense was much improved in the second half, allowing only seven points. Gettysburg’s offense also fared better in the second half. The Bullets put together a couple of nice drives with quarterback Matt Harris ‘21 having taken over the reins partway through the second half. Gettysburg was able to get their first points when kicker Doug Cummins ‘22 converted on a 24-yard field goal.
Despite the improved Bullets effort, Bridgewater came out to start the fourth quarter and had their longest drive of the game. The Eagles drove the ball 74 yards and killed six minutes on a drive that ended on Denhams’ third touchdown of the day. This would be the last score of the day for the Eagles, as the Bullets played shut down defense on their last four drives.
A top defensive performer for the Bullets was Alex Raimundo ‘22, who posted three- and-a-half tackles for a loss and two sacks.
Gettysburg finished the game with their best drive of the game. The Bullets took the ball 82 yards on 11 plays to score their first touchdown of the season. Edmonds had 64 passing yards on the drive and got his first collegiate touchdown on a 10-yard pass to Ryan Loftus ‘20. The receiving touchdown was the first of Loftus’s career as well.
While this is not the way the Bullets wanted to start the season, sometimes games like this can serve as a wake up call and lead to big winning streaks.
“Every game provides an opportunity for growth as individuals and as a team,” said Coach Kevin Burke. “The key is to learn from the experience. This is as important in a victory as it is in a defeat. Each experience helps a team get ready for the next experience. Any game regardless of the outcome can serve as a catalyst for future success if the team builds on the lessons learned from the contest. The important thing is to learn from the past but not be anchored down by it. Each week is a new opportunity and I’m excited to see how we respond.”
The Bullets will look to bounce back from this loss in their next game against Ursinus. The game is their home opener as well as the first conference game of the season. The Bullets’ home opener at Shirk Field begins at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Sep. 14.
