The Bullets celebrate their first victory of the season (Luca España/The Gettysburgian)
By David Goldman, Staff Writer
First wins always seem to taste sweet no matter when they occur during the season. It took longer than they had hoped, but for Gettysburg’s football team, securing their first win at home in front of a packed crowd at Musselman Stadium on Homecoming Weekend made the occasion even sweeter. The Bullets defeated the Juniata Eagles 48-42 on Saturday, September 25, marking their first win of the 2021 season.
Like their last home game, it was an ideal day for football with a comfortable temperature and blue skies. Bullets fans showed up in numbers, filling the stands and creating an energetic atmosphere for the team to feed off. Per Homecoming traditions, the senior student-athletes from the Class of 2020 were honored before the game for their dedication to Gettysburg football.
Sal Benedetto ’22, Wide Receiver. (By Luca España/The Gettysburgian)
Both teams were 0-3 coming into the matchup, so something had to give. It was a stalemate for a while until Juniata kicker Beckett Leary got the Eagles on the board first with an impressive 47-yard field goal. Gettysburg did not seem phased in the slightest though, as they later drew up some trickery on what appeared to be a standard fourth-down punt. It wasn’t punter Doug Cummings ’22 who caught the long snap but defensive end Alex Raimondo ’22 who carried the ball down the sideline for a 34-yard first-down rush.
Momentum seemed to side with the Bullets after that, with Nick Riggio ’23 taking the ball 13 yards to the house just a few plays later. Juniata stole this momentum right back, though, putting together a successful drive that would end with Hunter Wolfley rushing for a 39-yard touchdown to take the lead 9-7. On the next Gettysburg possession, William Howell IV intercepted quarterback Mason Stolarik ’23 and returned it 69 yards for an Eagle touchdown, giving Juniata a 16-7 lead to end the eventful first quarter.
Nick Riggio ’23 finds the endzone for one of his three touchdowns (Luca España/The Gettysburgian)
The second quarter didn’t look much different, as Juniata quarterback Jason Clark hit his favorite target in wide receiver Isaiah Collision for a couple of first downs before Wolfley recorded his second touchdown of the day with a score from eight yards out. With the Bullets down 23-7 in the second quarter, it felt like an all too familiar outcome was headed their way, but Sebastian Gibbs ’23 had other ideas. Much to the delight of the electric crowd of over 2300, the running back returned Juniata’s ensuing kickoff 68 yards, putting the Bullets deep into opposing territory.
From there, the orange and blue swapped out Stolarik for Aidan Feulner ’24, who stepped into the endzone off the quarterback sneak to get the Bullets back in the game. Gettysburg would complete the two-point conversion, making it a one-possession game with Juniata up 23-15. The Bullet’s defense came alive soon after with Matt Mikulka ’24 picking off Clark and setting up a 23-yard field goal for Cummings. Gettysburg would go into the half down five.
The third quarter proved to be super productive for the home team, beginning with Riggio’s second touchdown of the game to give Gettysburg their first lead since the first quarter. Following this was a 63-yard touchdown for Mike Vigliano ’23 on a pitch play, and the next possession saw a 37-yard field goal from Cummings to give the Bullets a 34-23 lead. Soon after, Gettysburg got a huge turnover with Mike Galaida ’22 stripping the ball from the ball carrier and Mike Del Grande ’24 scooping it up in the endzone for another Gettysburg score. Even though Gettysburg’s offense and defense had found a rhythm, the quarter ended with yet another touchdown run by Wolfley, keeping the Eagles within reach.
The Bullets prepare for their Homecoming game against Juniata (Luca España/The Gettysburgian)
Juniata began the fourth with an impressive defensive sequence that ended with their second blocked punt of the game. Who else but Wolfley would score another Eagles touchdown off the turnover (his fourth of the day) to bring Juniata within just six. With a little over four minutes remaining in the game, Riggio secured his third touchdown of the afternoon to cap off his successful day. The score was now 48-35 in favor of Gettysburg and would stay that way after Raimondo burst through the Eagles’ offensive line and contributed to three sacks to put an end to a Juniata drive.
Despite this, the Eagles managed to march downfield again and score, Noah Wright, finding Clay Spencer in the endzone to cut the lead once again to six. This proved to be too little too late, though, with Juniata’s last effort on-side kick being recovered by Chris Lessel ’24 to seal the game.
The Bullets improved to 1-3 on the season with this 48-42 win and will take on Muhlenberg next Saturday, October 2 at 1 pm at Musselman Stadium.
