By David Goldman, Staff Writer
As if college football rivalries could not be entertaining enough, the annual Gettysburg and Dickinson football game takes competition to another level by having the teams fight for the rights to the Little Brown Bucket. The Bullets and Red Devils have duked it out for this trophy for over eighty years, and with each victory comes both the bucket and bragging rights. The teams put it all on the line again in their 2022 meeting, but Dickinson retained the bucket after a 35-9 win on Sep. 17 at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium.
The Bullets came out firing in the first quarter and put together a 42-yard drive on 11 plays that eventually stopped inside the Red Devils’ 35-yard line. Dickinson took over on downs and did not look back. They scored a quick touchdown with 6:29 to play in the first quarter, when Diante Ball took the ball 31 yards to the house. This would be one of four touchdowns and 31 of 277 rushing yards for the sophomore running back in the afternoon.
The Bullets failed to respond, and Dickinson took advantage on their very next possession. Matt Maiona connected with Princeton Douglass for a 73-yard Red Devil score, and as the first quarter wound down, it was already a 14-0 contest.
Gettysburg certainly understood the high stakes of this rivalry game and refused to back down. The orange and blue strung together a 42-yard drive that resulted in a Doug Cummings ’23 34-yard field goal, giving the crowd something to cheer about. A stalemate then ensued between the two teams until just under two minutes left in the half, when Ball found the end zone for his second score of the day, this time reeling in an 18-yard pass from Maiona. The score stood 21-3 in favor of the Red Devils at halftime.
Coming out of the half, Gettysburg held Dickinson to a three-and-out on the first drive and then produced offense of their own with a 43-yard reception from Rocco Abdinoor ’26 to Ryan McAndrew ’24. After a few defensive stops from the Red Devils, the Bullets went for it on fourth and four, which paid off. Abdinoor hit Sebastian Gibbs ’23 with a swing pass, and the running back found the end zone for Gettysburg’s first touchdown of the game. Dickinson still maintained a comfortable 21-9 lead after the Bullets’ two-point conversion try proved no good.
The Gettysburg defense held Dickinson to that score into the fourth quarter until Ball recorded his third and most impressive touchdown of the game: a 92-yard rush straight through eleven blue jerseys. About seven minutes later, Ball put the icing on the cake with his final touchdown run for 36 yards. This capped Dickinson’s sixth straight victory over Gettysburg and marked the third straight loss for the Bullets this season.
Despite the defeat, the Little Brown Bucket game brought excitement and a competitive spirit to the Gettysburg faithful. The Bullets look to bounce back when they travel to Huntingdon, Pennsylvania to square off against Juniata College on Saturday, Sep. 24.
