Box Score
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Gettysburg rushed for a season-high 300 yards and the Bullets held an opponent to a field goal for the second time in three weeks, defeating Moravian College 34-3 in a Centennial Conference match-up Saturday afternoon at Rocco Calvo Field.
Junior tailback
Jamel Mutunga (Bel Air, Md./Bel Air) ran for a career-high 149 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries to lead Gettysburg (2-4, 2-2 CC) while junior tailback
Anthony DeSalva (Redding, Conn./Joel Barlow) added a career-high 76 yards on 10 rushes.
Senior quarterback
Matt Flynn (Northfield, N.J./Mainland Regional), who entered the game ranked fourth in Division III in passing and fifth in total offense, added 57 yards rushing on 10 carries while throwing for 144 yards and two touchdowns on 17-of-26 passing. He is now just 119 yards shy of the Centennial Conference career passing yards record (7,239) held by Brian Van Deusen of McDaniel College (1992-95).
Senior tight end
A.J. Perrotti (Brick, N.J./Brick Township) tied a career-high with six receptions for 62 yards and a touchdown while senior linebacker
Tim Widdoes (Newark, Del./St. Mark’s) led the defense, making 12 tackles. Freshman linebacker
Wes Taylor (Silver Spring, Pa./Gonzaga) added a season-high 10 tackles while sophomore safety
Peter Hak (Denville, N.J./Morris Catholic) collected nine stops.
Senior running back Ryan Rempe led Moravian (1-5, 1-3 CC) with 141 yards rushing on 35 carries while junior safety Thomas Dailey led all players with 14 tackles.
Gettysburg, which entered the game leading Division III in total offense (534.6 ypg), outgained the Greyhounds 444-240. The Bullets held Moravian to 115 yards rushing, thanks in part to 10 tackles for loss totaling 44 yards.
After receiving the opening kickoff, the Bullets wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, as Mutunga found a hole on the left and broke free down the sideline for a season-long 60-yard touchdown run, giving the Bullets a 7-0 lead just 29 seconds into the game.
Moravian pinned Gettysburg at its own 13-yard line after a 39-yard punt, but the Bullets proceeded to march 87 yards on 11 plays before Flynn found junior wing
Charles Curcio (Hammonton, N.J./St. Joseph) crossing to the back left corner of the end zone. The eight-yard scoring pass made it 14-0 with 7:27 left in the opening quarter. The drive was highlighted by a season-long 23-yard run by Flynn that put Gettysburg at the Moravian-42.
The Greyhounds punted again after a three-and-out on their next possession, but Gettysburg’s drive stalled at the Moravian-29, where the Bullets turned it over on downs. However, Moravian was forced to punt on its third straight possession five plays later.
A 24-yard return by Curcio put Gettysburg at its own 41, and the Bullets went on to drive 59 yards on 10 plays before scoring its third TD of the game. Gettysburg went to the ground on seven of its first 10 plays of the drive to account for 37 yards before Perrotti made a fantastic catch to put the Bullets up three touchdowns. Leaping between a pair of defenders, Perrotti held onto a 20-yard pass as he crashed into the end zone, giving the visitors a 20-0 lead following a missed extra point with 13:41 left in the first half.
Moravian answered with its lone scoring drive of the half. A 37-yard kickoff return along with a 15-yard Gettysburg personal foul penalty gave the ’Hounds the ball at the Bullet-39, and Moravian had a first-and-goal at the 4 after Alex Hersch tip-toed the right sideline for a 21-yard reception. But the Gettysburg defense held tight, snuffing out back-to-back rushes behind the line of scrimmage. Senior defensive tackle
Sean Beirne (Ventnor, N.J./Atlantic City) made a stop for a loss of one yard on first down before Taylor dealt a crushing hit for a 4-yard loss on second down. After an incomplete pass, the Greyhounds settled for a 26-yard Ian Heck field goal with 9:22 to go in the half, cutting the deficit to 20-3.
After the teams traded punts, the Bullets were poised to strike again, moving to the Moravian-19, but Flynn was intercepted on third-and-six by linebacker Phillip Borst at the Bullet-10 with 4:02 to go. However, the Greyhounds were forced to punt again, and a short 18-yard kick gave Gettysburg a start at the Moravian-42 with 2:07 left. Eight plays later, Mutunga busted up the middle for a 4-yard touchdown run as the Bullets lead swelled to 27-3 49 seconds before the end of the half.
Gettysburg piled up 237 of its 365 first-half yards on the ground, with Mutunga leading the way with 138 and DeSalva gobbling up 60.
The Bullets opened the second half with another big defensive stop, holding the Greyhounds scoreless after their second drive inside the Gettysburg 5-yard line. After receiving the second-half kickoff, Moravian drove 61 yards to the Gettysburg-7 where it had a first-and-goal. A four-year run by Rempe moved it to the 4, but after Anthony Falco was stuffed for no gain on third down, junior linebacker
Bryan DiSabato (Cedarhurst, N.Y./Lawrence) batted down a pass into the end zone to give his team the ball on downs with 6:24 left in the third quarter.
Gettysburg went almost exclusively to the ground in the second half, when it attempted only five passes. However, the Bullets were unable to generate any offensive points, as the Greyhounds forced the Bullets to punt on their first four possessions while holding the Orange and Blue to 79 yards. Moravian allowed Gettysburg into Greyhound territory only twice over the final 30 minutes, but the Bullets punted with 5:33 left in the game after moving to the Moravian-34, and the game ended with the visitors at the Greyhound-41.
In the meantime, Gettysburg’s defense was just as impressive, holding the ’Hounds to four first downs after Moravian’s opening drive. Sophomore cornerback
Rob Pennella (Martinsville, N.J./Bridgewater Raritan) provided the exclamation point with 2:38 left when he made his first career interception and returned it 54 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown.
Gettysburg returns home when it takes on Juniata College next Saturday during Homecoming weekend. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
