HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Freshman Tyler Frazee (Hopewell, N.J./South Hunterdon) will never forget his first collegiate catch as his 39-yard touchdown reception with 19 seconds left helped Gettysburg College knock off Juniata College 30-25 in a Centennial Conference showdown Saturday afternoon at Knox Stadium.
Gettysburg (3-0, 2-0 CC) moved to 3-0 for just the second time in the last 28 years with the win. Despite jumping ahead 17-0, the Bullets were in trouble down the stretch as Juniata (1-2, 0-2 CC) went on a 24-7 run capped by a 39-yard field goal Kevin Bonalle to lift the Eagles in front 25-24 with 1:08 remaining.
Facing third-and-10 with time winding down, senior Sam McDermott (Newtown, Pa./Notre Dame (N.J.)) hurled a pass down the middle of the field to his freshman wide receiver. Frazee raced past his defender and hauled in the over-the-shoulder catch for the final tally. Junior Derek Singer (New Providence, N.J./New Providence) put the final touch on the game by intercepting Hank Coyne's last-second pass as time expired.
After watching the defense force Juniata to turn the ball over on downs in Gettysburg territory in the first quarter, the Bullets offense went to work with back-to-back scoring drives. The first resulted in a 38-yard touchdown grab by junior wide receiver Jordan Kelso (Cookstown, N.J./Bordentown Regional), while the second ended with a 22-yard field goal by senior Robby Fay (New Providence, N.J./New Providence) to make it 10-0 with less than five minutes to go in the first quarter.
A 33-yard reception by senior tight end Fred Pulzello (Glen Rock, N.J./Glen Rock) set the stage for one of the top plays of the season so far. Starting on the Juniata 32-yard line, McDermott started to run to his right, but after bringing most of the defense with him, the Gettysburg quarterback flipped the ball back to the left to senior offensive lineman Pierce Frauenheim (Bound Brook, N.J./Immaculata). Frauenheim took the ball and rumbled all the way to the goal line nearly untouched, receiving several key blocks along the way for his first career score. Fay's extra point made it 17-0.
Despite stopping another Eagle drive into its territory, Gettysburg couldn't capitalize as its ensuing drive resulted in an interception. Juniata answered with its first touchdown of the game to close to 17-6. The Eagles scored on their next drive as well with Kirby Breault grabbing a 75-yard reception.
Kelso answered his Eagle counterpart with his own career-long reception, taking the ball 71 yards for his second score. The extra point made it 24-13 with just over a minute left.
Breault continued to rack up the yards with a 52-yard reception on Juniata's next drive. He added a five-yard grab to cut Gettysburg's lead to 24-19 at the break.
The Eagles opened the third quarter with a 12-play 69-yard drive ending with a 22-yard field goal by Bonalle to pull to 24-22. Despite driving into enemy territory on the next three drives, neither team managed to find the end zone.
In the fourth quarter, senior Brian Calatozzo (Sewell, N.J./St. Augustine Prep) intercepted a pass for the third-straight game. Gettysburg wasn't able to get back to the opponent's side of the field and Juniata turned in a 14-play drive on its next possession. The defense held the Eagles out of the end zone, but Bonalle booted home a 39-yard field goal to give the hosts their first lead of the game with just over a minute left.
Gettysburg racked up a quick 32 yards on its first two plays of its final drive with McDermott rushing for 14 before finding senior wide receiver Brandon Sparks (New Hope, Pa./Central Bucks East) for an 18-yard haul. After two incomplete passes, McDermott found Frazee burning down the field for the game-winner.
A 32-yard kickoff return by David Vidovic put Juniata on the 50-yard line, but Coyne's initial pass was incomplete and his second was picked off by Singer to end the game.
McDermott turned in a huge game for Gettysburg. The reigning Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Week accounted for a career-high 349 yards passing and three touchdowns. His passing yardage was the most by a Bullet since Kyle Whitmoyer '12 threw for 374 against Susquehanna University on Oct. 30, 2010. McDermott added a team-high 83 yards rushing, giving him 432 yards of total offense, a mark that ranks fourth in school history.
Kelso hauled in seven passes for a career-high 177 yards, which ranks fifth in program history for a single game. Fay averaged 43.4 yards on five punts, while freshman Matt McFadden (Morristown, N.J./Morristown Beard) posted 185 all-purpose yards.
Senior Kodie McNamara (Manasquan, N.J./Manasquan) paced the defense with a dozen tackles, including two for a loss. McNamara jumped into fourth place on Gettysburg's career list with 328 tackles. Senior Michael Kornegay (Montclair, N.J./Montclair) added eight tackles, while junior Danny Speca (Downington, Pa./Downington West) came up with two tackles for a loss, including a sack.
Coyne finished 26-of-45 for 404 yards and three touchdowns for Juniata. Most of those completions and yards went to Breault, who hauled in 13 passes for 246 yards. Jake Diviney led the Eagle defense with eight tackles, including two for a loss.
Gettysburg returns home to face Susquehanna University next Saturday, Sept. 26, at 1 p.m.