GETTYSBURG, Pa. – In a near carbon copy last year's high scoring affair, Ursinus and Gettysburg repeated the same production of offense in the 2010 meeting. However, the result remained the same as the Bears (5-0, 4-0 Centennial) defeated the Bullets (1-3, 0-3 Centennial) 49-39 Saturday afternoon at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium.
The two teams combined for 105 points in last year's 55-50 win by the Bears.
Ursinus scored 21 straight points to start the second half, after trailing at halftime by six points. The Bears racked up 409 yards of total offense on the day as they improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2006. Ursinus is now in a first-place tie with Muhlenberg as the Bears head into their bye week.
Senior quarterback Justin Decristofaro (Jenkintown, Pa./Father Judge) threw for a game-high 282 yards, going 19-for-32 with two scoring passes. He also had three rushing touchdowns, scoring on three 1-yard sneaks.
Junior wideout Al Desiderio (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic) had four catches for a game-high 124 yards and two touchdown catches from 60 and 53-yards out.
Freshman running back Bryan Ellis (Owings Mills, Md./McDonogh School) rushed the ball 32 times for 102 yards and a score as Ursinus racked up 409 yards of total offense.
Defensively, junior defensive back Shane Eachus (Aston, Pa./Garnet Valley) had a team-best seven tackles with sophomore defensive lineman Sam Morgan (Chester Springs, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) making 2.5 tackles for loss and netted a sack.
Trailing by six starting the second half, Ursinus took the lead for good on its first drive as junior running back Kahlil Pittman (Willow Grove, Pa./Abington) rushed off tackle down the left sideline for a 26-yard scoring run and a 28-27 lead with 10:49 left in the third.
After the two teams traded two drives, Ursinus scored again to go up 35-27 on a 60-yard touchdown pass from Decristofaro to Desiderio with 1:08 left in the third.
Ursinus scored on its next drive, set up by a forced fumble on a sack by junior defensive end Sean Whelan (Doylestown, Pa./C.B.East) which was recovered by senior defensive tackle Dave Queroli (Narberth, Pa./Harriton). The end result was a five-yard scoring run from Ellis and a 42-27 lead.
Gettysburg would score on a touchdown run from quarterback Kyle Whitmoyer to cut the lead to 42-33, only to see the Bears put together a 13-play, 65-yard drive capped by a 1-yard run from Decristofaro for a 49-33 lead. Gettysburg would score on a 27-yard scoring pass from Whitmoyer to Kyle Davis with 1:15 left, but, could not recover the ensuing onside kick.
In the first quarter, the teams traded scoring drives as Gettysburg struck first on a 9-yard run by running back Jamel Mutunga for a 7-0 lead just 1:23 into the game. Ursinus put a 14-play, 82-yard drive together, finished off by a 1-yard run from Decristofaro to tie the score at 7-all with 6:53 left.
Gettysburg came back and went up 14-7 on a scoring pass from Whitmoyer to Mutunga from 29-yards out with 4:41 left. Two plays later, Decristofaro found Desiderio for a 53-yard scoring pass and the score was knotted at 14-all with 3:50 left.
A 36-yard field goal from Mike Barrett gave the Bullets a 17-14 lead with 11:55 left in the second quarter. The Bullets took their largest lead at 24-14 with 6:39 left as Mutunga scored on a 1-yard run, following a muffed punt return by the Bears.
Ursinus got to within 24-21 on a 1-yard score by Decristofaro, set up again by a brilliant defensive play. Junior defensive back Joe Henry (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) intercepted a Whitmoyer pass and ran it back to the Bullets' 1-yard line with 4:02 left.
Gettysburg's final score in the half came with six seconds left on a 27-yard field goal by Barrett.