GETTYSBURG, Pa. – The Lincoln Football Trophy was grown, imagined, and created in Gettysburg and that's where it will stay as the Bullets took down rival Franklin & Marshall College 26-14 in the 100th meeting between the two schools.
Gettysburg (5-5, 5-4 CC) will keep the Lincoln Trophy, modeled after President Abraham Lincoln's stove-pipe hat and crafted out of "witness trees" from the Battle of Gettysburg, and set it alongside the Little Brown Bucket, claimed last weekend in its rivalry with Dickinson College.
"It's rivalry month for us," said Head Coach Barry Streeter. "We play Dickinson and F&M back-to-back. There's so much emotion in those games, so much passion for those rivalries. We got the bucket and the hat. That's really special to get them both in one year."
The Bullets earned the Hat thanks to a determined senior class and a couple of surprise contributions from the younger members of the roster. With senior quarterback Zach Miller (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) missing his first game in two seasons, junior Sam McDermott (Newtown, Pa./Notre Dame (N.J.)) stepped up to the challenge. McDermott did it with his feet and his arm, rushing for 108 yards and a touchdown, while throwing for 153 yards and another score.
"I found out maybe an hour before the game," said McDermott, who was the first Gettysburg QB to break 100 yards rushing in a game since Kody Smith '13 in 2012. "You just have to try to seize the day and make plays out there."
"Sam did a great job of making good decisions and he ran the ball extremely well," said Streeter. "Those were all his decisions too because they have to be doing the right thing defensively for him to pull the ball. There was a lot of pressure in this game."
The defense posted three interceptions and made two huge goal-line stops in the second half. Sophomore Chris Miller (Manasquan, N.J./Manasquan) picked off his team-best fourth pass of the season and returned it 55 yards for a score to start the second quarter. The defensive line was a wall in the final half as seniors A.J. Hill (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) and Drew Winters (Midlothian, Md./Mountain Ridge) teamed up with freshman Joe Scaglione (Westfield, N.J./Westfield), filling in for another injured senior starter in Steve Pondo-Voigt (Monroeville, N.J./Delsea), to squash F&M's hopes of getting back into the game.
"It's really a defensive win," said McDermott. "They had plenty of opportunities to score, but our defense just wouldn't let them. We had a couple picks in crucial situations. We weren't scoring on every drive so for our defense to stop them in clutch situations like that really won us the game."
McDermott wasted no time stepping up to the plate, leading Gettysburg to a score on its opening drive of the game. He carried the Bullets into a red zone with a 15-yard run and then threw a 15-yard pass to senior Alec Pacelli (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) for his first career passing TD.
Gettysburg's extra-point attempt was blocked and that allowed Franklin & Marshall (5-5, 4-5 CC) to take its only lead later in the period. Quarterback Matt Magarity and senior wide receiver Jordan Zackery hooked up for four consecutive passes with the last crossing the plane with 3:39 left in the first quarter.
McDermott and the Bullets answered right back. Junior Paul Lowry (Midland Park, N.J./Midland Park) carried the hosts into the red zone with a 13-yard run and McDermott polished off the drive with back-to-back runs totaling 17 yards for the go-ahead score with one minute left.
The momentum officially swung to the Orange and Blue at the start of the second quarter when Miller stepped in front of Magarity's pass and ran down the right side-line for the pick-six. Sophomore Garrett Long's (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) extra point made it 20-7 at the start of the second quarter.
A 37-yard return by Zackery on the ensuing kick-off set up Magarity for revenge as the Diplomat quarterback completed a quick drive with a 42-yard scamper to pull the visitors to 20-14 on the scoreboard.
The Blue and White received the ball to start the second half and marched down the field in 17 plays to reach the Gettysburg three yard-line. That's as close as the Diplomats would get as senior Gordon Prince (Northfield, N.J./Mainland Regional) broke-up Magarity's intended pass to Zackery on fourth down.
Gettysburg mounted its longest drive of the season, covering 97 yards in 13 plays on its ensuing possession. Back-to-back throws to junior tight end Fred Pulzello (Glen Rock, N.J./Glen Rock) and junior Travis Andrews (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville) covered 53 yards and Lowery finished off the drive with a three-yard run to make it 26-14.
The Bullets would pick up an interception on the next drive, only to lose the ball on a fumble. No harm was done as Magarity was picked off for the third time at the start of the fourth frame with freshman Kamau Bridges (Ellicott City, Md./Mount Saint Joseph) stepping in front of the pass.
Franklin & Marshall drove all the way to the Gettysburg one yard-line on its final drive and had first-and-goal. The Bullets stacked up four consecutive runs with Scaglione having a hand in each of those stops to force a turnover on downs.
Deep in its own territory, Gettysburg was facing third-and-long when McDermott fired a 30-yard pass to Pulzello down the middle of the field. A 38-yard rush by senior Nick Ulassin (Branchburg, N.J./Somerville) helped polish off the win as Gettysburg ran out the clock.
The two teams came into the game with the series tied, but now Gettysburg jumps ahead 47-46-7 and will keep the Lincoln Trophy safely locked away in the trophy case until next season's showdown.
"The rivalry is so special and it's been that way since I've been the head coach," said Streeter. "Today was no different. It was nail-biter."
Ulassin fished with 55 yards on eight carries, while Pulzello's two long receptions added up to 61 yards. Winters, Scaglione, and Hill each finished with nine tackles. Junior Kodie McNamara (Manasquan, N.J./Manasquan) paced the team with 15 tackles, while senior Mike Maguire (Colts Neck, N.J./Colts Neck) posted two tackles for a loss and a sack.
Magarity finished 17-of-28 for 145 yards and a touchdown. He also added 68 yards on the ground, while LaValva was held to 46 yards on 22 carries. Paul McGann hauled in seven passes for 78 yards. Zackery also posted seven receptions and 45 yards.