The Bullets, who are 4-0 for the second time in four years, trailed 24-7 with 6:54 left in the second quarter before scoring on six of their final eight possessions. Gettysburg (4-0, 3-0 CC) has won its last six games, dating back to last season.
McFadden's big day included 126 yards on three punts returns – including a 77-yarder for a touchdown – and additional 106 yards on three kickoff returns. For good measure, he scampered for a six-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to help the Bullets pull away.
Wigley rushed for 120 yards and one touchdown on 25 carries for Gettysburg (4-0, 3-0 CC) while becoming just the eighth player in school history to reach the 2,000 mark. He moved from 11th to eighth on the school's all-time rushing list.
Senior Sam McDermott (Newtown, Pa./Notre Dame [N.J.]) passed for 163 yards and a career-high four touchdowns for the Bullets while senior receiver Jordan Kelso (Cookstown, N.J./Bordentown Regional) caught three passes for 67 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Defensively, junior linebacker Chris Miller (Manasquan, N.J./Manasquan) made a season-high 15 tackles and one sack while senior cornerback Brian Calatozzo (Sewell, N.J./St. Augustine Prep) dealt a season-best 10 hits. Senior linebacker Kodie McNamara (Manasquan, N.J./Manasquan) added nine tackles and a pair of pass breakups for the Bullets.
Cameron Ott rushed for 124 yards and one touchdown for Susquehanna (2-2, 1-2 CC), which held a 397-396 edge in total yards in the high-scoring affair. Nick Crusco threw for 195 yards and a touchdown on 21-of-34 passing for the Crusaders while Jim Barry made 13 tackles.
Susquehanna scored on the game's opening drive, when Ott hauled in a 33-yard touchdown pass. The Bullets received a short field after McFadden returned the ensuing kickoff 51 yards to the Crusader-44, and seven plays later McDermott found Kelso for a 29-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-and-12 to make it 7-7 with 7:24 left in the opening quarter.
The Crusaders responded with a 17-0 run to assume their big lead. Crusco and Ott found paydirt from 1 and 12 yards out, respectively, and the visitors found themselves in Gettysburg territory again after recovering a fumble near midfield. But the Bullet defense limited the damage to just a field goal when Evan Argiriou booted a 44-yarder to make it 24-7.
Gettysburg came right back with an 11-play, 75-yard scoring drive, capped by a 3-yard touchdown run from Wigley with 3:11 on the clock. After the Bullets held Susquehanna to a three-and-out, McFadden settled under a booming punt at the Crusader-23. After eluding several tacklers on the left side of the field, he made a cut to the middle before racing past the defense for Gettysburg's first punt return touchdown since Ted Delia '12 had a 91-yarder versus Johns Hopkins in 2011. His 77-yard dash tied him for the eighth-longest punt return in school history, and Robby Fay's (New Providence, N.J./New Providence) extra point cut the deficit to 24-21 with 1:56 showing.
The Bullet defense and another big McFadden return gave the Orange and Blue another chance to score with just over a minute left in the half. After Gettysburg forced another three-and-out, McFadden peeled off a 37-yard punt return to give his team the ball at the Susquehanna-36. A 15-yard Wigley run with a 10-yard Crusader personal foul tacked onto the end moved the ball to the 11, and six plays later McDermott hit sophomore wing Ryan Thompson (Oakland, N.J./Indian Hills) for a 1-yard TD strike on third-and-goal, putting the Bullets up 28-24 with 10 ticks showing on the first-half clock.
Gettysburg was forced to punt on its first two drives of the second half, and a Crusco two-yard touchdown run followed by a missed extra point made it 30-28 in favor of Susquehanna with 3:14 left in the third quarter. But the Bullets found their spark on their final three drives and took the lead for good when McDermott hit senior wing Kevin McCarthy (Yardley, Pa./Notre Dame) with a 13-yard touchdown pass with 14:25 left.
After another Susquehanna three-and-out Gettysburg went to the ground for its next scoring march. Running the ball on eight of nine plays, McFadden capped a 64-yard march with his TD run with 9:26 to go.
The Bullets came up with a big turnover late in the half to secure the win. Sophomore linebacker Joey DeCristofaro (East Windsor, N.J./Hightstown) tipped a pass that senior cornerback Dan Ciemniecki (Haddonfield, N.J./Haddonfield) intercepted at the Gettysburg-33. Eight plays later, McDermott hit Kelso for another 29-yard scoring strike, and Fay's fifth PAT of the game set the final score with 2:53 left.
Sophomore defensive lineman Joe Scaglione (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) sealed the win when his strip-sack was recovered by DeCristofaro at the Crusader-24 with 1:44 left, and Gettysburg took a knee for the final three plays.
The Bullets return to Centennial Conference play next Saturday, when they visit McDaniel College at 1 p.m.