Gettysburg College hit a trio of long touchdown passes to help defeat Western Connecticut 34-28 and enter the bye week and conference play with a victory.
Danny Bonato had his first multiple-touchdown game for the Bullets, scoring on a 26-yard pass play and a one-yard run. He finished the day with three catches for 52 yards. Sean Clark completed 22 of 33 passes for a career-high 354 yards and three touchdowns.
Gabriel Diaz caught six passes for 118 yards. Justin Bardo led the defense with 12 tackles, including 1.5 for loss.
Gettysburg College receiver Danny Bonato (11) reached the end zone twice on Saturday.
After the opening two drives of the game yielded no points, Western Connecticut put together a methodical nine-play, 78-yard drive for the game’s first score. Dylan Jackson capped the drive with a 22-yard connection to Jayden Leroy, but the point-after was missed to keep it 6-0 with 2:19 to play in the first quarter.
After a big first-down play was called back, Gettysburg converted a first down two plays later. Facing third-and-3 from its own 41, a roughing-the-passer penalty prolonged the drive. On the next play, Clark found Gabriel Diaz open down the seam for a 44-yard score, and Isaac Parks-Gill’s PAT made it 7-6 with 12:19 on the second-quarter clock.
The Bullet defense then got a three-and-out on the next drive, and the offense put together a 13-play march that ate up 6:12 before having to settle for a Parks-Gill 27-yard field goal and a 10-6 lead with 4:13 to play. After the defense got a turnover on downs, Gettysburg hit on a shock play right away and Clark connected with Edison Case down the sideline for a 46-yard touchdown and a 17-6 lead with 1:49 to play.
On the opening possession of the second half, the Gettysburg offense marched 54 yards in seven plays but again settled for a 28-yard Parks-Gill field goal to stretch the lead to 20-6 with 11:05 showing. Western Connecticut responded with a 10-play drive that Quasim Benson capped with a five-yard run up the middle to make it 20-13 just over four minutes later. A 28-yard Carson Shoffner run set up first-and-goal. Four plays later, Danny Bonato took a direct snap and powered behind the line for a one-yard touchdown run and a 27-13 lead with 22 ticks left in the third.
The Wolves had one more answer, taking the next drive 80 yards in 12 plays before Jackson kept it for a seven-yard run to make it 27-20 with 9:27 on the clock. Clark needed just five plays on the next drive, hitting two big plays. He connected with Case for 33 yards on the second play of the drive, then three plays later found Bonato on third-and-3 for a 26-yard touchdown and a 34-20 lead midway through the final quarter. A Donald Highsmith one-yard run up the middle on fourth down and Serge Lagardere catch on the two-point try in traffic made it 34-28 with 4:57 to play. The WestConn defense forced a punt, but Luke Ginsburg unfurled a 50-yarder to pin the offense back at its own 7 with no timeouts and just 3:03 to play. The Wolves moved to the 37, but a Mari Williams on third down and a Collin Morrow pass breakup on fourth down allowed Clark to kneel out the final 47 seconds and the win.
Clark’s 354 passing yards were the most in a single game by a Gettysburg quarterback since Kyle Whitmoyer had 374 on Oct. 30, 2010. The Bullets outgained Western Connecticut 442-403. Diaz added five rush yards and 86 kickoff return yards for 209 all-purpose yards; Carson Shoffner finished with 70 yards rushing on 16 carries. On defense, Dayton Williams Jr. and Jamison Speikes both set career highs with nine tackles.
For Western Connecticut, Dylan Jackson completed 16 of 26 passes for 228 yards and a touchdown to lead the Wolves. Quasim Benson ran the ball 22 times for 106 yards and a score.
Gettysburg is idle next week before returning to action in the Centennial Conference opener at Franklin & Marshall on Saturday, Oct. 3. Game time is 1 p.m.
This story originated on the Gettysburg College website.