In a back-and-forth affair, Juniata took a 31-30 lead midway through the fourth quarter and stopped Gettysburg a yard short on the final play of the game to hold on for the victory in the season opener for both teams Friday night at Musselman Stadium.
Rocco Abdinoor completed 23 of 40 passes for 339 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Bullets, and also ran the ball eight times for 66 yards, and Nick Wonsala caught seven passes for a career-best 91 yards and his first collegiate score.
Justin Rhyne led the defense with 17 tackles, including 2.5 for loss.
Ivan Foreman ran the ball 30 times for Juniata, amassing 133 yards and two touchdowns. Isaiah Randall threw for three scores, completing 15 of 22 passes for 132 yards. Dillon Wakefield led the Eagles’ defense with 11 tackles.
After a defensive battle early with four combined punts, Gettysburg took over at its own 15 with 9:32 on the clock. After the Bullets’ initial first down, Rocco Abindoor hit Edison Case (Reading, Pa./Wilson) for a 48-yard pass play, then Michael Zrelak broke off a run off the left end, the final 22 yards for a 6-0 lead with 7:40 on the clock. Juniata responded with a 14-play, 75-yard drive that Ivan Foreman paid off with a two-yard touchdown run with 2:15 showing to tie the game at 6-all.
A 33-yard catch from Makih Hunt keyed a six-play, 58-yard drive to start the second quarter. Foreman ran the final five yards up the middle for a score and a 13-6 lead with 13:24 to play. After the teams traded three-and-outs, Abdinoor engineered a game-tying drive, finding Nick Wonsala along the side of the end zone on fourth down for a 30-yard score with 8:43 remaining. Juniata responded with another 14-play march to reclaim the lead on a Jordan Horn four-yard touchdown reception and 19-13 lead with 2:33 to play.
Two plays into the fourth quarter, the Eagles converted another 14-yard drive with a three-yard pass to Hunt on fourth-and-goal to make it a two-point game in the opening minute. An unsportsmanlike penalty moved the ball back to the 18 for the two-point attempt, and Juniata failed, keeping it a two-point deficit. Isaac Parks-Gill hit a 41-yard field goal for a five-point lead with 10:10 on the clock. The Eagles, however, turned to Horn for a 47-yard touchdown with 7:37 showing. The two-point attempt once again failed to keep it a one-point deficit. The Gettysburg offense went three-and-out on the ensuing possession before Juniata was able to grind 3 minutes, 51 seconds off the clock and punted with 2:06 to play. The Bullets, with no timeouts, moved to the Juniata 44 and spiked the ball with six seconds left. Abdinoor heaved it downfield, and Luke Denison hauled in the pass at the six-yard line, but Caleb Hicks made the tackle at the one-yard line as the clock expired to preserve the win.
- Justin Rhyne’s 17 tackles were the most by a Gettysburg player since 2017.
- The 339 passing yards for Abdinoor were his second career 300-yard passing game.
- The field goal for Isaac Parks-Gill was the first of his career.
NEXT UP
Gettysburg returns to action at home against Christopher Newport on Saturday, Sept. 13. Game time is 1 p.m.
This article first appeared on the Gettysburg College website.