Box Score
DELAWARE, Ohio -- The Allegheny football team erupted for 17 unanswered fourth-quarter points and the the defense racked up six sacks to lead the Gators over Ohio Wesleyan, 30-13, in a North Coast Athletic Conference season finale for both squads.
Andy Schleihauf made 16 tackles and Nick Silva had nine tackles and 3.5 sacks to lead the Allegheny defense. Offensively, quarterback T.J. Salopek hooked up with wide receiver Jake Vite for one score while Eric Mastrogiacomo and Brian Tamburlin had one rushing touchdown apiece.
The Gators (8-2, 5-2) snapped a 13-13 tie with 11:38 left in the fourth quarter when Ryan Zipf nailed a 32-yard field goal. The make came Battling Bishop kicker Trey Stalnaker missed potential go-ahead scores from 40 and 42 yards out.
Silva made a big sack on Ohio Wesleyan's next drive and the Gator offense responded with a touchdown. Driving into Bishop territory, Allegheny attempted -- and ultimately succeeded -- on a 4th-and-7 play. Salopek completed a nine-yard pass to Matt Griffith to keep the drive alive. Salopek found Terry Hartford later for an 11-yard gain and then completed a seven-yard touchdown pass to Vite, helping the Gators expand their lead to 23-13 with 7:10 left.
The game was put on ice by Mastrogiacomo with 1:21 to go. He scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to finish a nine-play, 42-yard drive. The march features eight running plays.
In the opening quarter, the Gators wasted little time in getting on the board. They scored on their first drive which finished with a 15-yard scamper by Tamburlin with 9:16 left in the first. Salopek and Vite hooked up three times on the seven-play, 66-yard drive, including once on a 27-yard completion on 3rd-and-2.
Silva helped stall Ohio Wesleyan's responding drive by recording a sack of Battling Bishop quarterback Mike Bashioum. Allegheny then took a 10-0 lead on Zipf's 31-yard field goal with 4:06 left in the first.
The Battling Bishops earned their first points of the game when Bashioum found Bryan Hoover for a 22-yard touchdown pass with 9:29 left in the second quarter. The scoring drive covered 71 yards in nine plays -- four of which went for 10 or more yards.
Zipf missed a kick from 28 yards out with 1:54 left in the half. A sack by Silva and Eddie Blacka helped put the ball back in Allegheny's hands with 1:06 to go. Salopek found Griffith for 12 yards and Hartford for 15. A missed field goal from 36 yards out was negated, enabling Zipf to convert from 31 and take the Gators into halftime with a 13-7 lead.
The Bishops (3-7, 3-4) tied the score at 13-all shortly into the second half. After forcing Allegheny to go three plays and out, Ohio Wesleyan scored on a 79-yard hookup from Bashioum to Stephen Haynes. Stalnaker missed the ensuing extra point.
Salopek went 19-of-30 passing for 161 yards and one interception. Mastrogiacomo rushed 18 times for 101 yards and Tamburlin ran 12 times for 39 yards. In the receiving department, Vite had seven catches for 74 yards and Hartford made four receptions for 47 yards.