CARLISLE, Pa. – The Dickinson football team came out of the blocks flying taking a 20-0 first-half lead, before allowing the visiting Ursinus College Bears to score 20 consecutive points to force overtime. Dickinson would ultimately send their seniors out in style with a 27-20 ot triumph at Biddle Field.
The Dickinson defense was strong on the opening drive as Jaiden Cruz recorded three tackles, before a Griffin Lundquist sack on third-and-seven forced a punt.
Tim Graham began the Devils first drive with a 16-yard pass to Diante Ball, followed by a nine-yard strike to Princeton Douglass advancing the ball to the Ursinus 27. Rushes by Robert Geiss and Ball brought the ball down to the UC11. Graham found Peterson for ten before Ball pounded it home from a yard out (Raleigh Wynot kick).
After DC forced a three-and-out on defense, the offense went back to work on their own 35 with 3:35 left in the first. Ball would carry the rock for gains of five, five, and six, while Graham hit Geiss for a dozen putting it on the UC29 at the end of the first. The remainder of the drive belonged to Ball as he ran for a combined 22 yards, including a two-yard td run to make it 14-0 (Wynot kick).
The Devils would force another three-and-out on the ensuing drive thanks to quarterback hurries by Brian Snow on second down, and Neville Krueger on third. Dickinson would use a 20-yard rush by Geiss, a 22-yard scamper by Ball, and a 30-yard reception for Andrew Reale to advance the ball to the UC7. That is when Ball pounded the pigskin into the endzone for the 20-0 edge with 6:58 left in the half (Wynot kick failed).
Both sides stalled on their next couple of drives as the Bears tried to get some points before half taking over on their 30 with 3:17 left. The combination of Sam Ragland on the ground and Jack Psenicska making some timely throws including a 13-yard strike to Nick Schaars allowed Dakota Wherrity to knock home a 29-yard field at the half.
Dickinson would go three-and-out on their first drive of the third quarter. After a 39-yard Geiss punt, Ursinus went to work at the UC35. A couple of big plays in the passing game from Psenicska to Schnaars got the ball to the DC4. On fourth down Wherrity would knock home his second fg of the day to cut the deficit to 20-6.
The Devils tried to add onto their advantage late in the third period as Bryce Baylor used three straight rushes to bring the ball to the DC31. After Geiss was sacked for a loss of five yards the home side was looking at third-and-16. Geiss tried to do it himself and ran off right tackle for 15 yards prior to getting shoved out of bounds forcing a punt.
On the ensuing Bears drive they would make it a one-score game when Ragland rushed home from 16 yards out on the first play of the fourth. Wherrity had the extra point blocked by Jeremy Reid to keep it 20-12.
Both sides would dig in on the defensive side as neither team could threaten the endzone over the next 12 minutes. After using their timeouts and forcing a punt Ursinus took over with 2:08 left on their 20. Psenicska led a passing clinic down the field alternating between Kevin DePrince and Schnaars racking up seven straight completions, before hitting Ragland for a 17-yard touchdown. Needing the two-point conversion Psenicska had his pass reeled in by Billy Cook to tie the score and force ot.
On the Devils first chance in the extra session, Baylor rushed for three down to the 22. However, Caleb Pruitt (in for both Geiss and Graham) was sacked twice by Ryan Bodolus to set up 4th & 14 on the 29. The qb then showed some serious composure to stand in the pocket and hit a sliding Devlin McCool for a td (Wynot kick) made it 27-20. The Bears tried to do damage on the ground with Ragland running it four consecutive times down to the DC3. On third down Dominic Fusco and Ellis Tompkins got into the backfield to drag Ragland down for a loss of five making it fourth down. With the game on the line, Psenicska was unable to hit Zachary Throne in the back of the endzone to end the game.