- The five overtimes are the most ever in a game involving a Centennial team. Five other games have gone to triple overtime.
- The last scoreless regulation game also involved Ursinus against Muhlenberg on October 31, 1998. The Mules won 6-3 in overtime.
- The Bears are 4-0 all-time under the lights.
MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – Ursinus junior running back Corey Kelly (Conshohocken, Pa./Plymouth-Whitemarsh) scored two touchdowns, both in extra periods, as Ursinus (1-0) outlasted Millersville (0-1) 17-9 in five overtimes – yes, five – on Thursday night in the opener for both teams.
Kelly scored on runs of 4 and 10, the last coming in the fifth overtime to give the Bears the win. Required to go for two after the second overtime, Ursinus converted a two-point conversion from junior quarterback Sal Bello (Phoenixville, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) to sophomore wide receiver Carmen Fortino (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Merion).
Senior Eric Boyer (Fort Washington, Pa./Upper Dublin) accounted for the other score, a 34-yard field goal in the first overtime for the first scoring of the game.
The Ursinus defensive unit came up big several times. In addition to pitching the shutout, the Bears held Millersville to just one first down in the first half (on a penalty). The Bears also held Millersville on a goal-line stand in the first overtime from the 1-yard line. Millersville, a member of the PSAC East, had just eight first downs in the game.
"I have been a player or coach most of my life," said an exhausted Ursinus head football coach Peter Gallagher afterwards. "Tonight was the gutsiest performance I have ever been involved with and I am so proud of our players and coaches."
In tonight's win, Ursinus set several school records including: Longest game in school history and longest game in Centennial history. In addition, the Bears came one overtime period away from tying the NCAA Division III record for longest game.
Bello threw for 126 yards, while senior quarterback Nick Lundholm (Barrington, N.J./Haddon Heights) had 72 yards for the Bears. Kelly finished with 50 yards rushing, while Fortino had 74 yards receiving on four catches.
Senior defensive lineman James Worrilow (Wilmington, Del./Concord) had 15 tackles for Ursinus, with junior linebacker Tim Rafter (Springfield (DELCO), Pa./St. Joseph's Prep) netting 14, senior linebacker James Roccograndi (Dallas, Pa./Dallas) having 13 and senior defensive back Kyle Adkins (Holland, Pa./Archbishop Wood) with 11.
Ursinus finished with 259 yards of total offense on the night, with 13 first downs.
Millersville got 76 yards rushing from junior running back Cimirrow Moat and 43 yards passing from freshman quarterback Blake Cahill. Sophomore wide receiver Kevin Wiggins had four catches for 23 yards.
Regulation time saw both offensive units have chances to score, but, could not convert. Ursinus got into Millersville territory on its first drive, when Fortino took a tipped ball and gained 35-yards on 3rd-and-4.
However, Lundholm would throw an interception on 3rd-and-7 at the Millersville 27 to end the drive.
After Millersville went 3-and-out, Ursinus and Millersville would trade 3-and-outs the rest of the quarter.
In the second quarter, Ursinus got the ball at its own 19 with 14:03 left in the half. Lundholm was intercepted by freshman linebacker Rob Varner at the Ursinus 26. He returned the ball to the Ursinus 1-yard line and fumbled, which was recovered by Ursinus in the end zone for a touchback.
Pushing ahead to the third quarter, Adkins intercepted Millersville's first pass of the half to end their drive quickly. That would be the first of two takeaways for the UC defense in the third quarter, as junior defensive back Johnnie Cherneskie would force and recover a fumble at the Ursinus 25 with just over nine minutes left.
With no team would putting together a scoring drive in the third or fourth, the game turned to extra periods.
In the first overtime, Millersville won the toss and elected to go on defense first. Ursinus took the ball at the 25 and went to the 16-yard line, where Boyer converted a 34-yard field goal to put points on the board at 3-0 Ursinus.
Millersville drove down the field and got to the Bears' four-yard line for a first-and-goal. Inching to the 1-yard line on second down, Ursinus pitched a stop at the goal line and pushed Millersville back one yard for a fourth-and-goal at the 2. Junior Evan Stahl converted a 19-yard field goal and the game went into its second overtime tied at 3-all.
In the second overtime, Millersville went 3-and-out, before Ursinus took over on offense. The Bears got to the Millersville 16, but on fourth down, Boyer missed a 33-yard field goal left to head to the third overtime.
With Ursinus taking the ball first in the third extra period, Bello completed a 14-yard pass to sophomore running back Joshua Gordon (Throop, Pa./Mid Valley) for a first down at the 11-yard line. From there, it was a steady diet of Kelly as he got the ball the next three times, the final attempt netting a 4-yard score for a 9-3 lead. With NCAA rules mandating that teams go for two after two overtime periods, Bello's pass failed and it was 9-3.
Millersville took the ball and scored in three plays, with Cahill rushing from 2-yards out for a 9-9 tie, with his PAT pass failing.
In the fourth overtime, Millersville missed a 35-yard field goal wide right, before Ursinus got the ball and saw Boyer miss his 35-yard attempt wide left.
Heading to the fifth overtime, Bello threw a 15-yard pass to Fortino to put the Bears at the 10, before Kelly rushed in for the score and a 15-9 lead. The PAT pass from Bello to Fortino was good, giving the Bears a 17-9 lead.
Millersville had one last chance, but, its corner pass on fourth-and-13 from the 17-yard line went high and Ursinus pulled away with the win.
The win marked the first win for the Bears over a non-Division III opponent since beating La Salle in 2007.
Boyer was one off the conference record for punts in a game, as he had 13 in the contest for an average of 39.6 yards.
Ursinus will travel to Gettysburg next Saturday to open up Centennial Conference play.