CARLISLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College football took the ball away and took full advantage in Saturday's regular-season finale at Dickinson, pulling away late for a 27-19 victory to potentially clinch a berth in the Centennial/MAC Bowl Series for the second consecutive season.
Freshman Jack Psenicska threw for 284 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a critical 26-yard hookup with fellow rookie Dallas Evans midway through the fourth quarter to lead the Bears (5-5, 4-5) to a win they had to have to qualify for the annual postseason showcase. If Susquehanna receives an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, Ursinus will be the No. 3 seed in the Series and travel to Misericordia for a rematch of last year's bowl game.
The Bears finished in a three-way tie with Dickinson and Moravian, thanks to Muhlenberg's win over the Greyhounds. Due to head-to-head victories over both, Ursinus holds the tiebreaker for fifth place in the CC standings.
Jack Spingler had two interceptions in his final regular-season appearance for the Bears, while fellow senior Mitchell Bradford also picked off a pass. Mike Reilly added a fourth interception for Ursinus.
The Bears trailed 9-3 at halftime but kicked into high gear after the break, seizing the lead for good just under three minutes into the third quarter when Psenicska found Ardashes Dulgerian for a 24-yard touchdown on a 4th-and-19 play.
Marcus Weathers and Brett Capobianco combined to stuff Red Devils quarterback Robert Geiss on 3rd-and-2 on the ensuing possession to force a punt, and Psenicska marched the offense 61 yards in eight plays to set up a 22-yard field goal by Dakota Wherrity.
Dickinson (5-5, 4-5) responded with a field goal of its own to make it 13-12 in the final minute of the third, and the red and white had a golden opportunity to regain the lead when Jordan Hollander picked off Psenicska at the Bears' 49. But Reilly ame up with a crucial interception in the end zone to keep Ursinus in front.
Psenicska atoned for his mistake in a big way, hitting Dulgerian for 10 yards and completing back-to-back passes to Matt Gallagher down to the Red Devils' 38 before the deep strike to Evans made it 20-12 with 10:08 left on the clock.
Three plays later, safety Jack Spingler undercut Geiss' pass and picked it off to give the Bears the ball back at midfield. After the teams traded punts, Kyle Wiggins bulled his way in from 4 yards out to hand Ursinus a 27-12 advantage with just 2:44 left.
Dickinson made it a one-score game again on Geiss' 1-yard sneak, but with 49 seconds remaining it was too little and too late as Spingler snagged the onside kick attempt to ice the victory.
Psenicska was sensational again in his second start in place of the injured Thomas Garlick. He completed 22 of 38 passes for 284 yards and a pair of touchdowns, finding a potent connection with Evans (6 catches, 105 yards) and Dulgerian (4 catches, 79 yards), who hauled in his third touchdown of the year. The freshman made a huge play to set up the last touchdown by Wiggins, escaping heavy pressure and stepping up in the pocket before finding a wide-open Zachary Throne for a 26-yard completion on third-and-11.
Wiggins finished with 77 yards on 26 carries and his fourth rushing TD of the season, also contributing five receptions. Gallagher went over the 500-yard mark with three grabs for 46 yards.
Wherrity was 2-for-2 on field goals, making him 5-for-7 on the year, and made all three of his extra points.
Reilly led the defense with 10 tackles and had plenty of help from Capobianco (nine) and Kevin Deal (eight) along with Weathers (7 tackles, 1.5 for loss).
Bradford's interception was the 10th of his career, making him the ninth player in program history to reach that milestone.