WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – The Ursinus football team closed out its 2021 season with a tough 31-23 loss to Lycoming in the Centennial-MAC Bowl Series on Saturday afternoon.
The Bears conclude the season with a 7-4 overall record while the Warriors end their season at 8-3 overall.
Junior quarterback Jack Psenicska finished the day 25-of-45 for 298 yards through the air with one interception. Psenicska surpassed former Bears quarterback Thomas Garlick for the Bears single-season passing yards record with 2,853. Senior running back Samuel Ragland capped his decorated career with 66 rushing yards on 22 carries and scored all three Ursinus touchdowns. Ragland will finish second all-time in program history with 3,107 career rushing yards and set a new program mark 48 touchdowns on the ground. He also hauled in six passes for 63 yards. Junior Kevin DePrince led all Bears wide receivers with seven catches for 74 yards.
The Bears opened the game with the ball and drove 69 yards in 15 plays over the course of 6:28 to take an early 7-0 lead after Ragland scored from three yards out. Ursinus converted a pair of fourth downs on the drive which included a 14-yard strike to DePrince on fourth and four from the Warriors 36-yard line. A bad snap on first down on Lycoming's first offensive drive set the Bears up with great field position at the Warriors 37-yard line, but three incompletions quickly put the opportunity to a halt. The Warriors ripped off an 85-yard touchdown run after facing a 3rd and 15 from their own 15-yard line on their next drive to tie the game at seven with 4:58 remaining in the first half. Ursinus was backed up at their own 10-yard line to start their next drive and moved out as far as their own 44-yard line before being forced to punt.
Lycoming continued to find success on offense entering the second quarter and set themselves up with a first and goal situation from the Bears four-yard line. Ursinus was able to stymie the Warriors drive and force Lycoming to settle for a 20-yard field goal at the 11:14-mark of the second quarter. Psenicska got the Ursinus offense rolling fast early on their ensuing drive as he found senior wide receiver Dash Dulgerian for a 47-yard completion to put the Bears at the Warriors 25-yard line. Two more completions to DePrince after a holding penalty set Ragland up for his second touchdown of the game, this time from six yards out, to put Ursinus up 13-10. The Bears defense forced a Warriors punt on their next drive and seemingly looked to extend their lead as they drove back into Lycoming territory. However, the Bears were turned away on downs after a controversial call on 4th and 14 when DePrince was ruled out of bounds on his reception from Psenicska. Ursinus was once again burned by a big play by the Warriors as running back Joey Guida raced 71 yards for a touchdown to put Lycoming ahead at 17-13 with 1:57 remaining in the first half. Looking to respond, the Bears were unable to get anything going on their ensuing drive and had to punt back to the Warriors. Sophomore defensive end Ryan Bodolus picked off Warriors quarterback Elijah Shemory on the first play of their next drive and raced 38 yards to the Lycoming four-yard line to give Ursinus a chance to take the lead into halftime. Ragland made quick work as he scored his third touchdown from four yards out on the first play to put the Bears up 20-17 at halftime.
The third quarter featured little sustained success on offensive possessions as each team punted twice and left the Bears up 20-17 entering the fourth quarter. However, the Warriors beat the Bears yet again on a big play as Shemory found Tyjah During for a 67-yard score to put Lycoming up 24-20 just a minute into the fourth quarter. Lycoming then picked Psenicska off on the second play of the Bears ensuing drive to set themselves up at the Ursinus 20-yard line. Shemory converted a fourth and one on the Bears 11-yard line with a 10-yard run and eventually found During for his second touchdown of the game on third and goal from the two, putting the Warriors up 31-20 with 9:52 left in regulation. Psenicska marched Ursinus back into Warriors territory and junior kicker Dakota Wherrity capped the drive with a 35-yard field goal to cut the deficit down to 31-23 with 5:24 left in regulation. Ursinus forced a Lycoming punt and had one last chance to potentially tie the game with a touchdown and two-point conversion. Four completions pushed the Bears to the Warriors 25-yard line before a sack and incompletion forced Ursinus into a fourth and 14 situation. Psenicska stepped up in the pocket on fourth down and lofted a high pass to the end zone that went off the hands of senior wide receiver Zachary Throne to end the Bears rally.
Sophomore defensive back Ryan DiVergilis and junior defensive lineman Jack Ginley III led the Bears with a team-high seven tackles with DiVergilis posting 1.5 tackles for loss. Bodolus finished with six tackles (five solo) one interception and added one more sack following his historic performance against Dickinson a week ago. Shemory finished 14-of-24 through the air with 186 yards and two touchdowns along with one interception. Guida rushed for 178 yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns while During caught five passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns. Austin Rowley and Cole Senior each tallied 11 tackles for the Warriors with Senior posting two sacks.