By Dominick DiRienzo
Jake Vite’s stats and Allegheny’s comeback win made for great memories for the Gators on senior day.
But Vite added something special with an acrobatic, leaping, one-handed grab early in the second half that set up the Gators’ first points of a 17-point rally.
“I’m just amazed every week. Jake’s a talented guy. It’s very evident out there,” Gators coach Mark Matlak said. “We just have to keep feeding him the ball. We’re not smart if we don’t.”
The Gators targeted Vite 13 times and he responded with nine catches for a career-high 168 yards in their 24-21 win over Wooster in North Coast Athletic Conference football at Fuhrer Field.
“T.J. put (the ball) in a good spot. He put some air under it, which is what I like. It allows me to make a play on it,” Vite said. “I kind of used my free hand to shield the defender a little bit — didn’t push off — and pulled it in with the left.”
Allegheny quarterback T.J. Salopek ran for two scores and threw another to Vite as Allegheny rallied for 17 second-half points. Salopek was 27-of-43 for 312 yards.
In the fourth quarter, Wooster kicker Russ Palm hit the left upright on a 44-yard field goal with 12:31 left and pushed a potential game-tying 38-yard field goal wide right with 1:04 remaining.
“We didn’t make enough plays, made some errors and (Allegheny) made some plays as well,” Wooster coach Tim Schmitz said.
Among those plays was a fumble recovery by Allegheny’s Drew Perry, a Saegertown graduate, that set up the Gators’ go-ahead touchdown. Allegheny’s Sid Facaros stripped Wooster running back Robert Flagg and Perry fell on the loose ball on the Wooster 48-yard line with 7:21 left in the game.
“We just needed to force a turnover to win the game and that’s what we did,” the sophomore said.
Six plays later, Salopek bulled in from two yards out and Ryan Zipf added the extra point for a 24-21 Allegheny lead with 4:40 left in the game.
Wooster drove to the Allegheny 21-yard line, setting up Palm’s 38-yard attempt.
Wooster looked like it was in control of the game in the first half. Holding the Gators to one touchdown, a 7-yard keeper by Salopek, en route to a 21-7 halftime lead.
Tight end Cameron Daniels tied the game at 7 with a 51-yard touchdown catch with 9:54 left in the second quarter and Jordan McIntyre added a 63-yard score with :46 left in the half to make it 14-7.
Wooster’s defense and the coaching staff’s shrewd use of its three timeouts, the Scots forced the Gators to punt with 24 seconds left in the first half.
Returner Taylor Trout, who also picked off a Salopek pass, returned the punt 55 yards to give the Scots a 21-7 halftime lead.
“You give up a punt return for a touchdown and two blown coverages,” Matlak said. “There is not a whole lot you can say. I really felt like we were beating ourselves more than anything.”
In the second half, the Gators turned their attention to the opponent.
“The first half, the score didn’t reflect how our defense played. (The defense) had them in a lot of tough situations,” Vite said. “To their credit, they made some good plays.”
It was Salopek to Vite that set up the Gators’ second score. Vite went down the sidelines for a 48-yard gain to the Wooster 3 and one play later caught a touchdown on a fade route to make it 21-17.
It was an emotional win for the Gators, who with two weeks left in the season, have a shot at the conference title after being picked fourth in the NCAC preseason poll.
If the Gators beat Wittenberg (8-0, 5-0) next Saturday and Ohio Wesleyan (2-6, 2-3) on Nov. 14 they could earn a share of the conference title.
Notes: Allegheny gave up three touchdowns, but did not allow the Scots inside the Gators’ 20-yard line. ... Mark Sutton missed the second half with an arm injury. Matlak said he wouldn’t know his status for the Wittenberg game for a couple of days. ... On kickoffs into the wind, the Gators used a bouncing line-drive kick that skipped and squirted across the turf and seemed to handcuff the Wooster return men on two occasions. ... Andy Schleihauf made 10 stops and C.J. Bell added seven. Andrew DeJong averaged 40 yards on seven punts, kicking a 51 yarder and knocking two inside the 20. ... Salopek was sacked four times.
Dominick DiRienzo can be reached at 724-6370, ext. 274 or by e-mail ddirienzo@meadvilletribune.com.
