Gators held scoreless in scrimmage with Thiel

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August 22, 2007

By Dominick DiRienzo The Meadville Tribune Wed Aug 22, 2007, 11:50 PM EDT

August 23, 2007 — GREENVILLE — It was a preseason scrimmage, but three numbers still stood out: zero, two and 10.

Zero, points scored. Allegheny was held of the scoreboard in what amounted to a 6-0 Thiel win in Wednesday’s scrimmage at Alumni Stadium.

“It’s disappointing we didn’t score,” said senior quarterback Drew Stelzer, who is involved in a wide open race for the starter’s job.

Two: Number of field goals missed by Allegheny kicker Josh Whiteside, a two-time preseason All-American.

“We had a bad snap on the first one and then he just missed one,” Matlak said.

Ten: Number of Allegheny quarterbacks who took snaps in the scrimmage as the Gators try to find a starter to replace graduated three-year starter Jimmy Savage.

“It’s pretty crazy,” Allegheny offensive coordinator Andy McKenzie said about the free-for-all for the quarterback job.

Stelzer got the most reps at quarterback. He started the scrimmage and ran the offense during the two-minute drill. The Chagrin Falls High School graduate was unofficially 9-of-10 for 90 yards, but Matlak said the race is still wide open.

“I’m not settled on any of the guys right now,” Matlak said. “We might have to figure it out along the way. Especially, the first three games when they are nonconference games.”

The Gators open the season Sept. 1 when Westminster comes to Fuhrer Field.

Along with Stelzer, Bobby Herron, Nick Mandilakis, Pat Kahle, T.J. Salopek, Robert Carlisle, David Strawser, Sean Donoghue and Matt Stahl all saw time under center.

Matlak said Herron, Salopek, Stelzer and Kahle are the leaders for the job.

Stelzer got the first look. The Gators went three-and-out on their first series, but Stelzer came back on the second possession and drove the Gators 61 yards to the Thiel 13. The Gators covered most of that turf on the legs of Devin Raynor. The junior rushed nine times for 32 yards on the drive.

“I’m really excited about our tailback spot,” Matlak said. “Devin Raynor, Matt Feldhaus and Rodney Still, those three guys are our main guys right now.”

That drive set up Whiteside’s first attempt. The senior was good on 6-of-7 field goals last year, but missed to the left on his 30-yard attempt on the second series.

Allegheny punted after three plays on their third drive, but got a break when Thiel fumbled the punt. The Gators recovered on the Thiel 9-yard line. The Gators took a delay of game penalty on first down. Allegheny’s Matt Feldhaus lost a yard on a run over the right side and gained it back on a screen pass from Bobby Herron on second down. Herron threw incomplete to the right corner of the endzone on third down, setting up another Whiteside miss.

“I think that was good for him. I think sometimes you get complacent,” Matlak said. “You’re the All-American. You have to live up to the billing.”

A long punt return to the Allegheny 26 set up Thiel’s first field goal — a 36-yarder by starting kicker Sammy Koyl on the Tomcats’ first possession. Koyl missed a 38-yard field goal on the Tomcats’ third drive. Thiel scored again on the eighth drive, which covered 51 yards down to the Allegheny four. The drive was kept alive when Allegheny was charged with roughing the kicker on fourth-and-8 at the 20-yard line. Three plays later, Alec Osbourne knocked home a 21-yarder.

“I think we beat ourselves in a lot of areas. We missed two field goals. We roughed the kicker on a fourth a down that kept a drive alive. We had a lot of fumbled snaps and illegal procedures.

“We can’t start out first-and-15. Those are all beat yourself things. We have a long way to go.”

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