Allegheny 41, Ohio Wesleyan 21

Oct. 23, 2010

Freshman quarterback Mason Espinosa (Cookeville, Tenn.) turned in one of the most prolific passing performances in school history and freshman fullback Jermar Rayford (Huber Heights/Chaminade-Julienne) set a school receiving record, but Allegheny took the lead with 24 straight points in the second quarter and went on to outscore the Bishops in a North Coast Athletic Conference contest on Saturday in Meadville, Pa.

Espinosa completed 38 of 59 passes for 406 yards and 2 touchdowns. The 406 yards passing is the third-highest single-game figure in school history, while the 38 completions and 59 attempts both rank second all-time. Espinosa's 61 total plays and 422 yards total offense also rank second on the Bishop single-game list.

Rayford set a school record with 16 receptions, breaking the mark of 13 set by Bill Long at Oberlin on Nov. 4, 1967. Rayford's 16 catches was one short of the NCAC single-game record.

Allegheny's Craig Stamm returned the opening kickoff to the Bishop 44-yard line, and the Gators took advantage of the field position. T.J. Salopek tossed completions of 18 and 14 yards to Terry Hartford, the latter setting up a first-and-goal at the OWU 6, and on the next play, Brian Tamburlin went over on a 6-yard run for a 7-0 Allegheny lead.

Ohio Wesleyan answered with a drive of its own, with Espinosa firing 3 straight completions to move the ball into Allegheny territory. On third-and-9 from the Gator 39, Espinosa hit freshman split end Dave Mogilnicki (Middleburg Heights/Midpark) on a 39-yard scoring strike that tied the game at 7-7 with 9:30 left in the opening quarter.

Senior linebacker Pete Merkle (Loveland) picked off a Salopek pass at the Bishop 35-yard line to end the next Gator threat, and Ohio Wesleyan promptly marched to a first down at the Allegheny 24-yard line with the help of completions from Espinosa to junior tight end Pat Embleton (Chesterland/Gilmour Academy) for 16 yards and Espinosa to Rayford for 12 more, but the drive stalled at the Gator 23 when Espinosa's fourth-down pass fell incomplete.

The Gators took the lead with a 14-play, 81-yard drive bridged the first and second quarters. Allegheny faced 2 third-down situations during the march, with Salopek finding Hartford for 5 yards on third-and-2 from the Allegheny 27, then rushing for 13 yards on a third-and-7 call from the Gator 47. Sean Acosta capped the drive with a 6-yard run that made it 14-7 with 10:12 left in the first half.

Allegheny added to its lead with a 26-yard field goal by Ryan Zipf after a Bishop 3-and-out, and the Gators got the ball back when Sid Facaros intercepted an Espinosa pass and returned it 49 yards to the Ohio Wesleyan 9-yard line, then pushed the lead to 24-7 when Salopek found Hartford on a 9-yard TD pass on the next play from scrimmage. Salopek set up the last score of the period with completions of 25 yards to Sean Griffin and 42 yards to David Strawser, then hit Hartford for a 2-yard TD with 1:12 to play in the half, giving Allegheny a 31-7 lead.

Espinosa marched the Bishops downfield quickly in the third quarter, connecting with freshman split end Nick Jackson (Cottondale, Fla.) for 38 yards, freshman fullback De'Joun Fisher (St. Cloud, Fla./Harmony) for 6 yards, freshman halfback Rayce Risser (Columbus Grove) for 15 yards, and Mogilnicki for 30 yards to set up a 1-yard Fisher run that made it 31-14, but the Gators countered with a 5-yard connection from Salopek to Hartford, the duo's third TD combination of the day.

The Bishops took to the air once more, with Espinosa hitting Rayford twice for 20 yards, freshman halfback Acorye' White (Montgomery, Ala./Landstown) for 25 more, then Rayford again for a 14-yard touchdown that brought Ohio Wesleyan within 38-21 with 2:02 left in the third quarter.

Ohio Wesleyan put together a pair of long drives in the fourth quarter, but the first ended on the Gator 30 and Allegheny's Ray Stelzer intercepted a pass in the Gator end zone to end the second.

Espinosa completed 38 of 59 passses for 406 yards and 2 touchdowns and added 16 yards on 2 rushes for a total of 422 yards. Rayford caught a school-record 16 passes for 119 yards and a score, while Risser finished with 6 catches for 63 yards and White had 5 receptions for 55 yards.

Merkle led the Bishop defense with 10 tackles and an interception. Freshman defensive back Tom Schindler (Mentor) had 8 stops, including 1 for loss, and sophomore linebacker Tyler Sheetz (Eighty Four, Pa./Peters Township), senior linebacker Chad Murawski (Chesterland/West Geauga), and freshman linebacker Justin Segal (West Harrison, N.Y./Harrison) added 7 tackles apiece.

Salopek completed 31 of 35 passes for 342 yards and 3 touchdowns, with all 3 scores going to Hartford. Hartford caught 8 passes for 71 yards, and Tamburlin led Gator rushers with 72 yards on 15 carries.

Zach Bell and Ryan Vietmeier led the Allegheny defense with 5 tackles apiece.

Box Score