(Gettysburg, Pa.) – The Dickinson football team tried to put together a rally but fell short at Gettysburg, falling 20-17 in the annual battle for the Little Brown Bucket.

The Bullets used great field position to score on their opening drive after Matt McFadden returned the kick-off to the 45 yard line. Kyle Wigley carried the ball six times on the drive, diving in from the two yard line to put Gettysburg on the board.

The teams traded punts and each held on fourth down to close out the first quarter. Dickinson took over at their own 44 yard line to start the second quarter. They went 54 yards on 16 plays, draining the clock for over eight minutes on the drive.

Seniors Chris Soulas (Far Hills, N.J./Delbarton) and Cedric Madden (Norristown, Pa./Chestnut Hill Academy) grinded out the yards on the ground, with first-year quarterback Billy Burger (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle) adding a 14 yard run and capping the drive with a nine yard touchdown.

Junior Ned Emala (Baltimore, Md./Gilman) forced a fumble and senior Pat Schlecker (Wilmington, Del./Wilmington Friends) recovered to give the Devils possession on the Dickinson 48 yard line.

The Devils moved the ball to the 11 yard line, setting up a 28 yard field-goal for first-year Stephen Walker (Darien, Conn./Darien) to put Dickinson on top, 9-7, at halftime.

Gettysburg forced the Devils to punt on their first possession of the second half. The Bullets followed up with a seven play, 63-yard drive to regain the lead, 13-9, after going for a two-point conversion.

The teams traded possessions as the remainder of the quarter went scoreless. Kevin Sherry (Swarthmore, Pa./Strath Haven) forced another fumble and sophomore Brian Latorraca (Stamford, Conn./St. Luke's School) recovered on the Bullets' 37 yard line.

The Bullets countered with an interception on a halfback pass to regain possession on the six yard line. The teams traded punts to close out the quarter with the score still, 13-9.

Gettysburg scored to start the fourth, using four big plays, capped by a 20 yard pass from Sam McDermott to Ryan Thompson to stretch the lead to 20-9, with 12:20 remaining in the game.

After trading punts once again, senior Teddy Airoldi (Bethlehem, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) and Latorraca came up with a big stop on fourth down, giving Dickinson the ball with just under five minutes to play.

Burger ran and passed the Devils to the one yard line where Madden finished things off with a one yard plunge. Following a penalty on the extra-point attempt, Madden capitalized on the chance, converting for two-points to cut the deficit to 20-17, with 2:13 on the clock.

Gettysburg was able to recover the on-side kick and run out the final minutes to secure the win and keep the Bucket.

The teams combined for 614 yards of total offense on the day. Burger completed 18-of-28 passes for 112 yards and ran for another 74 on the day. Madden rushed for 83 yards and caught seven passes for another 39.

Jake Myers (Middletown, Del./St. Andrew's) and Sherry each tallied a team-high 11 tackles, while Sherry added a sack and the forced fumble. Airoldi recorded seven tackles on the day while Latorraca made six stops.

McDermott threw for a 110 yards and ran for 68 to lead Gettysburg as they improve to 6-3 overall and 5-3 in the Centennial Conference. Kodi McNamara led the Bullets with a game-high 13 tackles.

The Red Devils slip to 3-6 overall and 3-5 in the conference. They return home for the season finale next weekend, hosting Ursinus College at 1:00 pm.