For 60 minutes on Thursday night Division 2 Millersville and Division 3 Ursinus were locked in a scoreless battle. The two small schools in Pennsylvania needed overtime to settle their differences in the season opener. And then they needed another overtime. And another. And another after that. Then, just for good measure, a fifth overtime. Finally, after five overtime sessions, Ursinus left Millersville with a 17-9 victory.
The game was a sloppy one too, with seven combined turnovers between the two schools. Urisnus could not do much on the ground, rushing for just 68 yards. Millersville did little through the air with just 43 passing yards. Both teams had chances to end this game before hitting a fifth overtime, but chalk this one up for the defenses. Millersville had a first-and-goal from the Ursinus two-yard line in the first overtime and got as close as one inch away from scoring a game-winning touchdown. Instead, the Marauders had to settle for a game-tying field goal to send it to a second overtime.
A missed field goal attempt by Ursinus in the second overtime led to the third extra session. Both teams reached the end zone in the third overtime, but neither was able to complete the NCAA-required two-point conversion attempt. To the fourth OT they went, where both teams missed 35-yard field goal attempts.
Mercifully, Ursinus quarterback Sal Bello completed a touchdown pass to Carmen Fortino on a two-point conversion attempt following a touchdown run by Corey Kelly. That gave Ursinus a 17-9 lead, and when Millersville failed to convert a fourth-and-long from the 17-yard line, the game finally came to an end.
(Photo courtesy Ursinus Athletics.)