The Allegheny Gators football team can breathe a sigh of relief after closing out their season in thriller fashion with an overtime win over the Bethany Bison 20-17.
“There was a lot of happiness,” Head Coach Rich Nagy said. “Going to overtime I was sitting there thinking ‘this is just the fitting way to end the season right now.’”
Garrett Paxton, ’25, drove the go-ahead field goal through the uprights on the first possession of overtime, a chip shot from 19 yards out. That was all the defense needed as they held the Bison to a three-and-out on the next series. The icing on the cake came on fourth down, when Jathan Reynolds, ’24, blocked a 42-yard, game-tying field goal attempt from Bethany’s John McArdle to seal the victory for Allegheny.
It was the Gator’s first win since week four, when they took down Waynesburg 31-15 over Blue and Gold weekend. The ending to their five-game skid could not have come at a better time for the seniors.
“You wanna send them out on a good note, and give them a happy memory,” Nagy said. “I was really happy for them, and that they were able to have that moment.”
The senior’s were a part of Nagy’s first recruiting class. He said the leadership of the group helped get them through difficult situations and they were a big part of the recent success of the program.
One senior who emphatically filled the leadership role this year was starting tailback Tre Worship, ’23. During games and throughout film, Worship would work with the offensive line as well as being in constant communication with the number two running back, John Ian Duron, ’23, about what he was seeing on the field and how to expose defenses for big plays.
“He became a lot more verbal this year,” Nagy said. “He was a really good example for a lot of people.”
Across three games this season, Worship earned rushes of 100-yards or more in addition to impressive career high 201-yards on 22 carries in the win versus Waynesburg. He finished third in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference for total rushing yards with 780, and fifth in the conference for yards per game with 78.
Worship stated that part of his mindset on the field came from Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb, who is currently second in the National Football League in rushing yards. Worship grew up in East Cleveland and attended Shaw High School, and said that Chubb was his favorite player.
“He’s all about business,” Worship said. “He’s just a great downhill running back. That’s definitely someone I look up to.”
The Gators also had senior leadership on defense, as four-year starter Hudson Alread, ’23, showed exemplary play on the field throughout his tenure with the Gators. He was in the top four in total team tackles his first year through fourth year — with the exception of his second due to COVID-19 — while also boasting 11 tackles for loss, one sack and two interceptions during his three-year campaign.
Alread came in as a quarterback after playing the position at Victor High School, about 20 minutes Southeast of Rochester, New York. He switched to safety the night before his first practice as a first-year. He had limited opportunities to get on the field as a quarterback at that time, however Nagy saw value in Alread, and approached him offering a chance to compete on the opposite side of the ball.
“It was a big switch up in terms of my body being put to the test and being more physical,” Alread said. “I was happy to play defense. I like hitting people.”
Overall the Gators finished the season 3-7, with a 2-6 record in the conference. It was not the season they were hoping for in terms of results, but there were many positives to take away from the season to build upon next year.
The team has a short turnaround, only getting around a week’s rest before heading back to the weight room for offseason training.
“I’m excited for (the players) to get another year of work in,” Nagy said. “Once (the season) ends you take a sigh of relief for a second but then it’s ready to get right back to work.”