Game Notes

Franklin & Marshall Last Time Out...

The Diplomats reclaimed "The Wagon" last Saturday as they defeated Dickinson by a 23-14 score in front of strong True Blue Weekend crowd. The Diplomats scored the only points of the second half with a touchdown during both the third and fourth quarters to defeat the rival Red Devils. Franklin & Marshall's defense was up to the task early as it stalled a pair of Dickinson drives that crossed midfield. The first drive in F&M territory was halted when Quincy Long was able to get pressure on Dickinson quarterback Presley Egbers to force a fourth down incompletion. The second stop on the home side of the 50 came with a big tackle from Matt Scully which forced a punt and ultimately set up F&M's first scoring drive of the game that ended in a touchdown for Brady Aselton. 

After no points were scored in the first quarter, both teams scored on their first two possessions of the second. Dickinson tied the game by going 75 yards over 12 plays. That drive included a fake punt completion to keep the drive alive. Laurence Miller gave the Diplomats the lead again when he converted a 34 yard field goal, but the Red Devils used a 68-yard touchdown reception with just 40 seconds remaining in the first half to take a 14-10 lead into the halftime break. Taking the ball to the start the third quarter, the Diplomats reclaimed the lead on their initial drive of the second half. A fourth down touchdown from Ty Tremba gave his side a 16-14 lead before Jack O'Hearen scored a 14-yard touchdown to put his team ahead by the 23-14 final. 

Franklin & Marshall out-gained Dickingon by a 320-308 edge. Tremba threw for 249 of those yards as he completed 15 of his 21 passes. His favorite target on Saturday was O'Hearen who caught five passes for 103 yards. Poruban (54 yards), Aselton (44 yards), and Lewis (40 yards) also had strong days in the receiving game. The Diplomats rushed the ball for 71 yards as a team, with Aaron Rascoe and Tremba the majority of the damage on the ground. The Diplomats' defense limited Dickinson's running game to just 1.9 yards per carry while also coming up with three sacks. Scully, Long, and Medlar all tied for the team lead with seven tackles. Long made two stops behind the line of scrimmage, while Scully had one tackle for loss in addition to a blocked kick and pass break up. 

Franklin & Marshall Returning Honorees

• Laurence Miller - Fourth team All-American kicker, first-team All-CC in 2023

• Jeff Decker - first team All-CC defensive end (second team in 2022)

• Gary Lewis - first-team All-CC wide receiver in 2023

• Matt Scully - second-team All-CC linebacker in 2023, honorable mention returner in 2021

• Matt Wertz - second-team All-CC defensive back in 2023

• Aaron Rascoe - first-team All-CC running back in 2022

• Jacob Hille - second-team All-CC linebacker in 2022

Last time we met ... 

Jack Sutton caught a 12-yard touchdown pass with just one second on the clock to give Franklin & Marshall a thrilling 20-16 win against Ursinus in front of the home fans. That touchdown capped a 12-play drive that went 64 yards, including the game-winning touchdown. Although the final seconds provided the ultimate thrill, the entire fourth quarter was filled with captivating moments as the two teams battled for their first Centennial Conference victory of the season. F&M originally tied the game with 7:15 to play in the fourth quarter when Ty Tremba found Will Higson for an 11-yard touchdown that finished a 69-yard drive. That touchdown tied the game at 13, but the visiting Bears marched the ball 43 yards before a 41-yard field goal from Jordan Carr gave Ursinus a 16-13 lead with just 1:30 remaining in regulation.

A nice return from Matt Hanna helped to put the Diplomats' final drive in action as he returned the kickoff 27 yards, bringing the ball out to the F&M 36 to begin the eventual game-winning possession. The Diplomats, who remained perfect on the year for fourth-down conversions, converted two of those opportunities on the final drive. Gary Lewis initially kept the drive alive when he caught a seven-yard reception on a fourth-and-one with 54 seconds to play. The hero of the game, Sutton, converted a fourth-and-16 with a 17-yard reception after the Ursinus defense originally appeared to have the drive stalled with a sack and two incomplete passes. On second-and-10, Tremba found Sutton again for a 25-yard reception which led to a spike to stop the clock before the thrilling final play of the game. Franklin & Marshall elected for the squib kick on with just one second left in regulation and Daniel Shakal came up with a stop at the Ursinus 24 to end any hopes of the Bears' last-ditch attempt to score.

Franklin & Marshall held a strong Ursinus rushing game to an average of just 2.1 yards per carry. That allowed the Diplomats to get after the quarterback on numerous occasions. Taking advantage of those chances, Owen Walsh, Shakal, and Kevonte Beard all had sacks on the day, with Beard and Matt Scully combining for another. Walsh led the defense with nine tackles, while Shakal and Beard each registered eight stops. Beard totaled 2.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. In addition to his interception, Wertz was a constant nuisance to the passing game with four other breakups in coverage. Tremba completed 12 passes for 154 yards and the two fourth quarter touchdowns. The Diplomats' sophomore signal caller accounted for 96 of those yards through the air during the fourth quarter rally. In addition to his game-winning touchdown, Sutton caught four passes for a team-high 80 yards. Lewis, Higson, and Ben Moir also had multiple receptions throughout the afternoon.

Scouting Ursinus

The Bears enter the weekend a perfect 4-0 on the season. They have scored 58 and 53 points during their past two wins, including a 53-50 victory against Muhlenberg to start the Centennial Conference schedule. The two sides have no common opponents through the first four weeks of the season. The Diplomats will have to keep the Bears' rushing game under the control as Tony Holden is averaging 153.5 yards per game with eight touchdowns during the first four games of the season. Holden is averaging 7.7 yards per carry while the team is averaging 5.9 yards per carry on the ground. Quarterback Jalen Bradford as averaging 199.5 passing yards per game while throwing for 11 touchdowns and three interceptions. He is completing just under 62 percent of his passes on the season. Three Ursinus receivers have over 100 yards receiving on the season, led by Cameron Dennis' 264 yards on 17 catches (66.0 yards per game). Justin Collier has a team-leading four touchdown receptions on the season, with Cody House now ranking second on the team after finding the end zone through the air three times against Muhlenberg. 

Marc Clayton leads Ursinus' defense with 37 tackles on the season. Aaron Rios has 13.5 tackles for loss after just four games. Those totals include 7.5 sacks of the opponent's quarterback. The Bears have also picked off four passes and caused one fumble during the first four games of the year. On special teams, kicker Jordan Carr has made two of his three attempts this season and is perfect from 39 yards and in. He also serves as the team's punter where he is averaging 40.1 yards per punt with a pair of punts over 50 yards. The team's leading receiver, Dennis, is also the top returner as he averages 11.7 yards per punt return and 26.6 yards on kickoff returns. He already has returned a punt for a touchdown this season.

Centennial Conference Leaders for Franklin & Marshall

Passing Yards
2. Ty Tremba (27.4.8 per game)

Receiving Yards
1. Jack O'Hearen (103.8 per game)
7. Jack Harrison (62.7 per game)

Kick Returns
8. Matt Hanna (17.3 per return)

Total Offense
3. Ty Tremba (297.3 yards per game)

All-Purpose Yards
7. Jack O'Hearen (103.0 yards per game)

Punting
4. Laurence Miller (37.8 yard average)

Field Goals
1. Laurence Miller (4)

Tackles
9. Nico Medlar (6.7 tackles per game)

Tackles for Loss
2. Quincy Long (6.0)
6. Jeff Decker (4.5)
8. Austin Hadley (3.5)

Sacks
3. Jeff Decker (3.5)
4. Quincy Long (3.0)

Passes Defended
2. Matt Scully (4)
7. Rafe Carner (3)

Interceptions
1. Matt Wertz (2)
6.  Nico Medlar (1)
6. Kyle Evancho (1)

Fumble Recoveries
3. Rafe Carner (1)
3. Matt Wertz (1)
3. Quincy Long (1)

Forced Fumbles
1. Connor Hille (3)
4. Chris Albero (1)

Conference Road Opener Notables

• F&M is 38-26-1 all-time in its first road conference game of the year

• The Diplomats are an even 20-20 in their first conference road game of the season since the first season of Centennial Conference football

• The Diplomats won seven straight first conference road games from 1985-91 for their longest streak in Centennial history

• F&M's longest stretch of first conference road wins came in the MAC when the team won that contest during 13 consecutive seasons (1970-82)

• F&M is looking to break a streak of four straight seasons in which the Diplomats have lost their first road conference game of the year