Game Notes

Last time out (W, 35-10)  ...

The Diplomats celebrated their Senior Day in style as they defeated Gettysburg by a 35-10 score and officially secured one more chance to play during the 2023 season by clinching a bid to the Centennial-MAC Bowl Series. Turnovers certainly told a large portion of the story during the home finale as the Diplomats held a 28-0 edge in points off of those turnovers with an opportunistic secondary coming up with three interceptions - in addition to a defensive line fumble recovery - as each of those short field drives resulted in touchdowns for F&M. The Diplomats led wire-to-wire during the victory, holding a 21-3 lead at the half before taking its largest and final lead of the day early in the fourth quarter.

A number of short field opportunities left limited yards for the Diplomats' offense on numerous occasions, but F&M still racked up a 216-149 yard advantage through the air. The Bullets did finish with a slight 336-314 edge in total years. Franklin & Marshall was certainly much more efficient during its time with the ball. In addition to the 28-0 edge in points off of turnovers, F&M was a perfect 4-for-4 scoring touchdowns when it entered the red zone.

Stars of the Past Week

Gary Lewis took sole possession of the school record for receiving touchdowns in a season with the 16th of his sophmore campaign as he was one of five receivers who had at least 30 yards through the air of the Diplomats deployed a diverse attack. Ty Tremba finished with 211 passing yards and went 15-of-30 during his pass attempts with no turnovers. Lewis led the team with 61 yards receiving. He joined Jack Sutton, Ben Moir, Jack O'Hearen, and Brady Aselton with at least 30 yards receiving. Aselton and Sutton also caught touchdown passes in addition to Lewis' school record TD. Mitch Wagner and Dante Wilson both rushed touchdowns on the ground. Wagner average 3.7 yards per carry on his way to a team-best 61 yards rushing.

The turnovers were certainly the highlight for the defense, but senior Owen Walsh had another double-digit tackle afternoon with 10 stops - including seven solo efforts - while breaking up two passes. Luke Dauberman added eight more tackles to finish second on the team. Kyle Jones and McArthur both came away with sacks of the Gettysburg quarterback who was under consistent pressure all afternoon, leading to a completion percentage under 50.

Last Game vs. King's (Pa.)

Franklin & Marshall and King's (Pa.) will be playing their first-ever contest in football when these teams met during the Centennial-MAC Bowl Series.

10 Games in 10 weeks*

The postponed TCNJ game and a postseason game create a unique challenge for this year's team as it is set to play its 10th game in 10 weeks to close the 2023 season.

• F&M has played 10 games in 10 weeks during 28 other seasons (first since 2007)

• 15th time since Centennial (1983) formed that F&M will play 10 games in 10 weeks

Looking at the national rankings...

• Team Rankings in Top 50 Nationally

  • 21st: Fourth down conversion percentage (.647)

  • 34th: Punt return defense (3.83)

  • 38th: Passes had intercepted (6) - first in Centennial

  • 42nd: Passing yards per completion (13.9)

  • 47th: Fourth down conversion percentage defense (.368)

  • 47th: Team passing efficiency (151.71)

  • 48th: Fumbles recovered (8) - first in Centennial

  • 50th: Turnovers lost (12)

• Individuals in top 50 Nationallly

  • Laurence Miller

    • 10th: Field goals per game (1.10) - first in Centennial

    • 12th: Field goal percentage (.786)

  • LT Kelley

    • 5th: Fumbles recovered (3) - first in Centennial

  • Jeff Decker

    • 26th: Forced fumbles (0.30 per game) - first in Centennial

    • 45th: Tackles for loss (1.4 per game)

  • Ty Tremba

    • 22nd: Passing touchdowns (27)

    • 32nd: Points responsible for (176)

    • 37th: Points responsible for per game (17.6)

    • 39th: Passing yards per completion (14.04)

  • Chris Albero

    • 35th: Punt return average (9.4) - first in Centennial

  • Gary Lewis

    • 4th: Receiving touchdowns (16) - first in Centennial

    • 15th: Scoring (10.7 points per game) - first in Centennial

    • 18th: Total scoring (96 points) - first in Centennial

    • 18th: Total touchdowns (16) - first in Centennial

Checking the record books (Career rankings at F&M)

• Chris Albero

  • Average yards/punt return: 7th (8.84)

  • Punt return yards: 21st (168)

  • Punt returns: t-23rd (19)

  • SINGLE SEASON RANKINGS: Punt return yards: 21st (168) | Punt returns: t-27th (19) | Average yards/punt return: 28th (8.84)

• Kevonte Beard

  • Fumble return TDs: 1st (2)

  • Punt return TDs: t-3rd (1)

  • Tackles for loss: 4th (42.0)

  • Yards from tackles for loss: 4th (154)

  • Fumble returns: t-11th (1)

  • Fumbles forced: t-13th (4)

  • Fumble return yards: 21st (3)

  • Unassisted tackles: 22nd (112)

  • Quarterback sacks: t-24th (12.0)

  • Yards from sacks: t-24th (63)

• Anthony Bonanno

  • SINGLE-SEASON RANKINGS: Blocked kicks: t-28th (1)

• John Burke

  • SINGLE-SEASON RANKINGS: Blocked kicks: t-28th (1)

• Logan Clouse

  • Pass completion pct: 14th (50.7)

  • Pass efficiency: 20th (102.1)

  • Passing yards/game: 20th (75.6)

  • Passing TDs: 22nd (14)

  • Total offense/game: 22nd (81.6)

  • Pass attempts: 23rd (286)

  • Pass completions: 23rd (145)

  • Passing yards: 26th (1511)

  • Average yards/pass: 28th (5.3)

  • Average yards/completion: 30th (10.4)

• Luke Dauberman

  • SINGLE-SEASON RANKINGS: Fumbles forced: t-27th (2)

• Jeff Decker

  • Tackles for loss: t-12th (27.0)

  • Fumbles forced: t-13th (4)

  • Yards from tackles for loss: 15th (105)

  • Yards from sacks: t-30th (57)

  • SINGLE-SEASON RANKINGS: Fumbles forced: t-8th (3) | Tackles for loss: t-12th (14.5) | Yards from tackles for loss: 16th (55)

• Justin Gerhart

  • Interception return TDs: t-5th (1)

  • Interceptions: t-8th (10)

  • Passes defended: t-11th (25)

  • Interception return yards: 22nd (94)

  • SINGLE-SEASON RANKINGS: Passes defended: t-14th (12)

• Trey Glass

  • Average yards/kick return: 17th (20.27)

• Kell Hall

  • Interception return TDs: t-5th (1)

  • Passes defended: t-25th (18)

• Matt Hanna

  • Average yards/kick return: 12th (21.10)

  • Kick return yards: 26th (422)

  • Kick returns: t-28th (20)

  • SINGLE-SEASON RANKINGS: Kick return yards: 14th (401) | Kick returns: t-18th (19) | Average yards/kick return: 24th (21.11)

• Jacob Hille

  • Blocked kicks: t-12th (2)

• Nick Johnston

  • Kick return TDs: t-2nd (1)

• LT Kelley

  • Fumbles recovered: t-29th (3)

  • SINGLE-SEASON RANKINGS: Fumbles recovered: t-8th (3)

• Gary Lewis

  • Receptions/game: 5th (4.62)

  • Pass reception TDs: 8th (19)

  • Average yards/catch: 9th (16.38)

  • All purpose yards/game: 14th (79.6)

  • Touchdowns scored: t-17th (19)

  • Pass reception yards: 24th (1212)

  • Total points scored: t-25th (114)

  • Pass receptions: t-30th (74)

  • SINGLE-SEASON RANKINGS: Pass reception TDs: 1st (16) | Touchdowns scored: 4th (16) | Total points scored: t-4th (96) | Average yards/catch: 13th (15.84) | Receptions/game: 16th (5.44) | Pass reception yards: 17th (776) | TDs responsible for: t-22nd (16) | Pass receptions: t-25th (49)

• Ryan McArthur

  • Punt return TDs: t-3rd (1)

• Laurence Miller

  • Field goals made: t-1st (20)

  • PAT kicks made: 4th (82)

  • PAT kick pct: 4th (93.2)

  • Field goal pct: 6th (74.1)

  • Average yards/punt: 12th (36.56)

  • Total points scored: 13th (142)

  • Punt yards: 28th (1572)

  • Punt attempts: 30th (43)

  • SINGLE-SEASON RANKINGS: Field goals made: t-2nd (11) | PAT kicks made: t-7th (33) | Field goal pct: t-11th (78.6) | PAT kick pct: 14th (94.3) | Total points scored: t-24th (66) | Average yards/punt: 27th (36.56)

• Jack O'Hearen

  • Receptions/game: 25th (2.57)

• Matt Scully

  • Average yards/kick return: 1st (24.26)

  • Kick return TDs: t-2nd (1)

  • Interception return TDs: t-5th (1)

  • Kick return yards: 7th (825)

  • Kick returns: 11th (34)

  • Passes defended: t-19th (20)

  • SINGLE-SEASON RANKINGS: Passes defended: t-25th (10 in 2023) | Fumbles forced: t-27th (2 in 2023)

• Jack Sutton

  • Receptions/game: 16th (3.30)

  • Average yards/catch: 24th (13.97)

• Ty Tremba

  • Pass efficiency: 1st (151.4)

  • Average yards/pass: 1st (8.4)

  • Passing yards/game: 1st (215.1)

  • Total offense/game: 1st (239.6)

  • Average yards/completion: 4th (14.3)

  • Total offense/play: 4th (6.69)

  • Pass completion pct: 6th (58.9)

  • Passing TDs: t-6th (37)

  • TDs responsible for: 8th (43)

  • Total offense yards: 9th (4313)

  • Pass completions: 11th (271)

  • Passing yards: 11th (3871)

  • Pass attempts: 14th (460)

  • SINGLE-SEASON RANKINGS: Passing TDs: 4th (27) | TDs responsible for: t-4th (29) | Pass efficiency: 5th (152.0) | Passing yards: 6th (2238) | Total offense yards: 6th (2480) | Total offense/game: 6th (248.0) | Passing yards/game: 7th (223.8) | Average yards/pass: 10th (8.0) | Pass completions: 11th (159) | Pass attempts: 12th (279) | Total offense/play: 13th (6.79) | Pass completion pct: 20th (57.0) | Average yards/completion: 27th (14.1)

• Mitch Wagner

  • Average yards/rush: 27th (4.25)

• Matt Wertz

  • SINGLE-SEAON RANKINGS: Passes defended: t-14th (12) | Blocked kicks: t-28th (1)

Franklin & Marshall 2023 All-Centennial Conference Performers

• Gary Lewis (WR; So.) - FIRST TEAM

  • First all-conference honors of his career

  • Led Centennial Conference with 16 touchdown receptions, setting a new school single-season record

  • 49 receptions, 776 receiving yards

  • 5 games with 100+ receiving yards

  • 5 games with multiple touchdown receptions

• Jeff Decker (DL; Jr.) - FIRST TEAM

  • Also earned second-team All-CC honors during 2022 season

  • 2nd in Centennial Conference with 14.5 tackles for loss (14 solo)

  • Tackles for loss resulted in 55 yards lost for opponent's offense

  • Made 31 of his 46 tackles with solo efforts

  • 4 sacks,  3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery

• KEVONTE BEARD (LB; Sr.) - FIRST TEAM

  • First-team All-CC in 2022, second-team in 2021, CC ROY of the 2019

  • 46 tackles

  • 7.5 tackles for loss

  • 1 forced fumble & 1 fumble recovery

  • 4th in school history in both tackles for loss (42.0) and yards in tackles for loss (154), has 200 career tackles

• Laurence Miller (K; Jr.) - FIRST TEAM

  • First all-conference honors of his career

  • Two-time CC Special Teams Player of the Week & two-time D3football.com National Team of the Week

  • Handled place kicking, kickoff, and punting duties

  • 11-for-14 on field goals, including a long of 50 yards which made him one of just two kickers in school history with field goals of at least 50 yards

  • Tied for school record for career field goals made (20)

  • Averaged 6.6 points per game scoring

• Matt Scully (LB; Jr.) - SECOND TEAM

  • Also an honorable mention All-CC kick returner during the 2021 season

  • Ranked seventh in the conference with 61 tackles, including 45 solo stops

  • Broke up 10 passes and intercepted another, making him one of three Diplomats who ranked in top six of Centennial for passes defended

  • Career-high 11 tackles versus Johns Hopkins

• Justin Gerhart (CB; Sr.) - SECOND TEAM

  • First-team All-CC and fourth-team All-American during 2022 season

  • Broke up 10 passes and intercepted two more despite offenses shying from his side of the field

  • 12 passes defended is the 12th-highest single-season total in school history

  • Career high 39 tackles, featuring 28 solo stops and three tackles for loss

• Matt Wertz (S; So.) - SECOND TEAM

  • Earns All-CC honors for the first time in his career

  • Tied with Gerhart for third in the Centennial Conference with 12 passes defended

  • Broke up 11 passes and intercepted one

  • Registered 62 tackles, including 35 solo stops

  • Career-high 13 tackles in back-to-back games versus Johns Hopkins and McDaniel

• Owen Walsh (LB; Sr.) - HONORABLE MENTION

  • First All-CC honors of his career

  • Two-year team captain

  • Career-high 62 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss

  • 5 pass break ups and 1 forced fumble

  • Enters Bowl Game with 13 and 10 tackles during Diplomats final two regular season games

  • Also named to the CC All-Sportsmanship Team

Franklin & Marshall in Bowl Games

Centennial Conference Standings

Centennial-MAC Bowl Series History

With a win versus Gettysburg and Ursinus victory over Dickinson, the Diplomats finished in a tie for third place in the Centennial Conference's regular season standings. Taking Johns Hopkins out as the conference's automatic qualifier, F&M is the Centennial Conference's No. 2 seed in the Centennial-MAC Bowl Series and will travel to King's (Pa.) who finished second in the MAC regular season standings and as the top seed from that conference.

• Diplomats are making 16th Bowl Game appearance all time, and their fifth in the last six seasons

• F&M has won its last four Centennial-MAC Bowl Series appearances

• Centennial-MAC Bowl Series Appearances: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021

• ECAC Bowl Appearances: 1986, 1987, 1989, 1996, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2012

• F&M Record in Bowl Games: Overall: 9-6 | Home: 6-2 | Away: 3-3 | Neutral: 0-1

Scouting King's (Pa.)

Franklin & Marshall and King's (Pa.) shared just one opponent during the regular season. The Diplomats starter ther 2023 season with a 16-12 win at Lebanon Valley. King's (Pa.) played Lebanon Valley on October 14 and emerged with a 35-21 victory of the Flying Dutchmen. THe Monarchs finishes their season at 8-2 overall, including a 7-2 record in the Middle Atlantic Conference. The team's lone setbacks came to No. 25 Delaware Valley (L, 28-0) and Widener (L, 31-14). Both of those losses were on the road as King's brings a a perfect 4-0 record at home into this game. King's last loss at home came during the 2022 Centennial-MAC Bowl series when Ursinus came away with a 24-13 win in Wilkes-Barre.

The Monarchs offense is led by senior quarterback Russell Minor-Shaw who was recently named the MAC Offensive Player of the Year. Minor-Shaw was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Week three times during the regular season. He led the MAC in total offense with 255.6 yards per game, ranking second and leading the team with 75.4 rushing yards per contest with 10 rushing touchdowns. He also finished the regular season fourth in passing yards per game with 180.2 on 1,802 total yards, fifth in scoring at 6.0 points per game, and third in scoring touchdowns with 10.  He was joined on the first-team offense by lineman Nate McGlone. Tight end Ryan McCombs and wide receiver Mike DiGregorio also earned second-team honors, with running back Jayon Hailey and offensive lineman Liam Carroll taking home honorable mention honors.

McCombs stepped right into a starting role and finished his season with 18 catches, averaing 18.90 yards per game while also recording 13.0 total tackles as an essential member of the Monarchs special teams unit. DiGregorio led the MAC in punt returns at 9.8 yards per attempt while placing seventh in the conference with a team-high 55.1 receiving yards per game. He led the MAC with seven receiving touchdowns.

Six Monarchs received all-conference recognition on the defensive side of hte ball, including first-team honorees Dallas Solomon (DL) and Joe Carchio (DB). Solomon led a run defense that ranked second in the MAC, limiting opponents to just 100.3 yards per game. He registered 4.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss among his 45 tackles. Carchio tied for first in the MAC with three forced fumbles. He ranked third in tackles for loss with a team-leading 14.5, and added a conference seventh-best and team-high 78.0 total tackles. Linebacker Jared Reto and defensive back Amir Gibson were second-team selections, with defensive lineman Jasslem Lettsome and linebacker Colin Hazelton picking up honorable mention accolades.

In addition to a strong return game, Anthony Prato highlighted the special teams honorees as a second-team All-MAC punter. Prato averaged 37.4 yards per punt, including a long of 73. He punted 41 times, with six of those punts traveling over 50 yards, pinning opponents inside their own 20 on 14 occassions. Dylan Manna has a strong leg on kickoffs and is averaging 56.1 yards per kickoff with four touchbacks. Nevertheless, the Monarchs attempts just four field goals all season long, converting two of those attempts (long of 32).