Game Notes

Last time out (W, 34-9 vs. TCNJ) ...

Franklin & Marshall scored at least 10 points during each of the first three quarters of its home opener against The College of New Jersey last Thursday night to come away with a 34-9 victory in front of the home crowd. The Diplomats forced a three-and-out on the first TCNJ possession and got a huge interception from returning All-American Justin Gerhart to set them up around midfield on their second drive. Ty Tremba got them across midfield before finding Gary Lewis in the end zone just two plays later for the 31-yard strike. When Dickinson came up short on its first field goal attempt, Matt Scully returned that kick 42 yards to set up an 50-yard field goal from Laurence Miller.

F&M again had good starting position during its second drive of the second quarter and moved the ball across midfield on a 19-yard run from Dante Wilson. That play helped set the table for Lewis to go up and grab his second touchdown reception of the night on a 22-yard reception. The two teams would trade field goals on their final drives of the half as Miller connected from 43 yards. The only touchdown of the night that did not go to Lewis came early in the third as O'Hearen caught a slant and just kept running for 62 yards before he found the end zone 89 seconds into the second half. Luke Dauberman came up with the big fourth down stop at the two on the next TCNJ possession. With the momentum only building after the defensive stop, the Diplomats embarked on an 11-play, 98-yard drive that resulted in a six-yard touchdown reception from Lewis who also had a 22-yard reception early in that drive.

Stars of the Past Week

The headliner of the week was Laurence Miller who drilled a 50-yard field goal with room to spare as part of his 10-point (2-for-2 FG, 4-for4 PAT) night. His efforts helped him be named to the D3football.com National Team of the Week. The Diplomats have now had two players named to the national team of the week after just three games. The last time the Diplomats had two players named to the D3football.com National Team of the Week was during the 2007 season.

No Centennial Conference Player of the Week awards were presented as the Diplomats were the only CC team in action during what was originally scheduled to be a bye week. However, reigning CC Offensive Player of the Week had another strong game with  three receiving touchdowns, totaling eight receptions and 109 receiving yards through the air. Jack O'Hearen matched his total of 109 yards receiving on just three catches. Ty Tremba finished with 274 yards passing and four touchdowns, going 18-for-26 through the air. Justin Gerhart led the defense with seven solo tackles (two TFL), one interception, and two pass break ups.

The Conestoga Wagon 

Since 1963, the Diplomats and Red Devils have battled each other for a model of the wagon that transported the two teams to play each other in both meetings back in 1889. The trophy is a gift from former athletic directors Dave Eavenson (DC) and J. Shober Barr (F&M) and is meant to symbolize the gridiron rivalry between the two programs.

Conference Opener Notables

The Diplomats are 3-0 after defeating Lebanon Valley and two NJAC schools as part of the scheduling agreement. They will open Centennial Conference play this week against the Red Devils.

• F&M is 40-23-1 all-time in conference openers (22-17 overall in those games since joining the Centennial Conference)

• F&M is 20-10-1 when opening conference play on the road (10-8 in Centennial Conference)

• The Diplomats are 38-25-1 all-time in their first conference road games of the season (20-19 since joining Centennial Conference)

• F&M's most common conference opening opponent has been Ursinus, who the Diplomats have opened conference play against with 28 times in program history

• The Diplomats played their first-ever MAC game against Dickinson on September 27, 1958 and emerged with a 32-0 victory.

• F&M will be playing Dickinson in the conference opener for just the fifth time in school history as the Diplomats did not play the Red Devils in their conference opener again until the 2007 season when they met in the first CC matchup for three straight seasons

• Dickinson won each of those Centennial Conference openers during the 2007 (28-21), 2008 (34-20), and 2009 (45-43) seasons

Nine Games in nine weeks

The postponed TCNJ game will create a unique challenge for this year's team as it is set to play the third of nine games in nine consecutive weeks. However, that is not as rare as a might seem at first glance.

• F&M has played nine games in nine weeks during 43 others seasons (first since 2007)

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

• The 1972 & 1974 teams were only teams to go undefeated during their nine games in nine week stretches, they were 4th & 5th undefeated teams in school history

• Since CC was formed, the best record during a nine game/nine week stretch was 8-1 by both the 1986 & 1989 teams

• This will be the first time since 2004 that F&M will be playing five home games in a span of 51 days or fewer

Looking at the national rankings...

• In the stat that ultimately matters most, the Diplomats are one of 43 Division III programs that head into the fifth week of the Division III season with an undefeated record. That group also includes fellow Centennial Conference foes Johns Hopkins, Muhlenberg, and Ursinus. Fittingly, those teams were the top four picks in the Centennial Conference preseason poll

• Team Rankings in Top 50 Nationally

  • 1st: Fourth down conversions (100%) - first in Centennial

  • 14th: Fourth down conversion defense (.167)

  • 28th: Time of possession (33:22)

  • 30th: Team passing efficiency defense (97.08)

  • 45th: Scoring defense (15.3 ppg)

  • 45th: Punt returns (12.25 ypr)

  • 46th: Red zone defense (.667)

• Individuals in top 50 Nationallly

  • Laurence Miller

    • 1st: Field goals per game (2.0) - first in CC

    • 30th: Field goal percentage (75.0%)

  • Kyle Jones

    • 36th: Fumbles recovered (1)

  • Matt Scully

    • 3rd: Forced fumbles (0.67 per game)

    • 36th: Fumbles recovered (1)

  • Chris Albero

    • 24th: Punt returns (12.2 ypr)

  • Gary Lewis

    • 16th: Receiving touchdowns (5)

    • 45th: Total touchdowns (5)

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

• Kevonte Beard

  • Fumble return TDs: 1st (2)

  • Punt return TDs: t-3rd (1)

  • Tackles for loss: 6th (35.5)

  • Yards from tackles for loss: 6th (130)

  • Fumble returns: t-11th (1)

  • Fumble return yards: 21st (3)

  • Fumbles forced: t-24th (3)

  • Quarterback sacks: t-29th (10.5)

• Logan Clouse

  • Pass completion pct: 14th (50.7)

  • Total offense/game: 16th (102.0)

  • Passing yards/game: 17th (94.4)

  • Pass efficiency: 20th (102.1)

  • Pass attempts: 22nd (286)

  • Passing TDs: 22nd (14)

  • Pass completions: 23rd (145)

  • Passing yards: 26th (1511)

  • Average yards/pass: 28th (5.3)

  • Average yards/completion: 30th (10.4)

• Justin Gerhart

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

  • Interceptions: t-10th (9)

  • Interception return yards: 22nd (94)

  • Passes defended: t-26th (17)

• Trey Glass

  • Average yards/kick return: 16th (20.27)

• Kell Hall

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

• Jacob Hille

  • Blocked kicks: t-12th (2)

• Nick Johnston

  • Kick return TDs: t-2nd (1)

• Gary Lewis

  • Receptions/game: 5th (4.67)

  • Average yards/catch: 11th (15.81)

  • All purpose yards/game: 15th (78.9)

  • Pass reception TDs: t-28th (8)

• Ryan McArthur

  • Punt return TDs: t-3rd (1)

• Laurence Miller

  • PAT kick pct: 4th (93.3)

  • Field goals made: t-5th (15)

  • Field goal pct: 6th (71.4)

  • PAT kicks made: 10th (56)

• Jack O'Hearen

  • Receptions/game: 21st (2.75)

• Matt Scully

  • Average yards/kick return: 1st (24.27)

  • Kick return TDs: t-2nd (1)

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

  • Kick return yards: 7th (801)

  • Kick returns: 11th (33)

• Jack Sutton

  • Receptions/game: 20th (2.77)

• Ty Tremba

  • Pass efficiency: 1st (149.5)

  • Average yards/pass: 1st (8.8)

  • Passing yards/game: 1st (213.7)

  • Total offense/game: 1st (239.1)

  • Average yards/completion: 4th (14.4)

  • Pass completion pct: 5th (60.8)

  • Total offense/play: 5th (6.59)

  • Passing yards: 16th (2351)

  • Total offense yards: 19th (2630)

  • Passing TDs: t-19th (17)

  • Pass completions: 20th (163)

  • Pass attempts: 23rd (268)

• Owen Walsh

  • QB hurries: t-8th (2)

Returning All-Centennial Conference Performers

• Kevonte Beard - LB/DE (2022 first team; 2021 second team); 2019 Rookie of the Year

• Jeff Decker - DE (2022 second team)

• Justin Gerhart - CB (2022 first team) - 2022 All-American

• Jacob Hille - LB (2022 second team)

• Matt Scully - KR (2021 honorable mention)

Centennial Conference/Postseason Outlook

Centennial Conference Standings

The Diplomats were picked fourth in the Centennial Conference poll. Removing the automatic qualifier who will go to the NCAA Tournament and accounting for the possibility of any at-large selections to the national tournament, the next three teams in the Centennial Conference standings who do not advance to the NCAA Tournament will play in the Centennial-MAC Bowl series on the Saturday following the regular season finale.

This week will be the Centennial Conference opener for six of the seven Centennial Conference schools

Centennial Conference Schedule

Friday, September 29
Franklin & Marshall at Dickinson (7 p.m.)
Muhlenberg at Ursinus (7 p.m.)

Saturday, September 30
Gettysburg at McDaniel (1 p.m.)
Johns Hopkins at Rowan (1 p.m.); non-conference

Scouting Dickinson

The Red Devils fell to a RPI squad that was receiving votes in the national polls during week one by a 38-27 score.  Dickinson will bring a two-game winning streak into Friday's conference opener as the Red Devils has since bested William Paterson (W, 29-17) and Kean (W, 24-13). Franklin & Marshall ranks fourth in the conference in both scoring offense (81) and scoring defense (46), while Dickinson is fifth in those respective categories (80 PF, 68 PA).

Dickinson will certainly look to use its run game as it averages 183.3 yards per game on the ground which is second in the conference only to Ursinus. Diante BAll has carried 60 times for 318 yards through three games. He is averaging 5.1 yards per carry and has already scored three touchdowns on the ground. Quarterback Presley Egbers has 167 yards rushing through three games, while also reaching the end zone three times. Egbers is averaging just 150.3 yards per game through the air, throwing four touchdowns and two interceptions. His favorite target has been Princeton Douglass who has seven catches for 114 yards and two touchdowns after three games.

John Prochniak, the older brother of F&M junior Aidan Prochniak, is leading the team with 22 tackles (12 solo). Brendan Walker also has 20 tackles (14 solo) through the first three games. The Red Devils have gotten just four sacks through the first three games, with Bram Leys' two sacks leading the way. Both Jeremy Reid and Justin Rocha have picked off the opposing quarterback once in 2023. As a defense, Dickinson has additionally forced five turnovers.