Game Notes

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

Playing for the Conestoga Wagon, Franklin & Marshall was stunned on the final play of regulation as a two-yard touchdown from Dickinson's Diante Ball as time expired gave the Red Devils a 19-17 win in Carlisle. Owen Walsh came up with a huge stop on the previous play as the Diplomats appeared to have held on for the win, but the referees signaled that Dickinson's sideline had indeed called timeout with just eight-tenths of a second remaining, allowing the game-winning play to take place with that extra snap.

It took the Red Devils the entire 60 minutes to score an offensive touchdown, but they would do so on that final drive that went 21 plays and 98 yards while running the final 8:40 of time off the clock. That final play capped a back-and-forth wave of emotions for both sidelines as the Red Devils thought they had a go-ahead touchdown earlier that drive, only to have it waved off when the Dickinson receiver was called for offensive pass interference. Just a few plays later, F&M thought it had forced a fourth down with Dickinson 10 yards away before the Diplomats were whistled for a pass interference call that ultimately gave the Red Devils their much-needed two additional chances from the two-yard line. It was certainly a heart-breaking way to lose the Wagon after the Diplomats' defense had held the Red Devils to just 238 yards of total offense on the night prior to that final drive.

Stars of the Past Week

Quarterback Ty Tremba threw for 191 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Both of this touchdown receptions went to sophomore classmate Gary Lewis who eight passes for 141 yards. Franklin & Marshall's running game averaged 4.4 yards per carry, with Wilson and Wagner splitting the load with respective totals of 66 and 42 rushing yards. Laurence Miller was named the Centennial Conference Special Teams Player of the Week for his combined performance between the TCNJ and Dickinson contests. After hitting a 50-yard field goal against TCNJ during the home opener, Miller converted his only attempt from 19 yards at Dickinson and was 2-for-2 on PATs, with one of his three kickoffs going for a touchback.

Matt Scully led the F&M defense with eight tackles on the night, including a pair of sacks. As a unit, the F&M defense came away with six tackles for loss. Owen Walsh, Kevonte Beard, and Jeff Decker each had one solo stop behind the line of scrimmage. Tom Papa tied with Scully for the team lead at eight tackles. Justin Gerhart and Walsh both added six stops on the night. With a number of extended drives throughout the contest, Franklin & Marshall's offense had just seven drives while the Red Devils had six (three in each half). That final eight-plus minute drive allowed Dickinson to finish with 32:10 of possession time, compared to 27:50 for the Diplomats.

Last Game vs. Ursinus (2022)

Ursinus took a 22-7 victory inside Shadek Stadium as the teams will meet in Lancaster for the second consecutive season. The Diplomats got a touchdown during the fourth quarter from Aaron Rascoe, but could not came any closer against a Bears that was receiving votes at the time of that matchup. Franklin & Marshall's defense shined as the Diplomats forced Ursinus' offense to throw four interceptions, but the Diplomats were unable to turn those turnovers into points. With the four interceptions, F&M ties the school record for most interceptions in a game in school history. The 2022 team is now the only team in program history to hit that mark twice in the same year.

Owen Walsh came up with two of the team's four interceptions, with Dante Medlar and Matt Wertz also securing key takeaways in the secondary. Both defenses forced a pair of fumbles from the opposition. Walsh was all over the field on Saturday as he also led the team with 14 tackles on top of his interceptions. He was joined by three others who each recorded 10-plus tackles for F&M. Jacob Hille made 12 stops (five solo) in addition to breaking up a pass and registering the team's lone sack. Matt Scully and Brian Lafty also made 10 stops. Ursinus came into the game with a strong rushing attack and was very balanced all day on its way to a 304-176 advantage in yards. The Bears carried the ball 43 times for 136 yards on their way to gaining over 33 minutes in the time of possession battle.

Conference Home Opener Notables

With both teams coming into Saturday's contest looking to bounce back from tough losses in their first Centennial Conference matchups of the season, here is how the Diplomats have faired in the past during their first home conference game of the season.

• F&M is 42-22 all-time in their first home conference game of the season, but has lost the last two such contests. The Diplomats are 22-17 since joining the Centennial Conference in these battles.

• Prior to these most recent defeats during the 2021 & 2022 seasons, the Diplomats had won five straight home conference openers dating back to 2015. F&M won nine straight home conference openers in the Centennial Conference

• The program record for consecutive conference home opening wins was 12 which the Diplomats set as members of the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) from 1968-1979.

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 fourth 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...

• Team Rankings in Top 50 Nationally

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

  • 10th: Fourth down conversion defense (.167)

  • 30th: Team passing efficiency defense (99.43) - first in Centennial

  • 39th: Scoring defense (16.2)

  • 45th: Team passing efficiency (154.62)

  • 45th: Winning percentage (.750)

• Individuals in top 50 Nationallly

  • Laurence Miller

    • 2nd: Field goals per game (1.75) - first in Centennial

    • 24th: Field goal percentage (77.8%)

  • Matt Scully

    • 12th: Forced fumbles (0.5 per game) - first in Centennial

  • Chris Albero

    • 38th: Punt returns (10.6  ypr)

  • Gary Lewis

    • 5th: Scoring (14.0 ppg) - first in Centennial

    • 8th: Receiving touchdowns (8) - first in Centennial

    • 9th: Receptions per game (8.3) - first in Centennial

    • 11th: Receiving yards per game (123.0) - first in Centennial

    • 21st: Total touchdowns (7) - first in Centennial

    • 25th: Total points scored (42) -first in Centennial

    • Also leads Centennial Conference with 369 receiving yards, ranking 69th nationally

  • Ty Tremba

    • 47th: Yards per pass attempt (8.50)

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

• Kevonte Beard

  • Fumble return TDs: 1st (2)

  • Punt return TDs: t-3rd (1)

  • Yards from tackles for loss: 5th (133)

  • Tackles for loss: 6th (36.5)

  • Fumble returns: t-11th (1)

  • Fumble return yards: 21st (3)

  • Fumbles forced: t-24th (3)

• 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)

  • Passing TDs: 22nd (14)

  • Pass attempts: 23rd (286)

  • 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-23rd (18)

• Trey Glass

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

• Kell Hall

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

  • Passes defended: t-27th (17)

• Jacob Hille

  • Blocked kicks: t-12th (2)

• Nick Johnston

  • Kick return TDs: t-2nd (1)

• Gary Lewis

  • Receptions/game: 5th (5.00)

  • Average yards/catch: 10th (16.10)

  • All purpose yards/game: 12th (85.1)

  • Pass reception TDs: t-21st (10)

  • SINGLE-SEASON RANKINGS: Pass reception TDs: t-21st (7)

• Ryan McArthur

  • Punt return TDs: t-3rd (1)

• Laurence Miller

  • PAT kick pct: 3rd (93.5)

  • Field goals made: t-4th (16)

  • Field goal pct: 6th (72.7)

  • PAT kicks made: t-9th (58)

  • Total points scored: 30th (106)

  • SINGLE-SEASON RANKINGS: PAT kick pct: t-1st (100.0) | Field goals made: t-9th (7) | Field goal pct: t-12th (77.8 in 2023)

• Jack O'Hearen

  • Receptions/game: t-22nd (2.67)

• 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)

  • SINGLE-SEASON RANKINGS: Fumbles forced: t-26th (2 in 2023)

• Jack Sutton

  • Receptions/game: 24th (2.64)

• Ty Tremba

  • Pass efficiency: 1st (152.3)

  • Average yards/pass: 1st (8.9)

  • Passing yards/game: 1st (211.8)

  • Total offense/game: 1st (237.3)

  • Pass completion pct: 4th (61.7)

  • Average yards/completion: 4th (14.4)

  • Total offense/play: 4th (6.73)

  • Passing yards: 15th (2542)

  • Total offense yards: 15th (2848)

  • Passing TDs: t-16th (19)

  • Pass completions: 19th (177)

  • Pass attempts: 22nd (287)

  • TDs responsible for: t-29th (23)

  • SINGLE-SEASON RANKINGS: Pass efficiency: 4th (155.7 in 2023) | Average yards/pass: 6th (8.6 in 2023) | Total offense/play: 9th (7.10 in 2023) | Pass completion pct: 11th (61.3 in 2023) | Average yards/completion: 27th (14.0 in 2023)

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.

Centennial Conference Schedule

Friday, October 6
Gettysburg at Johns Hopkins (7 p.m.)

Saturday, October 7
Ursinus at Franklin & Marshall (1 p.m.)
McDaniel at Muhlenberg (1 p.m.)
Christopher Newport at Dickinson (1 p.m.) - non-conference
Scouting Ursinus

Similar to the Diplomats, Ursinus started the year 3-0, but dropped its conference opener. The Bears were defeated by a nationally-ranked Muhlenberg team by a 28-21 final despite scoring the only 13 points of the second half. Prior to that contest, the Bears were winning by an average of 23.6 points during contests against Alvernia, Kean, and Rowan. Kean and Franklin & Marshall will meet on October 28 during F&M's TrueBlue Weekend.

Jalen Bradford leads Ursinus' offense as the signal caller with an average of 276.8 yards per game through the air. He has thrown for 11 touchdowns and been intercepted four times while completing 60% of his passes. Cody House has been his favorite target with 22 catches for 235 yards and five touchdowns. House is a also a key to Ursinus' special teams on returns. He is averaging 22.57 yards per kickoff return and 9.89 yards on punt returns. Cameron Dallas has a team-high 246 yards receiving and two touchdowns, while Markel Roberts-Jackson has 10 receptions for 153 yards. The Bears additionally average 161 yards per game on the ground thanks in large part to the two-headed monster of Tony Holden and Dawson Fresses. Fresses has scored five touchdowns, carrying the ball 39 times for 189 yards (4.8 per carry). Holden has 74 rushing attempts for 291 yards (3.9 per carry), while scoring one touchdown.

Defensively, Brett Gross leads the Bears with 34 tackles (10 solo). Ryan Bodolus and Marc Clayton are tied for second on the team with 21 tackles each. Bodolus has made 7.5 of his stops behind the line of scrimmage, including 4.5 sacks. The Bears have gotten to the quarterback 14 times this season while conceding just four sacks through the first four games. Ursinus additionally has two interceptions and three fumble recoveries during the first four weeks. Kickoff returns could be at a premium in this game. In addition to F&M's weapon in Miller, Ursinus' Jordan Carr has seen 12 of his 25 kickoffs go for touchbacks. Bears' punter Billy Cook can be a field changer as he is averaging 41.3 yards per punt. Eight of his 17 punts have pinned opponents inside their own 20, with two of his punts traveling over 50 yards.