Game Notes

Last time out (L, 34-27 vs. #10 Johns Hopkins) ...

Franklin & Marshall team held a 7-6 lead at halftime against No. 10 Johns Hopkins and basically matched the Blue Jays score-for-score during the second half of a thrilling Centennial Conference affair inside Shadek Stadium. Despite falling by a 34-27 score, the Diplomats held 13-6 and 20-13 leads during the third quarter behind touchdown receptions from Brady Aselton and Gary Lewis.

Following Lewis' touchdown, the Blue Jays returned the ensuing kickoff 98 yards as part of a 21-0 run to help them take a lead that they would not relinquish. Aselton scored his second touchdown of the afternoon to break that run before the Diplomats elected for the element of surprise as they went for an onside kick with 4:50 remaining in regulation, but the Blue Jays were able to cover the possession and run out the remaining time on clock.

Stars of the Past Week

Ty Tremba threw for 188 yards and four touchdowns against the nationally-ranked Blue Jays. Brady Aselton caught two passes and they both went for touchdowns, while Gary Lewis and Jack Sutton were also the beneficiaries of Tremba's touchdown passes. Lewis had a team-high 59 yards receiving in the game. Mitch Wagner handled the bulk of the carries in the rushing game with 14 attempts for 77 yards, averaging 5.5 yards per carry.

Three different Diplomats registered at least 11 tackles in the victory. Matt Wertz led those efforts with 13 stops in addition to two pass break ups. Nico Medlar added 12 tackles, while Matt Scully made 11 tackles and came away with an interception. Both Jeff Decker and Kevonte Beard forced fumbles during the Centennial Conference matchup, with Decker also making 2.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

Last Game vs. McDaniel (W, 35-3)

The Diplomats scored 21 unanswered points during the first quarter and never looked back in a 35-3 win at McDaniel last season. Aaron Rascoe scored three touchdowns to lead the offense. Bobby Buchys also had a 16-yard interception return for a touchdown.  while the defense has also scored touchdowns during each of the first two conference contests. The Diplomats churned out 242 yards on the ground during that victory over the Green Terror. 

The defensive effort was spread out as 15 different Diplomats finished with multiple tackles during the victory. Jacob Hille and Jeff Decker led those efforts with seven stops each. Decker als accounted for a sack and two tackles for loss. The Diplomats picked off three passes in the win, with Buchys, Justin Gerhart, and Dnate Medlar each coming away with interceptions.

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

  • 13th: Fourth down conversion percentage (.700) - first in Centennial Conference

  • 42nd: Blocks punts (1) - first in Centennial Conference

  • 44th: Punt return defense (3.38)

  • 46th: Punt returns (12.57)

  • 47th: Team passing efficiency defense (109.55)

• Individuals in top 50 Nationallly

  • Laurence Miller

    • 10th: Field goals per game (1.17) - first in Centennial

    • 22nd: Field goal percentage (77.8%)

  • Matt Scully

    • 33rd: Forced fumbles (0.33 per game)

  • Matt Wertz

    • 27th: Pass break ups (1.5 per game)

  • Ty Tremba

    • 38th: Passing touchdowns (15)

  • Gary Lewis

    • 16th: Receiving touchdowns (8) - first in Centennial

    • 27th: Scoring (9.6 points per game) - first in Centennial

    • 44th: Total touchdowns (8) - first in Centennial

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

• Chris Albero

  • SINGLE SEASON RANKINGS: Average yards/punt return: 16th (11.00 in 2023)

• Kevonte Beard

  • Fumble return TDs: 1st (2)

  • Punt return TDs: t-3rd (1)

  • Yards from tackles for loss: 4th (147)

  • Tackles for loss: 5th (39.5)

  • Fumble returns: t-11th (1)

  • Fumbles forced: t-13th (4)

  • Fumble return yards: 21st (3)

  • Quarterback sacks: t-24th (12.0)

  • Yards from sacks: t-24th (63)

  • Unassisted tackles: t-25th (104)

• 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)

  • 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)

• Jeff Decker

  • Yards from tackles for loss: 20th (83)

  • Tackles for loss: t-24th (21.0)

• Justin Gerhart

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

  • Interceptions: t-10th (9)

  • Passes defended: t-17th (21)

  • Interception return yards: 22nd (94)

• Trey Glass

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

• Kell Hall

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

  • Passes defended: t-24th (18)

• Matt Hanna

  • SINGLE-SEASON RANKINGS: Average yards/kick return: 21st (21.78)

• 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 (15.91)

  • All purpose yards/game: 15th (78.1)

  • Pass reception TDs: t-19th (11)

  • SINGLE-SEASON RANKINGS: Receptions/game: 13th (6.20) | Pass reception TDs: t-15th (8)

• Ryan McArthur

  • Punt return TDs: t-3rd (1)

• Laurence Miller

  • Field goals made: t-4th (16)

  • PAT kick pct: 5th (91.3)

  • Field goal pct: 6th (72.7)

  • PAT kicks made: 7th (63)

  • Total points scored: t-28th (111)

  • SINGLE-SEASON RANKINGS: Field goals made: t-9th (7) | Field goal pct: t-12th (77.8) | PAT kick pct: t-26th (87.5) | Average yards/punt: 28th (36.43)

• Jack O'Hearen

  • Receptions/game: t-23rd (2.67)

• 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)

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

• Jack Sutton

  • Average yards/catch: 18th (14.80)

  • Receptions/game: 20th (2.81)

• Ty Tremba

  • Average yards/pass: 1st (8.3)

  • Total offense/game: 1st (230.6)

  • Pass efficiency: 2nd (147.0)

  • Passing yards/game: 2nd (206.4)

  • Average yards/completion: 5th (14.2)

  • Total offense/play: 5th (6.46)

  • Pass completion pct: 6th (58.5)

  • Passing TDs: t-11th (25)

  • Passing yards: 13th (2890)

  • Total offense yards: 13th (3229)

  • Pass completions: 15th (203)

  • Pass attempts: t-18th (347)

  • TDs responsible for: t-18th (29)

  • SINGLE-SEASON RANKINGS: Total offense/game: 8th (232.7) | Passing yards/game: 9th (209.5) | Pass efficiency: 10th (143.4) | Passing TDs: t-13th (15) | Average yards/pass: 17th (7.6) | Total offense/play: 18th (6.35) | TDs responsible for: t-23rd (15) | Pass completion pct: 28th (54.8) | Average yards/completion: 29th (13.8)

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

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.

Muhlenberg (3-0 CC), Johns Hopkins (2-0 CC), and Dickinson (2-0) are all undefeated in Centennial Conference play. The Diplomats are currently tied fourth with Gettysburg at 1-2 in the conference. McDaniel enters the week looking for its first win of the season as the Green Terror at 0-6 (0-3 CC).

Centennial Conference Schedule

Saturday, October 21
Muhlenberg at Dickinson (1 p.m.)
Ursinus at Johns Hopkins (1 p.m.)
Franklin & Marshall at McDaniel (1 p.m.)
Gettysburg at The College of New Jersey (1 p.m.) - Non-conference game

Scouting McDaniel

The Green Terror are looking for their first win of the year and enter Saturday's game on the heels of a 40-20 defeat at the hands of Dickinson. Their closest game of the season with a 27-20 loss versus Gettysburg to start Centennial Conference play.  Three different quarterbacks have seen significant time under center. Angel Granado is expected to get the start under center. He has completed 57.8% of his passes this year, throwing for 520 yards over five games (104.0 average), with four touchdowns and two interceptions. Granado is also averaging 5.1 yards per carry on the ground. Trent Gaskins has seen the majority of the carries on the ground where he has carried for 384 yards over six games, averaging 4.0 yards per attempt. McDaniel's top receiver has been Sean Carter who has more than double the number of receptions of any other Green Terror receiver (42). However, Hunter Sigler has accounted for four of the team's eight receiving touchdowns with just 15 receptions.

Four players on the Green Terror have accounted for at least 20 tackles this season. Mike Dunn leads the way with 42 tackles, while Jevin Tranquillo is second on the team with 36 stops. Those players have each accounted for a team-best seven tackles for loss. Dunn has 3.5 sacks this season, with Tranquillo adding three more. McDaniel has gotten to the quarterback 14 times in six games this season. Chris Wilson is the only defensive back with multiple interceptions on the season. With a strong performance on special teams, the Diplomats should get great starting position as the Green Terror are averaging just 51.9 yards per kickoff and 32.9 yards per punt.