Franklin & Marshall (6-1, 4-1 CC) at McDaniel (4-3, 2-3 CC)

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the vitals
F&M leads 24-16-2 | In Westminster: F&M leads 11-7 | In Centennial: 16-10

Franklin & Marshall will do battle with McDaniel for the 43rd time in a series that dates back to 1904. F&M has won each of the last five meetings, three of which were played in Lancaster. The last two meetings in Westminster saw the Diplomats walk off with overtime wins. The 2005 overtime win ended a decade long drought for the Diplomats in North Central Maryland. The 2007 overtime win spoiled McDaniel’s homecoming.

spooky statistics
Franklin & Marshall has played 17 Halloween games and holds a record of 9-6-2. F&M has faced McDaniel twice on Halloween. Neither team owns a win in those games. The 1942 and 1959 meetings both ended in 14-14 ties. The Diplomats have pitched five shutouts on October 31 and has been shut out twice on this date.

the last meeting
George Eager (Lititz, Pa / Manheim Twp.) hauled in seven passes for 138 yards and a touchdown as Franklin & Marshall shutout McDaniel 20-0 on Sponaugle-Williamson. The shutout was F&M’s third of the season, and left the Diplomats unbeaten at home through four games on its own turf.  Eager’s 65-yard touchdown came on a reverse option pass from Jarrell Diggs (Baltimore/Gilman).

f&m last week
Given a 13-0 edge, Franklin & Marshall’s defense repeatedly came up with plays when needed to hold off Muhlenberg in a rain-soaked 20-7 Homecoming win. Two big pass plays gave F&M a 13-0 jump in the first quarter, not too long before the field became a quagmire. Jarrell Diggs threw his third career touchdown pass, hitting George Eager for a 31-yard strike. The defense took over from there with Barry Lovett (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Poly Prep) recovering a fumble and scoring. F&M came up with four stops on five Mules’ fourth down attempts to hold on for the win.

mcdaniel last week
Teddy Conrad and Travis Evans each ran for 133 yards as part of a 276-yard rushing attack in Ursinus’ 48-13 win over McDaniel. The Bears finished with 482 yards of total offense and limited the Green Terror to a season-low 25 yards rushing and 263 yards of total offense in front of a rain-soaked Homecoming crowd.

even steven
With three takeaways and one possession lost last Saturday, Franklin & Marshall is sitting even par in turnover margin. Takeaways and turnovers have come in spates for F&M this season. After the first two games, F&M was a +2 (7-5), but then went three games without a takeaway, while losing possession seven times to drop to a -5 (12-7).  During the two-game homestand against Lehigh Valley opponents, F&M took the ball seven times and gave it away twice. On the season, F&M has 14 turnovers and 14 takeaways.

the joy of sacks
With seven games on the books, Franklin & Marshall has 23 sacks for losses of 149 yards so far this season. That effort ties the current edition of the Diplomats with the 2002 squad for the second most productive season of dropping quarterbacks this decade. The 2003 squad recorded 28 for losses of 160 yards.

the joy of sacks, part II
Three different players are tied for the team lead in sacks with two more right behind. Sam Massaro (Old Tappan, N.J. / Northern Valley Old Tappan), C.T. Marsh (Phoenix, Md. / Loyola-Blakefield) and Mark Surma (Philadelphia / Central) each have four sacks this year, while Donald Wiezik (River Vale, N.J. / Pascak Valley) is a half sack off of that pace. Drew Hutcheon (Mt. Laurel, N.J. / Bishop Eustace) has 2.5 sacks. 11 different Diplomats have gotten to the quarterback this season.

third down defense
F&M’s defense has been stingy on third down this season stopping opponents 69.6 percent of the time. The opposition has converted on 21 of 94 attempts this year.

slightly better odds on fourth down
On fourth down, opponents have converted on 38.8% of 4th down attempts. F&M’s defense stopped four of Muhlenberg’s five fourth down attempts last Saturday. Opponents are just 7-of-18 on fourth down attempts against F&M’s defense this year. Only one opponent has converted on fourth down more than once this season: Catholic. The Cardinals went 2-for-4 in F&M’s 42-21 win.

we still lovett
Barry Lovett’s 69-yard scoop and score against Muhlenberg was F&M’s first fumble return for a touchdown since Peter Mohoric’s 50-yard fumble return against Carnegie Mellon in 1992. Lovett was all over the field with six tackles and a pass breakup, spearheading a defense that forced four turnovers on downs.

back in the high life
Fourth year coach, John Troxell, may be nearing the end of the growing pains associated with rebuilding a program. With last week’s win over Muhlenberg, he is above .500 in Centennial Conference games for the first time since his first Centennial Conference, which also came against Muhlenberg. That was September 30, 1996.

winner’s circle

Franklin & Marshall secured its first winning season since the 2004 campaign with last week’s win over Muhlenberg. The Diplomats were 8-3 that season. This is the first winning season any player on F&M’s roster has experienced in their collegiate careers.

f&m’s provost
Since taking over a starting role on the defensive line a month ago, Kenny Provost (Petoskey, Mich. / Petoskey), has been a playmaker on the line. The freshman, who is listed a center on the depth-chart and offensive lineman on the roster, batted down his second pass of the season on Saturday. He also recovered a fumble that set up an F&M touchdown. 

freshman force
Massaro has been a dominant force on the Diplomats’ defense this season. The first-year linebacker leads the team with 57 tackles (36 solo / 21 ast). His eight tackles for losses of 44 yards leads the team, while his four sacks for 37 yards of losses is tied for the team lead. Massaro is also tied for the team lead in interceptions. He and cornerback, Ty Savastio (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East), have three apiece.

harrison’s heroics
Sophomore signal caller, John Harrison (Flourtown, Pa. / La Salle College H.S.) has seen his numbers decline with the heavy rain over the past two weeks. The rain still can’t dampen one of the most impressive seasons – and two-year runs – on the F&M record books.

There are several potential season and career milestones that may be passed today. One touchdown would give Harrison the F&M record for touchdowns in a season.  26 completions would give Harrison the single season mark in that category, while 231 yards would reset the school mark for passing yards in a season.

On the career front, Harrison could potentially move into the top five in completions. He is the eighth passer in F&M history with 300 completions in a career. 31 more will give him sole ownership of fifth place on that chart. He is 257 yards from jumping up to eighth on the career passing yards chart and 368 from overtaking seventh. Two touchdowns will tie him for third overall in career TDs, while three will give him sole ownership of third. Here is a look at the charts on which Harrison is launching an all-out aerial assault:

pass attempts - season
1.     357    Kyle Turner (196-357-9)        2007
11.    253    John Harrison (171-253-5)    2009
16.    228    John Harrison (133-228-11)   2008

pass attempts - career
1.    925    Bill Meekings (479-925-37)    1990-93
10.    481    John Harrison (304-481-16)    2008-09

pass completions - season
1.    196    Kyle Turner (196-357-9)    2007
2.    174    Bill Meekings (174-357-23)    1992
3.    171    John Harrison (171-253-5)    2009
11.    133    John Harrison (133-228-11)    2008

pass completions - career
1.    479    Bill Meekings (479-925-37)    1990-93
8.    304    John Harrison (304-481-16)    2008-09

passing yards - season
1.    2203    Kyle Turner (196-357-9)    2007
5.    1973    John Harrison (171-253-5)    2009
21.    1357    John Harrison (133-228-11)    2008

passing yards - career
1.    5631    Bill Meekings (479-925-37)    1990-93
10.    3330    John Harrison (304-481-16)    2008-09

passing touchdowns - season
1.    21    John Harrison    2009
    21    Geno Pagnozzi    1989
10.    14    John Harrison    2008

passing TDs - career
1.    52    Joe Coviello    1973-76
6.    35    John Harrison    2008-09

completion percentage - season
1.    67.6    John Harrison (171-253-5)    2009
2.    60.0    Seiki Murono (108-180-6)    1964
3.    58.3    Rob Shepardson (91-156-10)    1979
    58.3    John Harrison (133-228-11)    2008

pass completion percentage - career
1.    63.2    John Harrison (304-481-16)    2008-09
2.    56.5    Joe Coviello (334-591-36)    1973-76

pass efficiency rating - season
1.    162.8    Dale Ritter (50-87-7)    1952
2.    156.5    John Harrison (171-253-5)    2009

pass efficiency - career
1.    139.5    Joe Coviello (334-591-36)    1973-76
2.    138.7    John Harrison (304-481-16)    2008-09


on the receiving end
Jay Ridinger (Lititz, Pa. / Manheim Twp.) became the ninth Diplomat to reach the century mark in receptions last week. He also moved into a seventh place tie for career touchdown receptions with seven. George Eager became the fourth Diplomat to join the 2,000-yard club. He did so during last week’s win over Muhlenberg. He also tied Justin Salton for second on the career touchdowns list. Here is a look at Eager and Ridinger’s standing on the career charts, along with other active players’ current season and career rankings:

pass reception yards - season
1.    1302    Dale Amos (72-1302)    1989
12.    766    George Eager (70-766)    2007
18.    637    George Eager (51-637)    2008
19.    634    George Eager (50-634)    2009
34.    519    Jay Ridinger (42-519)    2007

pass reception yards - career
1.    3846    Dale Amos (233-3846)    1986-89
4.    2037    George Eager (171-2037)    2007-09
17.    1187    Jay Ridinger (102-1187)    2007-09

pass receptions - season
1.    84    Justin Salton (84-968)    2003
5.    70    George Eager (70-766)    2007
9.    51    George Eager (51-637)    2008
10.    50    George Eager (50-634)    2009
24.    42    Jay Ridinger (42-519)    2007
38.    34    Jay Ridinger (34-434)    2009

pass receptions - career
1.    241    Justin Salton (241-3136)    1999-03
3.    171    George Eager (171-2037)    2007-09
8.    102    Jay Ridinger (102-1187)    2007-09

pass reception TDs - season
1.    15    Dale Amos    1989
4.    9    George Eager    2009
11.    8    George Eager    2007
16.    6    George Eager    2008
    6    Jay Ridinger    2007
35.    4    Michael Deutch    2009
    4    Jay Ridinger    2009

pass reception TDs - career
1.    35    Dale Amos    1986-89
2.    23    Justin Salton    1999-03
    23    George Eager    2007-09
7.    13    Jay Ridinger    2007-09
31    5    Michael Deutch    2007-09
39.    4    Ryan Murray    2006-09

all-purpose yards - career
1.    3896    Dale Amos    1986-89
2.    3655    Corby Lucas    1993-96
3.    3497    George Eager    2007-09

total points scored
1.    108    Kenneth Davis (18 TD)    1952
8.    70    George Eager (11 TD, 2 PAT)    2009

total points scored - career
1.    210    Dale Amos (35 TD)    1986-89
3.    160    George Eager (26 TD, 2 PAT)    2007-09
32.    80    Ryan Murray (13 TD, 1 PAT)    2006-09
    80    Jay Ridinger (13 TD, 1 PAT)    2007-09

touchdowns scored - season
1.    18    Kenneth Davis (12 rush, 6 rcv)    1952
7.    11    George Eager (9 rcv, 2 ret)    2009

touchdowns scored - career
1.    35    Dale Amos (35 rcv)    1986-89
3.    26    George Eager (23 rcv, 3 ret)    2007-09
24.    13    Ryan Murray (9 rush, 4 rcv)    2006-09
    13    Jay Ridinger (13 rcv)    2007-09
39.    10    John Kaschak (8 rush, 2 rcv)    2008-09

kick return TDs - season
1.    2    George Eager    2009

kick return TDs - career
1.    3    George Eager    2007-09

average yards/kick return - season
1.    30.42        George Eager (12-365)    2009
2.    27.11        George Eager (19-515)    2008

average yards/kick return - career
1.    25.04        George Eager (52-1302)    2007-09

interceptions - career
1.    15    Kevin Waninger (15-81)    1975-78
15.    7    Jeff Kellar (7-107)    2006-09
21.    6    Barry Lovett (6-56)    2005,07-09
29.    4    Ty Savastio (4-35)    2008-09

interception return tds - career
1.    2    Jack Van Horne    1971-74
    2    Tim Sheridan    1994-96
    2    Jeff Kellar    2006-09
    2    Joe Cavallo    1985-87

fumble return tds - career
1.    1    Oliver Mattas    1962
    1    James Cawley    1960-62
    1    Matt Capone    2001-04
    1    Peter Mohoric    1999-02
    1    Barry Lovett    2005,07-09
    1    Mark Truskey    1972-73,75