WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall football team closed out its 2023 season with a 30-7 victory at King's (Pa.) on Saturday during the Centennial-MAC Bowl Series. The Monarchs (8-3) finished as the MAC runner-up during the regular season, but the Diplomats stifled that offense throughout Saturday's bowl game and did not allow a point until there was just over four minutes to play in the third quarter. That left plenty of time for the offense to find its grove as the Diplomats scored all 30 of their points during the final 40 minutes, including 21 second half points.
The win gives the Diplomats their most victories in a season since the 2018 campaign when they also went 8-3 and won their Centennial-MAC Bowl Series game. The Diplomats' win was its 10th all-time in a bowl game, improving the team's record to 10-6 overall in postseason contests. That includes five straight victories in the Centennial-MAC Bowl series which the Diplomats have now played in during six of the past seven seasons. Today's contest marked the first time that Franklin & Marshall and King's (Pa.) had ever met in a football game.
First Quarter (Franklin & Marshall 0, King's 0)
Franklin & Marshall won the opening coin toss and elected to defer to the second half, giving its defense an early chance to make a stand. The Diplomats would do just that as the Monarchs crossed into F&M territory, but were stopped on fourth down. King's held onto the ball for over eight minutes during its second possession of the game, but a missed field goal kept the game scoreless.
Second Quarter (Franklin & Marshall 9, King's 0)
With that key place on special teams, the Diplomats marched 80 yards on their second possession and scored on an 11 play drive. Gary Lewis had the two big receptions on that drive as he caught a pair of 24 yard passes. The first got F&M out to near midfield, while the second was his 17th receiving touchdown of the season to extend his school record in that category. King's offense went three-and-out during its only possessions of the second quarter, giving F&M a chance to take a two score lead into the break.
F&M took a 9-0 lead into the half when Laurence Miller converted from 26 yards at the 5:21 mark of the second quarter. A pair of Monarchs' penalties on the drive loomed large, with a 22 yard reception from Jack Sutton providing another explosive play for the offense prior to the eventual field goal.
Third Quarter (Franklin & Marshall 16, King's 7)
The Diplomats' defense made it four consecutive three-and-outs with a stop on King's first possession in the second half as a sack from game MVP Owen Walsh ended that drive. That gave F&M great field possession after just a 27 yard punt. Mitch Wagner got 13 of the 39 yards to go before Sutton hit his second explosive play of the afternoon by hauling in a 30-yard touchdown reception from Tremba on third-and-17 to make the score 16-0 after the PAT. King's answered that touchdown with its only scoring drive of the day as the hosts went 83 yards to make the score 16-7 with 4:34 to play in the third quarter.
Fourth Quarter (Franklin & Marshall 30, King's 7)
After allowing its only points of the afternoon, the F&M defense made it five out six drives drives by the Monarchs with a three-and-out before the offense embarked on a 15-play, 80-yard touchdown drive early in the fourth quarter. The Diplomats originally thought they had a 26-yard field goal from Miller, but that play was nullified as a roughing the kicker penalty resulted in a first down. F&M needed just one play after that as Wagner burst through the line for a five-yard touchdown run during his final F&M game.
F&M's defense ended each of King's final three drives on fourth downs, including another sack from Walsh to set up the final score of the afternoon. Taking over at the King's 12 following that sack and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, Wagner capped his Diplomat career in style with a three straight runs to account for those 12 yards, finding the end zone for a second time on his six-yard rushing TD.
Key Players & Stats
Franklin & Marshall nearly doubled up King's in first downs with a 26-14 advantage as the Monarchs gained just 221 yards of total offense while also committing 116 yards worth of penalties. Matt Scully led the Diplomats with nine tackles, while 11 total tackles for loss told the story of the pressure that F&M put King's under all afternoon. Six of those plays in the backfield came on sacks, including 2.5 from Jeff Decker in addition to Walsh's MVP day that featured two sacks and six tackles. Kevonte Beard also made 1.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage in his final F&M game as both he and Decker tied for second on the team with seven tackles.
The Diplomats out-gained King's in both the passing and rushing games. Tremba threw for 184 yards and two touchdowns under center. Sutton and Lewis were the aforementioned beneficiaries of those touchdowns as they each went for over 60 yards receiving as six different players caught a pass. In addition to his two touchdowns, Wagner posted a career-best 119 yards rushing to help the Diplomats churn out 144 yards of offense on the ground.
Up Next
With another successful postseason appearance capping the 2023 season on a high note, the Diplomats will now take time to celebrate the success of this past season. Today's victory also ensured one last win for the 33 members of the team's senior class which accounted for two bowl victories and 20 total wins over the past three seasons. F&M has now posted eight consecutive winning seasons dating back to 2015 and has not had a losing season in over a decade.
