LANCASTER, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall football team improved to a perfect 3-0 all-time under the lights of Shadek Stadium with a 30-10 triumph over Lebanon Valley during the team's home opener on Friday evening. Opening the home slate with the third consecutive season of Football and Fireworks, the Diplomats (1-0) raced out to a 23-3 lead at the half and added another touchdown during the fourth quarter to improve to 102-33-1 all-time during their home openers.

First Quarter (F&M 14, Lebanon Valley 0)

The Franklin & Marshall defense was up to the challenge on Friday night right from the opening whistle as it forced Lebanon Valley into a pair of three-and-outs on its first two drives. The third offensive drive for the Flying Dutchmen lasted just one play as Connor Hille forced and recovered a fumble at midfield. Just two plays later, the Diplomats were on the board as Ty Tremba found Michael Poruban for a 47-yard touchdown strike.

Lebanon Valley didn't register a first down during the opening quarter and the Diplomats looked to be gaining their footing on offense as they embarked on a seven-play, 65-yard just before the close of the quarter that was capped by Aaron Rascoe's touchdown plunge to set the score at 14-0 with 1:37 to play in the opening period.

Second Quarter (F&M 23, Lebanon Valley 3)

The Flying Dutchmen recorded just 36 yards of total offense during the first quarter while Franklin & Marshall found the end zone for a third time during its first drive of the second quarter. This time, it was the Diplomats taking seven plays to go 62 yards before Jack O'Hearen caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Ty Tremba. The Diplomats unsuccessfully tried for the two-point conversion after LVC was called offsides on the initial PAT attempt to set the score at 20-0 with 10:57 to play before halftime. Lebanon Valley was only able to break the shutout with its first two first downs of the half just before the break, with the first half highlight from Lebanon Valley being a 56-yard field goal as time expired on the first 30 minutes.

Third Quarter (F&M 23, Lebanon Valley 3)

The third quarter saw Lebanon Valley get the ball back inside F&M territory, but Matt Wertz came up with an interception to thwart that drive. The Diplomats took over with 8:09 remaining in the quarter and soon embarked on their longest drive of the night to go up by 27 points.

Fourth Quarter (F&M 30, Lebanon Valley 10)

Franklin & Marshall capped its 14-play, 84-yard drive in 8:28 when Tremba found Brady Aselton for an eight-yard touchdown reception early in the fourth quarter. From there, the defense just continued to stand tall as Nico Medlar picked off a pass and Quincy Long came up with a fourth down sack to stop ensuing drive on downs. Lebanon Valley had its longest drive of the night during its final possession as it went 80 yards before catching a one-yard touchdown reception. Nevertheless, the Diplomats recovered Lebanon Valley's second attempt at an onside kick with 1:19 left in regulation and was able to go into the victory formation to salt away the remaining time.

Key Stats

Franklin & Marshall finished with a 397-216 advantage in total yards as the Flying Dutchmen were limited to just 54 yards on the ground – an average of just two yards per carry. Lebanon Valley was held to just 12 first downs on the night, with the Franklin & Marshall defense limiting their opponents to just 1-of-11 on third down efforts. The Diplomats also won the time of possession battle with over 35 minutes on offense.

In addition to his touchdown, O'Hearen finished with a game-high 109 yards receiving. Poruban finished with a game-high 106 receiving yards. Poruban added 85 yards receiving to his touchdown on just four catches. as Tremba threw for 284 yards and three total scores. Rascoe was the team's leading rushing as he ran 15 times for 69 yards – an average of 4.6 yards per carry – to out gain the entire Flying Dutchmen offense in the rushing game. Aidan Hutchison averaged 5.4 yards per carry on five runs. Medlar led the defensive efforts with eight tackles and has interception, while Connor Hille added six tackles and a forced fumble.

Up Next

Franklin & Marshall heads out on the road for the first time in the 2024 season next Saturday when the Diplomats travel to The College of New Jersey for a 3 p.m. kickoff. When these teams met for the first time in program history during the 2023 season, it was the Diplomats that came away with a 34-9 victory during what was last season's home opener.