LANCASTER, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall football team swept the weekly Centennial Conference awards for the first time this season after a thrilling 29-28 overtime win against Johns Hopkins to clinch the Centennial Conference Championship and the program's first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Ty Tremba (offensive), Connor Hille (defensive), and LT Kelley (special teams) were the latest weekly recipients. The Diplomats completed the regular season with 12 combined conference player of the week honors (five special teams, four defensive, and three offensive). The Diplomats had half of the conference's special teams players of the week this season, with no other school winning that honor more than twice. Defensive player of the week honors went to F&M four times with no other team capturing that accolade more than twice. Franklin & Marshall also tied with Johns Hopkins for the most offensive player of the week honors in the conference this fall.
During the win against Johns Hopkins, Ty Tremba threw for 250 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for another score as the Diplomats defeated third-ranked Johns Hopkins. Tremba also had 18 rushes as 43 of F&M's plays were either a run or pass from Tremba, who led a comeback from down 21-0 in the second quarter. He also passed for the game-winning two-point conversion in overtime, lofting a short touch pass to Louis Paris for the game- and championship-clinching play. During the win against Johns Hopkins, Tremba broke the school record for both passing yards in a career (8,943) and touchdowns responsible for in a career (92). Tremba has now been named the Centennial Conference's Offensive Player of the Week three times in his career, including twice during the 2025 campaign.
Connor Hille won defensive player of the week honors after tying for a team-high 13 tackles. Hille and the rest of the F&M defense were on the field for 41 minutes and did not allow a point during the final 38:31 of regulation time. Hille now leads the Diplomats with 68 tackles (34 solo). He has also recorded 4.5 tackles for loss to go with two sacks. He additionally intercepted one pass and recovered a fumble during the regular season.
LT Kelley blocked the potential game-winning field goal with two seconds left in regulation time to force overtime. That play earned Kelley special teams player of the week honors for the first time in his career. Kelley was also a force on the defensive line with eight total tackles. Also starting all 10 games at defensive tackle during the regular season, Kelley has 43 tackles, five tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks this year.
Football finished the year with the No. 9 ranking in the NCAA Power Index (NPI) and earned a first round bye in its first-ever appearance in the national tournament. The Diplomats (9-1, 6-0 CC) also have hosting rights for that second round game against Eastern which is scheduled for Saturday, November 29 at noon inside Shadek Stadium.
