LANCASTER, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall football team was well-represented on the All-Centennial Conference Team announced by the league office. The major award winners included Gary Lewis being named the conference's offensive player of the year, while head coach Michael Phelan and the rest of his staff was honored as the coaching staff of the year. In total, 15 Diplomats received All-Centennial Conference accolades, including eight first-team All-CC picks.
Gary Lewis, a senior wide receiver, was named the Centennial Conference's Offensive Player of the Year after catching a conference-best 16 touchdowns along with 56 receptions and 981 receiving yards. Lewis' 16 receiving touchdowns breaks his previous single-season school record in a season in which he also broke the school record for career touchdown receptions. Those 16 receiving touchdowns rank fourth on the all-time single-season list in conference history and are tied for fifth in the nation. Lewis caught at least one touchdown in all but one game and posted a trio of 100-yard games, highlighted by a 221-yard, four-touchdown outing against Catholic. Lewis is the eighth wide receiver in conference history to claim player of the year honors. He is the fifth Diplomat offensive player to receive player of the year and the first since quarterback Beau Eckert won the second of his back-to-back honors in 1996. Lewis earned All-Centennial Conference honors three times in his career, with first-team honors during the 2023 and 2025 campaigns.
The Franklin & Marshall coaching staff was named coaching staff of the year in a vote among its peers. First-year head coach Michael Phelan and assistant coaches Matt Quattrone, Mike Furlong, Sean Moore, Zach Handy, Owen Walsh, Chilamo Taylor, Andy Loucks, Mitch Wagner and Frank Fuller guided the Diplomats to a 9-1 regulars season record, a perfect 7-0 mark in CC play, the program's eighth CC title and their first-ever trip to the NCAA postseason. The conference title was the program's 15th in school history dating back to the Middle Atlantic Conference. This honor marks the first time since the conference-winning 2017 team that F&M has been honored with the coach of the year.
Joining Lewis on the first-team offense was center Aidan Toomey. Toomey earned All-Centennial Conference for the second consecutive season during his junior campaign as he started all 11 games at center. The junior was a second-team all-conference pick following the 2024 season. Toomey has appeared in all 32 games throughout his F&M career and has been a mainstay on the offensive line throughout his tenure.
Connor Hille was named a first-team All-Centennial Conference selection at linebacker after receiving honorable mention recognition last year. Hille led the defense with 68 tackles this season, including 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. He was named the conference's defensive player of the week following the historic victory against Johns Hopkins and broke up six more passes throughout the season. Hille made at least five tackles in every game, including a season-high 13 stops against the Blue Jays, with 11 more tackles during the season opener at Lebanon Valley.
Kyle Checchio was also a first-team All-Centennial Conference linebacker for the Diplomats and joined his teammate Oscar Marx as the only two first-years who were named first-team all-conference. Checchio emerged as a starter in the opening game and finished the season with 64 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, and two sacks. Named a Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week, he made a season-best 10 tackles against Gettysburg and matched that total during the win against Carnegie Mellon. Checchio made at least five tackles in eight of the team's 10 regular season games and had at least one stop behind the line of scrimmage during every game of the regular season.
Oscar Marx joined Checchio as a first-team All-Centennial Conference honoree on defense, earning his recognition as a safety in the secondary. Thirty-one of Marx's 37 tackles were solo stops. He additionally intercepted passes during three consecutive contests against Dickinson, Ursinus, and McDaniel. Marx also broke up 13 passes and forced a fumble versus the Red Devils to help him earn Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the week recognition. Marx broke up multiple passes during four different games and made a season-high nine tackles in the Centennial Conference-clinching win versus Johns Hopkins.
The Diplomats also had three of the four specialists to receive first-team All-CC honors. Michael Fleming earned the first all-conference recognition of his career after converting nine field goals, with a long of 42 yards. Fleming was also 32-of-33 in extra point attempts as he averaged 5.9 points per game on special teams. Fleming was a perfect 3-for-3 in field goals against Dickinson, including the game-winner as time expired, to highlight numerous times in which he was named conference's special teams player of the week. He was also 2-for-2 in crucial field goals during the one-point victory versus Muhlenberg.
Ivan Harlomov earned first-team All-Centennial Conference recognition for the first time in his career as a punter. Harlamov forced the opposition to start inside its own 20 on 18 of his 42 punt attempts, adding two more touch backs and forcing 13 more fair catches. He averaged 39 yards per punt and had five punts that traveled over 50 yards. Harlamov additionally handled the kickoff duties where he averaged 54.9 yards per kick in his 52 attempts. During that time he had 10 touch backs in his first year as the primary punter and kickoff specialist.
Will Galligan was named the league's first-ever first-team All-Centennial Conference long snapper. Galligan handled both the long and short-snapping duties on specials teams where the Diplomats excelled. His precision accuracy helped the strongest kicking game in the conference. The all-conference accolade is the first of Galligan's career as the award was presented for the first time this season.
Senior quarterback Ty Tremba earned the first all-conference recognition of his career with a second-team accolade. Tremba became F&M's all-time leader in passing years and touchdowns responsible for during his senior year where he threw for 2,226 yards and 25 touchdowns. Tremba had at least one passing touchdown in every game and threw for a season-high 317 yards during the win at Gettysburg where he found the end zone four times. The senior captain had a season-high five touchdown passes against Catholic. Tremba was also an effective weapon in the running game where he carried 90 times for 239 yards and two touchdowns.
First-year running back Louis Paris was another rookie to earn All-Centennial Conference recognition with his second-team honors. Paris saw increased action as the season progressed and had his break-out game when he carried 25 times for 130 yards and two touchdowns at Ursinus. He would back that up with 114 more yards against McDaniel and another score the following week. Paris finished the season with 447 rushing yards while averaging 4.1 yards per carry. Paris was also instrumental in the passing game with 21 catches for 186 yards out of the backfield.
Another offensive lineman leading the way for the Centennial Conference champions was Chris Logue, a second-team all-conference selection at left tackle. Solidifying the blind side of the line, Logue worked his way into the starting lineup in week two and never looked back as the sophomore appeared in all 10 games.
Defensive players at each of the three levels earned second-team All-Centennial Conference, with Austin Hadley receiving that mention on the defensive line. Hadley made 57 tackles to receive All-CC recognition for the first time in his career. Those totals included two sacks and five tackles for loss in addition to breaking up three passes at the line of scrimmage. Hadley made 10 tackles against both Gettysburg and Johns Hopkins to finish the regular season with at least five stops during seven of the Diplomats' 10 games.
Junior Chris Albero earned the first all-conference recognition of his career with second-team honors after moving to linebacker during the 2025 season. Albero made 46 tackles (27 solo) and four stops behind the line of scrimmage. Albero also registered 1.5 sacks and broke up two passes. He had his best two single-game performances against fellow NCAA qualifiers when he had a season-best nine tackles versus Muhlenberg and eight more in the Centennial Conference-clinching win against Johns Hopkins. Albero had at least four tackles during each of the final six games of the regular season.
Senior Matt Wertz earned all-conference recognition for the third time in his career with second-team honors to match his awards from the 2023 season. Wertz made 26 of his 45 tackles with solo efforts and picked up off a pass during the Centennial Conference win versus Muhlenberg. Wertz also broke up two passes in the first two games of the season. He made a season-high eight tackles against Westminster (Pa.) and registered at least five stops in six different contests.
LT Kelley earned honorable mention All-Centennial Conference status on the defensive line for the first time in his career. Kelley finished the year with 43 tackles and had his biggest impact when he blocked the potential game-winning final goal as time expired against Johns Hopkins before the Diplomats won the conference championship in overtime. That play earned him Centennial Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honors and came after he recorded a season-high eight tackles against the Blue Jays, matching his total from the season opener at Lebanon Valley. Kelley also blocked a field goal against Catholic and made six tackles behind the line of scrimmage during the season, totaling 1.5 sacks.
In addition to the all-conference honorees, senior Nick Keenen represented the Diplomats on the All-Sportsmanship Team. Playing on the defensive line, Keenan had one tackle and one pass break up for the Centennial Conference Champions.
Following its perfect 7-0 record in Centennial Conference action while also riding an eight-game winning streak, football will return to action in its first-ever NCAA Tournament game on Saturday, November 29 when the team hosts Eastern at 12 p.m. noon.
