ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The nationally-ranked Franklin & Marshall football team saw its nine-game Centennial Conference winning streak that dated back to the 2024 season come to an end on Saturday as host Muhlenberg kicked a game-winning 29-yard field goal as time expired in a 31-28 final. That recent run of Centennial Conference success was highlighted by the team's undefeated conference run to the 2025 Centennial Conference Championship and was tied for the most consecutive conference victories by the Diplomats as member of the Centennial Conference (originally set between the 1987-88 seasons).
Playing on the strength of a defensive shutout between the second and third quarters, the Diplomats never trailed during the second half until the time had finally expired. F&M was holding a 28-14 lead heading into the fourth quarter, but the Mules scored 17 unanswered points during that final period to come away with the victory.
First Quarter (Muhlenberg 14, Franklin & Marshall 10)
Leading for a majority of the afternoon, the Diplomats opened up the scoring with a touchdown drive on their second possession of the day. F&M went to the air early in its scoring drive as Jadon Prinzivalli completed three passes for 72 yards on the first scoring drive. All three passes went for first downs, capped by Hudson Zawadzkas' 29-yard touchdown reception midway through the period. Muhlenberg did not wait long to respond as it returned the ensuing kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown to even the score.
F&M reclaimed the lead as Zawadzkas hauled in another pass for 29 yards to get into Muhlenberg territory which led to a 34-yard field goal from reigning conference special teams player of the week Michael Fleming. Once again, the Mules hit a big play on their counter as Caleb Pasols caught a quick pass but went 63 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.
Second Quarter (Franklin & Marshall 20, Muhlenberg 14)
Muhlenberg made six trips into F&M's defensive red zone, but came away with scores on just three of those possessions. The first red zone stop for Franklin & Marshall came early in the second quarter when Mikey Sands made a stop in the backfield on fourth down. The Diplomats turned that into points as 24 and 18-yard runs from Brett Wolski flipped the field position before Fleming converted from 36 yards for his second field goal of the day. Nick Aravides picked off a third-down pass on the Mules' next drive and once again the Diplomats turned that into points off turnovers as Louis Paris punched in a two-yard rushing touchdown to cap a nine-play, 53-yard touchdown drive.
Third Quarter (Franklin & Marshall 28, Muhlenberg 14)
The Mules had great field position to start the third quarter following a kickoff return back to F&M's 35 yard line. Muhlenberg got into the red zone again, but Eian Kilpatrick broke up a fourth down pass to keep F&M in front. The Diplomats padded their lead with their own explosive play as Zawadzkas hauled in a 65-yard pass. He would end up tackled at the one-yard line, but Paris finished the drive just one play later with his second rushing touchdown of the day. The Diplomats subsequently went for the two-point conversion to go up by 14 points.
Fourth Quarter (Muhlenberg 31, Franklin & Marshall 28)
Muhlenberg was stopped in the red zone for a third time on Saturday as Quincy Long came up with a sack that put the hosts just far enough back to force a miss on the 38-yard attempt during the third quarter. After a fourth trip to the red zone (and first score on those attempts), the Mules cut the lead in half with Pasols' second touchdown of the game. Following F&M's three-and-out, Muhlenberg then covered 69 yards over 12 plays and tied the game with 7:21 left in regulation time following a seven-yard touchdown run.
The Diplomats had two drives to find the go-ahead score, but got just one first down. Pinned deep, the Mules had a strong punt return back to F&M's 33 to start the final drive. Muhlenberg got the ball down the Diplomats' 12 before Nicholas D'Amico kicked a game-winning 29-yard field goal as time expired.
Key Stats/Players
Muhlenberg slightly out gained Franklin & Marshall with a 378-363 advantage in yards. The Mules did most of their damage on the ground as Amari Dunn ran for 157 yards to highlight an offense that carried 49 times for a total of 220 yards. Franklin & Marshall did most of its damage through the air as Prinzivalli completed 17 of his 36 passes for 244 yards. Zawadzkas was the team's leading receiver with five receptions for 133 yards. Seven different players recorded a catch. On defense, Austin Hadley and Sands each finished with 11 tackles.
Up Next
Franklin & Marshall will look to return to its winning ways next Saturday, October 17 when the Diplomats welcome Dickinson to Shadek Stadium as it will be "Wagon Week." Kickoff against the rival Red Devils is slated for 1 p.m.
