LANCASTER, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall football team posted a 29-0 shutout of Gettysburg on Saturday afternoon as the Diplomats began their defense of the Centennial Conference Championship with a strong start to conference play. With the victory, the Diplomats retain the Lincoln Football Trophy. F&M (4-0, 1-0 CC) remained undefeated on the season and has now won the last 10 meetings against the Bullets, which is the longest winning streak for either side in the series.
The shutout victory was also notable as it marked the first such win since these schools joined the Centennial Conference as two of the league's founding members in 1983. The Diplomats and Bullets did play to a scoreless draw in the 1985 campaign, but F&M's last shutout victory in the series came with a 21-0 blanking in 1977. Today's shutout was the 15th all-time for the Diplomats in 111 all-time meetings with Gettysburg.
First Quarter (Franklin & Marshall 6, Gettysburg 0)
Franklin & Marshall finished the game with over 41 minutes in time of possession. The Diplomats started to dominate that category early as they stopped Gettysburg on a fourth down. F&M would go on to stop the Bullets on three fourth-down attempts, with a fake punt being Gettysburg's only successful conversion. F&M took nearly eight minutes to cover 70 yards over 13 plays before Louis Paris carried the ball for the fifth consecutive play to put his team up 6-0 early. F&M ran the ball on 10 of its 13 plays during that drive.
Second Quarter (Franklin & Marshall 16, Gettysburg 0)
The Franklin & Marshall defense forced three consecutive three-and-outs and the offense would add to the lead midway through the second quarter as it marched 52 yards over 11 plays during 6:36 of playing time. The ground game once again led the way as the Diplomats ran it 10 times on that drive, with Paris' two-yard plunge capping the scoring drive and helping his side to 13-0 lead. A forced fumble courtesy of the F&M defense just before the half gave the hosts enough time to get into field goal range where Michael Fleming knocked in a 27-yard field goal to put his team up 16-0 at half.
Third Quarter (Franklin & Marshall 19, Gettysburg 0)
The Diplomats scored in every quarter and it was another defensive takeaway that led to F&M's first points of the second half. Kyle Checchio forced a fumble that was recovered by Trey Comella. The Diplomats got the ball down to Gettysburg's seven before Fleming put a 24-yard field goal through the uprights. The Bullets had their deepest drive into F&M territory just before the end of the third quarter, but an interception from Comella thwarted that drive and kept the shutout intact.
Fourth Quarter (Franklin & Marshall 29, Gettysburg 0)
The Diplomats added insurance during the fourth with scoring drives on their first two possessions of the final quarter. Another fourth down stand gave F&M the ball and the Diplomats were able to find success in the air as Jack Harrison hauled in a 35-yard reception before Michael Poruban caught a 17-yard touchdown on the very next play. A final fourth down stand from the defense gave F&M a short field that ultimately led to Fleming's third field goal of the day as he converted from 32 yards in the eventual 29-0 final.
Key Players/Stats
A dominant running game was key as the Diplomats were averaging over four yards per attempt before a pair of kneel downs to conclude the game. Paris was the headliner in his return to the lineup as he rushed 23 times for 77 yards. Jadon Prinzivalli added 48 yards on the ground, while Anthony Valdez, Brett Wolski, and Jayden Richards all netted at least 30 yards rushing. Prinzivalli also totaled 163 yards through the air, with Harrison's 69 yards leading all receivers.
After holding Catholic to negative rushing yards, the top defense in the Centennial Conference so far allowed just 22 yards rushing to Gettysburg. The Bullets were also limited to just 18-of-34 in the passing game with one interception as they totaled only 208 yards of total offense. F&M's defense broke up eight of those passes and intercepted another. Comella had two pass break ups in addition to his interception. Connor Hille led the defense with seven tackles as F&M needed to make just 43 tackles total as the defense spent less than 20 total minutes on the field, but still managed to force two fumbles.
Up Next
Franklin & Marshall will continue with Centennial Conference match ups throughout the remainder of the regular season. Up next is a trip to Muhlenberg on Saturday, October 10 for a 1 p.m. scheduled kickoff in Allentown.
