LANCASTER, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall football team neutralized the Centennial Conference's top scoring offense during a 24-19 victory inside Shadek Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Diplomats were also celebrating Senior Day as the Class of 2027 recorded its 34th victory over the past four years to tie them with the Class of 1990 for the most wins over a four-year period.
Saturday's showdown was a battle between two teams that entered the day tied for first place in the Centennial Conference. The four-way tie is now down to two teams after Dickinson defeated Ursinus in the other matchup of one-loss squads. With the victory, F&M keeps control of its own playoff destiny as the Diplomats can officially secure a Centennial Conference Championship with a victory during the final week of the regular season.
First Quarter (Franklin & Marshall 7, Carnegie Mellon 3)
The Tartans came into the game with the top-ranked passing attack in the league, but the Diplomats were up to the challenge from the opening snap as Connor Hille intercepted the second play from scrimmage and returned it 30 yards to the Carnegie Mellon 18 to fuel an early momentum swing. The Diplomats then put their offensive strength on display as three runs covered the final 14 yards, capped by a five-yard touchdown run from Jadon Prinzivalli. As was the case all afternoon, F&M's defense rose to the occasion and forced a three-and-out before only allowing a field goal after the Tartans took over just 40 yards from the end zone.
Second Quarter (Carnegie Mellon 10, Franklin & Marshall 7)
The Tartans did take the lead into the halftime break with their only sustained drive of the opening half. Carnegie Mellon quarterback Jackson Salters was limited to 29-of-45 passing for the game, but completed five of six during the go-ahead scoring drive during the second quarter.
Third Quarter (Franklin & Marshall 14, Carnegie Mellon 13)
The Diplomat defense forced Carnegie Mellon into a three-and-out on its first drive of the second half, but a fumble on special teams gave the Tartans the ball just 11 yards shy of the end zone. F&M would allow just three more yards to keep the game to a single possession difference at 13-7. The Diplomats reclaimed the lead for good with an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive after going down by six points. The key play on that drive was Prinzivalli finding Matt Eitner for a 40-yard reception on 4th-and-four. That took the ball all the way down to the one before Brett Wolski finished the job on the next play.
Fourth Quarter (Franklin & Marshall 24, Carnegie Mellon 19)
With just a single point separating the teams, Carnegie Mellon missed a 31-yard field goal and the Diplomats most that most of that break. Anthony Valdez ran the ball three times for 27 yards to start that 80-yard touchdown drive. Just when the CMU defense thought it could key in on the run, Prinzivalli found Jack Harrison for 29 yards. Two plays later, Hudson Zawadzkas hauled in a 24-yard touchdown pass to put the hosts up 24-13 with 2:36 left in regulation. Carnegie Mellon answered with a touchdown drive late, but the onside kick was recovered by the Diplomats who handed off to Valdez three times to kill the remaining 56 seconds on the clock.
Key Players/Stats
Carnegie Mellon finished with 342 yards of offense, compared to 317 for the Diplomats. However, the Diplomats created their own chances with the interception while also blocking a punt. On the other side of the ball, Carnegie Mellon got just a field goal after F&M's turnover in the red zone during its chance with a short field.
With six different rushers, F&M averaged 3.5 yards per carry on the ground. Valdez finished with the most yards as he averaged 4.5 yards per touch with 12 carries for 55 yards. Prinzivalli and Wolski each had rushing touchdowns. Prinzivalli completed 14 passes for 197 yards and one touchdown. Jack Harrison was his top target with four catches for 70 yards. Highlighted by his touchdown reception, Zawadzkas had three receptions for 46 yards during his return.
Rafe Carner led the defense with 10 tackles in addition to one pass break up. Adding to his memorable Senior Day that featured the early interception, Hille registered a sack and finished with six tackles. As team, F&M broke up five passes while defending a high-powered passing game.
Up Next
Just one game remains on the regular season schedule and the Diplomats will once again play for the Centennial Conference Championship during the final week. That final game of the regular season will be next Friday, November 13 at 7 p.m. against Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. A win in that game will gave the Diplomats the Centennial Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season.
