NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall football team moved to 2-0 on the young season with a 45-8 victory at Westminster (Pa.) on Saturday afternoon. Heading out on the road for the first time this season, the Diplomats successfully avenged their only defeat of the regular season a year ago as they scored the first 31 points and never looked back during the victory.
First Quarter (F&M 7, Westminster (Pa.) 0)
Franklin & Marshall wasted little time getting off to a quick start as Owen Banghart forced a three-and-out with a sack before the Diplomats went 45 yards for the opening score. Making his first career start, Jadon Prinzivalli got the drive going with completions on his first two passes. However, he would finish the job with his feet as he called his own number on the last five plays of the drive to cover the remaining 20 yards for the touchdown.
Second Quarter (F&M 17, Westminster (Pa.) 0)
The Diplomats allowed just eight yards of total offense to Westminster during the opponent's first three times with the ball. The Titans did get the ball down F&M's 25 on their fourth possession, but back-to-back stops for a loss and no gain from Connor Hille halted that drive on fourth down. F&M's defense became increasingly opportunistic later in the half, ending the next two drives with first play interceptions from Kyle Checchio and Eian Kilpatrick. Anthony Valdez scored a five-yard rushing touchdown to take advantage of the first short field chance. Just before the half, Prinzivalli completed five passes – adding in a 14-yard rush – with 1:32 remaining in the half to put his team in position to go up 17-0 behind Michael Fleming's 38-yard field goal attempt.
Third Quarter (F&M 31, Westminster (Pa.) 0)
Right out of the locker rooms, the Diplomats showed no signs of slowing down as they took the opening possession of the second half 77 yards for a 24-0 lead. Prinzivalli once again finished the drive on the ground as he carried 15 yards for his second rushing touchdown of the day. Just two drives later, Prinzivalli threw his first career touchdown as he found Jack Harrison for 33 yards to make the score 31-0 with just over three minutes remaining in the quarter.
Fourth Quarter (F&M 45, Westminster (Pa.) 8)
The Titans began their only scoring drive of the game late in the third quarter and found the end zone on the first play of the fourth. Nevertheless, the Diplomats would more than answer that with two more rushing touchdowns. Brett Wolski continued the strong start to his rookie campaign with a three-year touchdown run. On the next drive, senior quarterback Paulus Zittrauer scored his first career touchdown on a 17-yard keeper in the eventual 45-8 final.
Key Stats/Players
Headlined by five rushing touchdowns, Franklin & Marshall ran the ball for 212 yards, averaging 4.6 yards per carry throughout the victory. Prinzivalli led the team with 67 rushing yards and his two scores on 13 carries, with Valdez right behind him with 66 yards on 15 carries. Prinzivalli also threw for 169 yards and the one touchdown to Harrison. Valdez was also the favorite target in the passing game as the running back went over 100 all-purpose yards with five receptions for 65 yards. Harrison finished with 61 receiving yards on top of his touchdown as nine different players had at least one reception.
Franklin & Marshall's defense allowed just 182 yards total on the day as the opposing quarterbacks completed just 11 of 27 passes and were picked off four times. Nick Aravides had one of those interceptions as he led the team with eight tackles. Dean Coscia also picked off a pass in addition to aforementioned INTs from Checchio and Kilpatrick. Banghart led the team with 2.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, including a 1.5 total sacks.
Up Next
Franklin & Marshall will wrap up non-conference play with a road trip to Catholic next Saturday, September 19. That kickoff in our nation's capital is set for a 1 p.m. start against the Cardinals.
