Box Score

 Makson rushed for a pair of one-yard touchdowns and fired a six-yard scoring pass to Justin Salton to key the 160th win of Gilburg’s 28-year career at F&M, the sixth-highest all-time victory total among Division III coaches.

 Stephen became the first Diplomat to rush for more than 200 yards since 1977, a career day that allowed Franklin & Marshall (4-6, 2-4 Centennial Conference) to snap a six-game losing streak and finish with the program’s highest victory total since a 4-6 season in 1998. Salton caught four passes on the day, including his 11th touchdown of the year, to set the CC record for receptions in a single season (77).

 Quarterback Joe Gossweiler (Florham Park, NJ/Hanover Park) completed 13 of 26 passes for 191 yards and also picked up 44 rushing yards for the Bullets, who were slowed by four second-half turnovers. Gossweiler connected on fourth-quarter touchdown passes to Gentris Bryant (Wilmington, DE/Archmere Acad.) and Jesse Jeffers (Morristown, NJ/Morristown-Beard) to pull Gettysburg (4-6, 1-5 CC) within six points in the final 1:28.

 The Bullets’ comeback attempt came to an end when the ensuing onsides kick attempt failed to go ten yards, allowing F&M to run out the clock.

 The loss prevented Gettysburg from recording the program’s 500th all-time victory, a mark reached by only 12 other Division III programs.

 Entering the day ranked first in the conference in passing and last in rushing, the Diplomats flipped the script to produce the landmark win. Makson was held to 96 yards on 10-of-21 passing, but F&M made up for it by nearly tripling its rushing average (69.8) with 193 yards on the ground.

 Playing in the rain and mud all day, the teams battled through a scoreless first quarter before the Diplomats put together a pair of long drives to take a 13-0 halftime lead.

 Keyed by Makson completions of 17, 16 and 14 yards, F&M marched 80 yards on 10 plays capped by Salton’s six-yard touchdown to make it 7-0 with 7:30 left in the second quarter.

 Stephen opened the Diplomats’ next possession with a season-long 47-yard run to the Gettysburg 32. A pass interference call and a 10-yard reception by Chad Strothers set F&M up at the Bullet 1, and Makson’s second of two consecutive rushing attempts cracked the end zone to make it 13-0 with 54 seconds remaining in the half.

 While trying to erase the deficit, Gettysburg struggled through three lost fumbles, two punts and one interception on its first six possessions of the second half.

 During that span, the Diplomats cashed in a Matt Lintal interception with a five-play, 26-yard scoring drive to increase their lead to 20-0. Stephen carried for the first 16 yards of the march. Makson found Strothers on a nine-yard pass, then sneaked in for his second one-yard touchdown.

 A 64-yard touchdown pass from Gossweiler to Bryant gave the home squad life by pulling the Bullets within 20-7 with 8:54 left.

 A bad snap on a punt attempt set Gettysburg up at the F&M 30 on its next possession, but the Diplomat defense held on fourth-and-11 from its own 20.

 After getting the ball back, the Bullets needed only four plays and 26 seconds to score again. Gossweiler opened the drive with a 10-yard pass to Tom McEvoy (Laurel, MD/St. John’s College) and tossed an 18-yard touchdown pass to Jeffers to make it 20-14 with 1:28 left.

 The ensuing onsides kick, however, skipped out of bounds at the Franklin & Marshall 42 to give the Diplomats the victory.

 Gettysburg seniors Beck Daniel (Coral Gables, FL/Coral Gables) and John Young (Caldwell, NJ/James Caldwell) combined for 20 total tackles, including seven for loss, in their final collegiate game. Mike Schwalb (Bernardsville, NJ/Pingry School) carried 15 times for a team-high 53 yards and also caught five passes for 33 yards.

 Andy Rehring led F&M with nine tackles to finish with an even 100 for the season.