Box Score

LANCASTER, Pa. – Franklin & Marshall College used a 19-0 run to break open a close game in the second half and the Diplomats defeated Gettysburg 33-23 in the regular season finale for both teams in Centennial Conference football action Saturday afternoon at Sponaugle-Williamson Field.

With the loss, the Bullets, who broke single-season school and Centennial Conference records for total offense (4,931 yards), finish the season 3-7 and 3-5 in the Centennial Conference. F&M improves to 8-2 and 6-2 in conference play and will hope for an ECAC bowl bid.

The Diplomats went ahead for good (22-16) on an 18-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback John Harrison to senior fullback Ryan Murray with 2:40 left and made two fourth-quarter interceptions during their game-breaking run.

In his last game of an outstanding career, senior quarterback Matt Flynn (Northfield, N.J./Mainland Regional) completed 18-of-39 passes and finished with 263 yards. He finished the season with 2,714 passing yards to surpass the previous Centennial Conference single-season mark; however, Harrison broke the same record and pushed his total to 2,865 yards.

Flynn also broke the single-season Centennial Conference record for total offense, finishing the year with 3,071 yards.

Junior wing Charles Curcio (Hammonton, N.J./St. Joseph) caught six passes for a career-high 98 yards for the Bullets and went over 1,000 yards for his career. Junior tailback Jamel Mutunga (Bel Air, Md./Bel Air) posted his fifth 100-yard rushing game of the season, finishing with 103 yards and a touchdown while closing the year with 14 rushing touchdowns, one shy of the single-season school record.

Senior wing Ricky Manigat (Baldwin, N.Y./Baldwin) added a pair of rushing touchdowns for Gettysburg.

Harrison finished with 213 yards and one touchdown on 23-of-33 passing while senior receiver George Eager caught 10 passes for 162 yards. Sophomore tailback John Kaschak rushed for 102 yards and two TDs while passing for an additional touchdown for the Diplomats.

F&M's win marked the fifth straight season that the home team won in the series between the two teams.

After receiving the opening kickoff, it took the Bullets just 53 seconds to get on the scoreboard. On the team's second play from scrimmage, Mutunga broke off a 68-yard run down the right sideline before a defender raced him down at the Bullet-2. On the next play, Mutunga darted into the end zone to put Gettysburg up 7-0 with 14:07 on the clock.

F&M came right back with a 10-play, 60-yard touchdown drive on their first possession, with Kaschak scoring on a 2-yard run to make it 7-7 with 8:03 left in the opening quarter.

Gettysburg needed just 24 seconds to strike on its second drive. On its first play from scrimmage, Flynn hit Curcio over the middle. Getting a great block from senior tight end #A.J. Perrotti# (Brick, N.J./Brick Township), Curcio found an opening on the left sideline en route to a career-long 61-yard catch to the F&M-2. One play later, Manigat took a pitch right and ran in for the score as the Bullets went ahead 14-7 with 7:33 to go in the first quarter.

The Diplomats tightened their defense over the remainder of the half, stopping Gettysburg on its final five drives of the stanza. In the meantime, F&M tied it 14-14 after Kaschak scored for the second time, running in from 5 yards out with 13:00 on the first-half clock.

A 21-yard pooch punt from Flynn set up a safety less than two minutes later. Flynn's kick came to rest at the Diplomat-5, and on the next play senior linebacker Tim Widdoes (Newark, Del./St. Mark's) sacked Harrison in the end zone to give his team a 16-14 lead with 11:17 showing. It was Gettysburg's first sack since 2006 at Lebanon Valley.

The Bullets came up with a key stop late in the quarter to preserve its two-point advantage at the half. The Diplomats drove to the Gettysburg-34 and faced a fourth-and-1 with less than a minute left. Kaschak took the handoff and attempted a dive over the line of scrimmage, but he was brought down short of the first-down marker by freshman linebacker Wes Taylor (Silver Spring, Pa./Gonzaga), giving his team the ball on downs with 45 seconds left.

An F&M personal foul moved the ball to the Diplomat-39, and a 17-yard reception by Mutunga set up the Bullets at the F&M-29. Gettysburg called timeout with one second left before bringing on junior Mike Barrett (Selinsgrove, Pa./Lewisburg) for a 46-yard field goal attempt. Barrett's kick had plenty of distance, but sailed wide left as time expired.

After forcing the Dips to punt on the second-half opening drive, Gettysburg drove 56 yards to the F&M-32. Barrett was called on for another long field goal, but although he had the distance again, his 49-yard attempt – which would have been a school record – drifted left again.

On the ensuing drive F&M used a seven-play, 68-yard drive to take its first lead of the day. On a third-and-five, Harrison found Murray wide open over the middle for the lead-assuming 18-yard touchdown pass. The Dips then faked a PAT kick, and Michael Deutch hit Colton Weaver for an uncontested two-point conversion pass to put F&M up 22-16 with 2:40 left in the third quarter.

After the two teams traded punts, the Bullets drove to midfield, but the Diplomats came up with an interception when Curcio bobbled a pass that was snatched out of the air by senior safety Jeff Kellar at the F&M-33. However, the Bullet defense came up with another big stop, as junior cornerback Tairi Mobley (Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown) swatted away a pass into the end zone on fourth-and-three with 9:21 to go.

The Bullets were unable to capitalize, however, as F&M forced a three-and-out. After fielding a short punt, the Diplomats went 32 yards on four plays, with Deutch catching a 2-yard touchdown catch on a handoff to Kaschak. Deutch then caught a two-point conversion pass to make it 30-16 with 6:42 remaining.

Another F&M interception led to a Diplomat field goal on the next possession. Frank DiMattia picked off a pass at the Bullet-49 and returned it to the Gettysburg-8. However, the Bullet defense held again, forcing a 23-yard field goal from Mike Shin with 5:10 left.

Gettysburg stayed alive by scoring on the ensuing drive, with a 52-yard pass from Flynn to freshman Kyle Davis (Northfield, N.J./Mainland Regional) leading to a 5-yard touchdown run. Manigat took a another pitch right and sailed over the pylon for his second TD of the day to make it 33-23 with 4:21 to go.

Pennella then attempted an onside kick for Gettysburg, but Eager recovered for F&M. The Diplomats were then able to run off the rest of the clock.

Taylor and sophomore linebacker Joe Delaney (Voorhees, N.J./Eastern Regional) made a game-high 11 tackles apiece for the Bullets while junior linebacker Bryan DiSabato (Cedarhurst, N.Y./Lawrence) added 10 hits. Widdoes contributed nine stops to finish his career fifth in school history with 312 tackles.