Box Score
LANCASTER, Pa. – Gettysburg cut an early 28-point deficit down to 10, but host Franklin & Marshall College held on for a 36-26 victory in a Centennial Conference football game Saturday afternoon at Sponaugle-Williamson Field.
It was the season finale for the Bullets, who finished the year 4-6 overall and 3-6 in the Centennial Conference.
It was the 99th all-time meeting between the two schools, and the series is now tied 46-46-7.
The Diplomats (6-4, 6-3 CC) scored a touchdown on each of their five complete possessions of the first half to lead 27-0 and 34-6. However, the Bullets held F&M to just a safety and 137 yards in the second half, when they recorded three takeaways. A 32-yard touchdown reception by senior wing Peter Fessenden (New York, N.Y./Proctor Academy [N.H.]) made it 36-26 with 1:03 left in the third quarter; however, Gettysburg was stopped on its final four drives, which included an interception and a fumble.
Junior quarterback Zach Miller (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) passed for 230 yards and a touchdown while rushing for two additional TDs for Gettysburg. He finishes the season with the second-most passing yards (2,486) in single-season school history. Senior receiver Matt Pennella (Martinsville, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) caught five passes for 41 yards while Fessenden finished with three catches for 52 yards.
Defensively, freshman linebacker Chris Miller (Manasquan, N.J./Manasquan) and sophomore linebacker Kodie McNamara (Manasquan, N.J./Manasquan) each registered 11 tackles and one interception apiece. Junior defensive end Drew Winters (Midlothian, Md./Mountain Ridge) added 10 tackles, including 3.0 for loss, and one sack.
Frank Strumolo rushed for 177 yards and a touchdown on 36 carries for F&M while quarterback E.J. Schneider scrambled for 135 yard and four touchdowns. Ryan Young finished with 15 tackles for the Diplomats to lead a defense that racked up 10 sacks.
Schneider scored on runs of 8 and 83 yards before Strumolo's 1-yard TD plunge made it 20-0 with 49 seconds left in the opening quarter. In the meantime, the Bullets were forced to punt on their first three possessions.
Schneider scored again, this time from 1 yard out, with 10:42 left in the first half to make it 27-0. Zach Miller put the Bullets on the scoreboard with a 6-yard touchdown run before Schneider scored his fourth and final TD, again from a yard away, to give the hosts a 34-6 lead with 3:02 on the clock.
Zach Miller guided the Bullets on an 83-yard drive late in the half, which he culminated with a 3-yard TD run with 25 ticks showing to make it a 34-13 game at the half.
Gettysburg made its first defensive stand when McNamara picked off a pass at the Bullet-10 on F&M's first drive of the second half. Then on the first play of the Diplomats' next drive, a strip-sack by Winters was recovered by Chris Miller at the F&M-21. Four plays later, sophomore tailback Paul Lowry (Midland Park, N.J./Midland Park) rushed in from a yard away, and a Robby Fay (New Providence, N.J./New Providence) extra point made it 34-20 with 8:09 remaining in the third quarter.
Later in the period, Gettysburg assembled a seven-play, 90-yard drive, capped by Fessenden's touchdown reception. The two-point conversion pass was incomplete, making it 36-26.
Franklin & Marshall snuffed out Gettysburg's first drive of the fourth quarter when Ryan Feulner intercepted a heave downfield at the Diplomat-26. But Chris Miller returned the favor when he picked off a pass and returned it seven yards to the Gettysburg-46 with 9:17 left.
After a Bullet punt, Schneider was intercepted for the third time, when junior defensive end A.J. Hill (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) returned a pick 69 yards to the Diplomat-8. However, Gettysburg turned it over on the very next play, when Pennella fumbled on a reception at the F&M-18.
Gettysburg would force a punt, but turned the ball over on downs near midfield with 24 seconds left.
