Gettysburg-F&M Game Notes (PDF)

OPENING KICKOFF
Gettysburg and Franklin & Marshall will meet for the 100th time on the football field today at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium. The winning team will take the lead in a series that is currently tied (46-46-7) as well as claiming ownership of the new Lincoln Football Trophy.
 
GAME COVERAGE
Saturday's game will feature live stats and live video thanks to the Orange and Blue Club and service provider Stretch Internet. You can follow along on your computer or mobile device at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/gettysburg/.
 
THE COACHES
Barry Streeter enters his 36th season at the helm of Gettysburg's football program. Streeter is the longest-tenured active coach in Division III and his 181 wins place him seventh among active coaches. Streeter has led Gettysburg to three Centennial Conference championships (1983-85) and he has twice been named CC Coach of the Year. In 1985, he led the Bullets to the only undefeated regular season in school history (9-0-1) and an appearance in the national semifinals. Streeter's 100th career victory was a 52-20 decision over Franklin & Marshall in 1994.
 
John Troxell enters his ninth season at Franklin & Marshall. Troxell brings a 48-45 record into today's contest as he seeks to lead the Diplomats to their third-straight winning season. Troxell was named the Centennial Conference Coach of the Year after leading F&M to a 9-2 overall record in 2009. Last fall, he guided the team to a victory in the ECAC Southeast Bowl.
 
THE SERIES
Gettysburg and Franklin & Marshall have been battling on the gridiron for more than a century. After 124 years of competition, the all-time series is tied 46-46-7. Since the two institutions joined the Centennial Conference in 1983, Franklin & Marshall holds a 17-13-1 advantage. Gettysburg is 18-8-2 all-time inside the friendly confines and hasn't lost to the Blue and White at home since 2004.
 
LAST MEETING
Gettysburg sliced a 28-point deficit down to 10 in the fourth quarter, but the comeback fell short as Franklin & Marshall held on for a 36-26 win at Sponaugle-Williamson Field last fall. The Diplomats jumped out to a 34-6 lead with touchdowns on each of its five possessions of the game. The Bullets forced three takeaways in the second half to cut the margin down to 10 late in the third quarter. Gettysburg was hampered by two turnovers in the fourth quarter in its quest to close the gap. Franklin & Marshall put up 303 yards rushing, while holding Gettysburg to a season-low 38. Quarterback Zach Miller (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) posted a pair of rushing scores and threw for 230 yards and another TD. Drew Winters (Midlothian, Md./Mountain Ridge) posted 10 tackles, three tackles for a loss, one sack, and a forced fumble in the loss.  
 
LAST TIME OUT
Gettysburg brought home the Little Brown Bucket with a 36-27 victory at Dickinson last Saturday. The Bullets jumped out to a 23-10 lead late in the second quarter before the Red Devils posted back-to-back scores to jump in front 24-23 heading into the final frame. A 38-yard pass from Zach Miller to tight end Fred Pulzello (Glen Rock, N.J./Glen Rock) put Gettysburg back in front early in the fourth quarter. Following a field goal by the hosts, the Bullets put the game to rest as Chris Miller (Manasquan, N.J./Manasquan) recorded his team-best third interception of the season to set up a 13-yard scoring run by Zach Miller with just over a minute remaining. Gettysburg piled up 280 yards on the ground with junior tailback Kyle Wigley (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) totaling 136 and Zach Miller posting a career-high 93. Miller also completed 15-of-20 passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns, while Chris Miller totaled 10 tackles, one tackle for a loss, and one sack.
 
SCOUTING FRANKLIN & MARSHALL
The Diplomats saw their three-game winning streak come to a halt with a 33-14 setback to Johns Hopkins last weekend. The Blue Jays officially took control at the end of the third quarter, running off three-straight touchdowns and sealing the game with a safety late in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Matt Magarity led the Dips with 90 yards rushing and completed 9-of-18 passes for 105 yards. Scott LaValva gained 71 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns.

- Franklin & Marshall leads the conference in time of possession with over 34 minutes per game. The Diplomats have won time of possession in every game this fall. Against Moravian, F&M held the ball for over 40 minutes.

- Senior Scott LaValva ranks seventh in the conference with 76.6 rushing yards per game and he's scored five touchdowns. His freshman counterpart, Taalib Gerald, has carried the ball across the goal line seven times and is averaging 5.6 yards per carry, a mark that rates seventh among Centennial players.

- Senior Jordan Zackery has put together quite the career at F&M. A two-time All-CC First Team selection, Zackery paces the conference with more than seven receptions per game. He has hauled in 64 balls for 673 yards and five touchdowns. For his career, Zackery is the Diplomats' all-time leader with 4,490 all-purpose yards and 255 receptions. He ranks fourth in career receiving yards (2,472) and sixth in receiving touchdowns (20).  

GETTYSBURG OFFENSE
Gettysburg enters the final game of the season as the conference leader in rushing yards at 225.8 per game. The Bullets have led the Centennial in rushing yardage 16 times since the creation of the conference in 1983. Gettysburg is averaging 396.1 total yards of offense per game, which rates as the ninth-best average in school history. The Orange and Blue has averaged more than 400 yards of offense per game in each of the last seven seasons.

- Junior Kyle Wigley has climbed to fourth in the conference in rushing at 81.2 yards per game. His 5.8 yards per carry is the second-best mark in the league and he has posted three 100-yard rushing efforts this fall. Wigley enters this weekend's game 16th in program history with 1,586 rushing yards and he needs just 100 yards to climb three spots.

- Senior quarterback Zach Miller is coming off a career-high 93 yards rushing against Dickinson. Miller has rushed for at least 75 yards three times this fall – all in Bullet victories. He enters his final game fourth in career pass attempts (536), third in pass completions (315), third in passing yards (4,021), sixth (tied) in passing touchdowns (27), second in pass completion percentage (58.8), and fourth in pass efficiency (133.2).

- Senior Fred Caruso currently leads the conference in total all-purpose yards with 1,168. Caruso is attempting to be the first Bullet to lead the league in all-purpose yards since Tom Sturges '08 in 2007. Caruso has eclipsed 100 all-purpose yards six times this fall, including a season-high 245 at Ursinus. Additionally, the senior wing heads into his final game needing six receptions to become the seventh Bullet to reach 100 for his career. He ranks eight in school history with 1,278 receiving yards.    

GETTYSBURG DEFENSE
Gettysburg is the top tackling team in the conference with 76.6 stops per contest. The Bullets rank fourth in the Centennial in rushing defense (134.6 ypg) and interceptions (tied 8) and fifth in sacks (18).

- Junior Kodie McNamara (Manasquan, N.J./Manasquan) has resumed his spot as the team's top tackler this season. After posting a conference-best 119 stops in 2013, McNamara has posted 72 hits this fall. He ranks fourth in the league. McNamara is averaging more than nine tacklers per game over his last four outings.

- Sophomore Chris Miller has posted five tackles for a loss in his last three games and he has climbed to fourth in the Centennial with 10 tackles for a loss this season. Miller has also posted a team-best three interceptions – all in Gettysburg victories. 

GETTYSBURG SPECIAL TEAMS
- Gettysburg ranks second in the conference in punt return average at 12 yards per return. Senior Fred Caruso ranks third with 12.8 yards per punt return.

- Sophomore Garrett Long (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) saw his streak of consecutive extra points end at 22 with a blocked attempt at Dickinson. He is 23-of-24 on the season. He's nailed 4-of-6 field goals with a season-long of 37 against Susquehanna. Long is also averaging 55.6 yards on kickoffs.

- Junior Robby Fay (New Providence, N.J./New Providence) ranks fifth in the conference with 36.5 yards per punt. He's placed 12 punts inside the opponent's 20 yard-line and his long for the season was a 64-yard boomer against Johns Hopkins. Fay has placed 15 punts inside the opponent's 20 yard-line. 

Lincoln Football Trophy
The Lincoln Trophy is more than a wooden carving molded in the shape of a former President's hat. It contains a history that stretches back 150 years. The award was created out of two "witness trees" that stood like sentinels as the Battle of Gettysburg raged in and around the community in July, 1863. Found inside one of the trees used to create the trophy was a bullet from the battle. That relic has been safely sealed within the award, representing a bridge to the past. The Lincoln Trophy, created by local historian and woodworker Bill Hewitt, will now stand as a prize to be won in the battles that will continue between Gettysburg and Franklin & Marshall on the gridiron.