THE FACTS
Franklin & Marshall (3-1, 1-0 CC) 35, Gettysburg (0-4, 0-1 CC) 28
What: Centennial Conference (CC) football game
When: Saturday, Oct. 4
Where: Gettysburg, Pa.
THE SKINNY STORY
Trailing 28-27, Franklin & Marshall score the go-ahead touchdown and two-point conversation with 7:07 to play and the defense held for a 35-28 win over Gettysburg in the Centennial Conference opener for both teams.
THE LEADERS
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Michael Zrelak (Monroe, N.Y./Monroe-Woodbury) led the Bullets with 26 rushes for a season-high 153 yards and a touchdown.
•
Nick Wonsala (Manasquan, N.J./Wall Twp.) added four catches for 89 yards and a touchdown.
FOR THE FOES
• Ty Tremba led the Diplomats with 324 passing yards, completing 24 of 32 passes with four touchdowns.
• Gary Lewis caught four passes for 129 yards and two scores while Hudson Zawadzkas had seven catches for 92 yards and a touchdown.
THE REST OF THE STORY
• After Gettysburg drove the ball to the Franklin & Marshall 15 on the opening drive but turned it over on downs, the defense held the Diplomats to a three-and-out.
Kevin Regula (Hillsdale, N.J./Pascack Valley) blocked the punt on fourth down and scooped it up for a five-yard scoop-and-score and 7-0 lead for the hosts with 8:39 on the clock. F&M needed just five plays, hitting four long pass plays for an 84-yard scoring drive to tie the game with 5:48 showing.
• The Bullets countered with a methodical 14-play drive that ate up 7 minutes, 35 seconds.
Landon Hunt (Woodbridge, Va./Forest Park) capped the 76-yard drive with his first collegiate touchdown for a 14-7 lead with 13:06 to play in the second quarter. The Diplomats came back with a seven-yard touchdown toss to Gary Lewis with 8:48 showing after the visitors marched 63 yards in nine plays. After an interception, the next F&M possession need just one play for Ty Tremba to hit Lewis streaking down the near sideline and he took it 86 yards for a 21-14 lead with 5:09 to play in the opening half.
• After stopping the Diplomats on a fourth-and-1 on their initial drive of the third quarter,
Michael Zrelak broke through the line and took it 55 yards for the tying touchdown with 12:41 showing. Franklin & Marshall went back in front on a 37-yard Michael Fleming field goal with 8:00 remaining.
• Fleming added a 42-yard field goal just 1:31 onto the fourth quarter for a 27-21 lead. Gettysburg countered, however, with a four-play drive.
Sean Clark (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) found Wonsala for a 53-yard touchdown. The
Isaac Parks-Gill (Lewistown, Pa./Mifflin County) PAT put the hosts in front, 28-27. The Diplomats started their next possession at their own 44 and needed just six plays before Tremba found Matt Eitner on a curl route at the goal line for a touchdown. After a delay-of-game penalty on the ensuing two-point conversion, Hudson Zawadzkas made a sliding grab in the middle of the end zone to make it a seven-point lead. Gettysburg took the next drive to the F&M 20 but were stopped on fourth down and the Diplomats were able to seal the victory.
THE INSIDE STORY
• Gettysburg did not punt in a game for the first time since Oct. 5, 2013 at McDaniel. The Bullets did successfully convert two fourth-down plays on fake punts.
• Franklin & Marshall finished with a 411-409 edge in total offense but outgained the Bullets through the air, 324-167. Gettysburg had a 242-87 advantage on the ground.
NEXT UP
Gettysburg returns to action at Dickinson on Saturday. Game time is 1 p.m.
