BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Joe Tegan's 31-yard dash to the end zone was the difference-maker as Moravian handed Franklin & Marshall a 24-17 loss in Saturday's Centennial Conference (CC) football tilt. The run capped a four-play Greyhounds (3-4, 3-3 CC) race to the end zone after the Diplomats (4-2, 3-2 CC) had knotted it up 17-17 late in the fourth quarter.
Franklin & Marshall's offense worked in fits and starts all day before finally getting on track in the fourth quarter. By that time, the Diplomats trailed 17-7. Boosted by a pair of Moravian personal fouls, the F&M went 80-yards on 10 plays, capped by a John Harrison's pass to Colton Weaver on the right sideline in the end zone. Weaver's first career touchdown reception made it 17-14.
The Diplomats defense responded with a three-and-out, setting up the offense on the Diplomats' 39-yardline. After converting a fourth-and-one on his own, Harrison picked his way down to a first and goal on the Moravian nine. A holding call stalled the drive, forcing F&M to settle for a 25-yard field from Chris DeStefano to knot it up at 17-17 with 2:21 to play.
Matt Johnson completed a 15-yard pass to Shawn Sylvainus on first down then called his own number twice for gains of 13 and 10 yards. He then handed it off to Tegan who gashed through the left side of the Diplomats' defense and cruised into the end zone to the delight of the Hounds' homecoming crowd.
Johnson's running was a problem throughout the afternoon for F&M. The Greyhounds signal caller carried the ball 12 times for 104 yards. He broke off a 59-yard run in the third quarter that set up his own six-yard sprint to paydirt early in the third quarter making it 17-7. Johnson had set out to pass on the play, but was met by a wall of F&M pass-rushers to his right. He broke containment on the left for an easy run into the end zone.
Despite sustained wind of over 15 miles per hour and a sustained pass rush that yielded four sacks, Harrison completed 34-of-51 pass attempts on the afternoon. He passed for 250 yards and two touchdowns, including a fourth and goal, two-yard strike to Jarrell Diggs, who streaked across the back of the end zone to get wide open early in the second quarter. The score gave F&M its only lead of the day, 10-7.
The lead lasted until late in the half. After a pass to Diggs that set the Diplomats back two yards, the junior receiver was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, setting F&M back on its own seven. Harrison tossed an interception to Jake Hildebrand who ran to the right pylon from 16-yards out to give his team a 10-7 lead with 4:04 left in the half.
The junior quarterback responded by marching F&M down to the Moravian 22 before a holding call set the Diplomats back 10 yards. Facing fourth and 20 with ten seconds on the clock, Harrison saw a receiver drop a sure touchdown, leaving the Hounds' lead intact heading into the half.
Moravian outgained F&M 308 yards to 281. The Diplomats netted just 31 yards on the ground. Sam Massaro led F&M with seven tackles. Four were solo stops. Jay Ridinger recorded a game-high nine receptions for 97 yards.
The Diplomats return to the Lehigh Valley next weekend when F&M faces Muhlenberg.
| Score by Quarters | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Score | |
| Franklin & Marshall | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 17 | Record: (4-2,3-2) |
| Moravian | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 24 | Record: (3-4,3-3) |
Scoring Summary
| 1st | 9:33 | MOR | Ian Heck 23 yd field goal, 5-44 2:41, F&M 0 - MOR 3 |
| 2nd | 11:33 | F&M | Jarrell Diggs 2 yd pass from John Harrison (Chris DeStefano kick), 16-60 8:19, F&M 7 - MOR 3 |
| 4:04 | MOR | Jake Hildebrand 16 yd interception return (Ian Heck kick), , F&M 7 - MOR 10 | |
| 3rd | 10:42 | MOR | Matt Johnson 6 yd run (Ian Heck kick), 4-72 2:02, F&M 7 - MOR 17 |
| 4th | 10:55 | F&M | Colton Weaver 8 yd pass from John Harrison (Chris DeStefano kick), 10-80 3:57, F&M 14 - MOR 17 |
| 2:21 | F&M | Chris DeStefano 25 yd field goal, 14-53 6:38, F&M 17 - MOR 17 | |
| 1:19 | MOR | Joe Tegan 31 yd run (Ian Heck kick), 4-69 0:57, F&M 17 - MOR 24 |
| F&M | MOR | |
| FIRST DOWNS | 19 | 11 |
| RUSHES-YARDS (NET) | 29-31 | 27-163 |
| PASSING YDS (NET) | 250 | 145 |
| Passes Att-Comp-Int | 51-34-1 | 22-12-0 |
| TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS | 80-281 | 49-308 |
| Fumble Returns-Yards | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Punt Returns-Yards | 3-2 | 2-41 |
| Kickoff Returns-Yards | 5-55 | 4-63 |
| Interception Returns-Yards | 0-0 | 1-16 |
| Punts (Number-Avg) | 5-37.0 | 4-35.0 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 0-0 | 1-0 |
| Penalties-Yards | 6-51 | 6-59 |
| Possession Time | 38:04 | 21:56 |
| Third-Down Conversions | 4 of 18 | 1 of 9 |
| Fourth-Down Conversions | 4 of 7 | 0 of 3 |
| Red-Zone Scores-Chances | 3-3 | 2-3 |
| Sacks By: Number-Yards | 1-8 | 4-29 |
RUSHING: Franklin & Marshall-John Kaschak 23-57; John Harrison 6-minus 26. Moravian-Matt Johnson 12-104; Joe Tegan 6-42; R Del Priore 7-20; TEAM 2-minus 3.
PASSING: Franklin & Marshall-John Harrison 34-51-1-250. Moravian-Matt Johnson 12-22-0-145.
RECEIVING: Franklin & Marshall-Jay Ridinger 9-97; John Kaschak 8-51; Jarrell Diggs 8-43; Peter Gumas 3-12; Michael Deutch 2-15; Colton Weaver 2-14; Kevin O'Shea 1-10; Tim Muller 1-8. Moravian-Shawn Sylvainus 5-35; Ryan Onushco 4-62; Alex Hersch 1-36; R Del Priore 1-11; Albie Moran 1-1.
INTERCEPTIONS: Franklin & Marshall-None. Moravian-Jake Hildebrand 1-16.
FUMBLES: Franklin & Marshall-None. Moravian-Matt Johnson 1-0.
SACKS (UA-A): Franklin & Marshall-C.T. Marsh 1-0. Moravian-Allen Petros 2-1; Philip Bortz 1-0; M McClarin 0-1.
TACKLES (UA-A): Franklin & Marshall-Sam Massaro 4-3; Donald Wiezik 1-5; Kurt Rogers 4-1; Ty Savastio 3-2; Phil Barbieri 3-2; Shane Gray 2-3; Nick Barbieri 1-3; C.T. Marsh 3-0; Dylan Jagiello 2-0; Kenny Provost 1-1; Drew Hutcheon 1-1; Brian Low 0-2; Jarrell Diggs 1-0; Jonathan Struss 0-1. Moravian-David Wacker 8-3; D DiMattia 5-4; Thomas Dailey 4-5; Jake Hildebrand 3-6; Daniel Burley 4-3; Zach Szoke 6-0; Evan Bauer 4-2; Philip Bortz 2-4; Allen Petros 4-1; M McClarin 2-3; Dalton Petit 2-2; Seth Payne 0-3; Ryan Hartzell 1-1; Jason Pauloski 0-2; Ryan Onushco 0-1; Patrick Gordon 0-1; Tyler Potterton 0-1.