Box Score (Carlisle, Pa.) – The Dickinson football team had its chances on Saturday, but would come up short against visiting Franklin & Marshall, falling 20-10 as the Diplomats claimed possession of the Conestoga Wagon.
The Red Devils had a strong start, scoring on their first possession with 10-play, 76-yard drive to take a 7-0 lead at the 9:07 mark of the first quarter. Sophomore quarterback Billy Burger (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle) ran for 34 yards on the drive and hit classmate Jake Walbert (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson) with a pair of passes, including a 12-yard scoring strike to close out the drive.
The teams traded possessions with F&M pinning the Devils twice with a pair of great punts by Cody Hubbs. Hubbs dropped back-to-back kicks on the five and four-yard lines, forcing a pair of three-and-outs for Dickinson.
F&M answered to start the second quarter, finishing a 45-yard drive with a 10-yard pass from Zachary Bradley to Dillon Alderfer to knot the game, 7-7, with 13:15 remaining in the half.
The Diplomats tacked on a field-goal with 5:14 to play after the Red Devil defense stalled their drive on the eight-yard line. Dickinson countered on its next drive with a 39-yard field-goal from sophomore Stephen Walker (Darien, Conn./Darien), with 3:16 on the clock.
The teams traded punts once again with Dickinson capitalizing on a fumbled return to take over on the Diplomat 23-yard line. A pass interference call moved the ball to the six-yard line with just under a minute to play in the half.
The Diplomats broke through for a sack and recovered a fumble with 20 seconds on the clock. They would take a knee with the score tied, 10-10, at halftime.
The third quarter belonged to the defense as both teams were held scoreless. The Devils came away with interceptions from James Turner (Ridgefield, Conn./Suffield Academy) and Will Peck (North Yarmouth, Maine/Greely) but were unable to convert them into points.
F&M intercepted a pass and returned it to the Dickinson eight-yard line, early in the fourth quarter to set up a great opportunity. The Red Devil defense came up big, stopping the Diplomats and forcing a field-goal with nine minutes remaining in the game.
More punts put the ball in the hands of the Diplomats at the Dickinson 34-yard line. They went to the ground to try and burn some clock, moving the ball to the Dickinson four-yard line. They went for it on fourth-and-two, and Taalib Gerald found just enough room around the left end to reach pay-dirt with 1:19 on the clock.
Dickinson had a great 33-yard return by senior captain James Ward (Hatfield, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) put the Red Devils at midfield after the kick-off. They were forced to go for it on fourth down and failed to convert, closing out the game.
The defensive battle saw both teams combining for just 361 yards of total offense on the day. Dave Shellhammer led F&M with 65 rushing yards while Bradley completed 12-of-21 passes for 81 yards.
Malcolm Davis (St. Louis, Mo./Ladue Horton) ran for 53 yards and came up with some big tackles on special teams. Burger finished the day 13-of-28 for 82 yards with Walbert covering 45 on the day.
The Red Devils had four players reach double-digits in tackles. Senior captains Kevin Sherry (Swarthmore, Pa./Strath Haven) and Ned Emala (Baltimore, Md./Gilman) each recorded a game-high 11 tackles, as did senior Pat Irwin (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle). Turner added 10 stops to his interception as well.
F&M improves to 4-1 overall and 3-1 in the conference. The Red Devils slip to 0-5 and 0-4 on the year. Dickinson is off next weekend before hosting Johns Hopkins University under the lights on Friday night, October 14th at 7:00 pm.
