LANCASTER, Pa. – Franklin & Marshall defeated McDaniel 35-10 in Centennial Conference (CC) football action Saturday afternoon at Sponaugle-Williamson Field. The Diplomats pushed their winning streak over the Green Terror to nine straight games with the victory.
Frank Strumolo scored the first of his two touchdowns to put F&M (5-1, 4-1 CC) on the scoreboard first. Strumolo's run from two yards out completed a nine-play, 55-yard drive and gave F&M a 7-0 lead with 3:57 left in the first quarter. E.J. Schneider found Jordan Zackery on fourth and five to keep that drive alive and Strumolo scored on the next play.
The Diplomats went up 14-0 with a touchdown early in the second quarter when Scott LaValva scored on an eight-yard jaunt. The drive was set up after Devin Hunter lofted a 39-yard punt and Mike Shin forced a fumble and came away with the ball on the McDaniel ten-yard line. LaValva found the end zone two plays later and Chris DeStefano's kick made it 14-0 with 14:07 on the clock.
Both teams went three and out on their next possessions and McDaniel (0-6, 0-5 CC) strung together a nine-play drive that ended with a 34-yard field goal to make it 14-3, which stood as the halftime score.
The Green Terror struck first in the third quarter on a 62-yard pass from Seth McFall to Keith Woodrow to put McDaniel within striking distance, 14-10, with 4:37 left in the third.
F&M countered with two unanswered scores in the final four minutes of the third quarter to take a commanding 28-10 lead into the fourth.
Schneider hooked up with Paul McGann for a 44-yard gain on the first play of the series after the field goal to set up first and ten on the McDaniel 25. Schneider took it from there, breaking two tackles and spinning away from another defender to give F&M a 21-10 edge.
The F&M defense forced a three and out on McDaniel's next series, and the offense took over on its own 29. On the first play of the series, Schneider found McGann again, this time for a 42-yard play down to the McDaniel 29. Five plays later, on third and goal, Lamont Jackson dove in from two yards out to make it 28-10 as time expired in the third quarter.
Strumolo scored his second touchdown of the game on a five-yard run to pad F&M's lead, 35-10, with 6:39 left to play. The score capped off an eight-play, 72-yard drive that spanned over four minutes.
Strumolo finished with a game-high 77 yards on 17 rushes and two scores, Jackson had 45 yards and LaValva ended the day with 41 yards on the ground.
Schneider threw for 178 yards on 12-for-24 passing. McGann hauled in a game-high 86 yards, while Jordan Zackery finished with 55.
McDaniel's Joe Rollins came into the game leading the conference in rushing and averaging 115 yards per game and the F&M defense held him to just 50 yards rushing.
Jonathan Struss and Chris DeStefano led the F&M defense with seven stops each while Struss picked up two tackles for a loss from his cornerback position. Brenden Wengerter had six (4s, 2a), one TFL and one fumble recovery.
C.T. Marsh finished with three stops, including a half sack. Marsh is now 2.5 sacks way from becoming the all-time sack leader in the CC.
F&M returns to action Saturday when the Diplomats host Moravian for Homecoming at 1:30 p.m.