By Nicole Strauss, Staff Writer ||
Franklin and Marshall’s football Diplomats conquered Susquehanna’s Crusaders last Saturday. With a win of 13 – 8, the Diplomats played well and engaged in strong kickoffs, blocks, and rushes. Right now, the football team is 4 – 3 in the Centennial Conference.
Coach Troxell gives his opinions on the start of the game.
“On a cold, windy day I was proud of our team for battling and finding a way to win. We played very well defensively, holding Susquehanna to 8 Points. We won the game because of the play of our offensive and defensive lines.”
Susquehanna dominated at the start off the game, but that did not phase the Dips. By the end of the first, F&M scored and were ahead by one point.
The blocks made by the Diplomats were impressive and allowed them to be in possession of the ball at the beginning of the second. After the teams traded sides of the field, the Crusaders made some nice passes and runs, making the score 13 – 8, Crusaders.
The last five minutes of the game were exciting for all. Quarterback Matt Magarity ‘16, says that “our punt team forced a huge fumble to give us the ball back in their territory and our defense held them from scoring with a turnover on downs late in the 4th quarter.” This allowed the Diplomats to make a comeback and walk away with a win.
“The team’s approach to the game was definitely to grind out a win on the ground. It’s never easy to win a college game on the road, but having the running game working like it did always takes a lot of pressure off of the defense.”
“I’m just looking forward to another chance to play at home and take a shot at a nationally ranked team. we knocked them off in a similar situation 2 years ago and we’re all excited to see if we produce a similar result. This is the kind of opportunity you grow up dreaming about and now that it’s here we’re just counting the seconds until noon Saturday.
Coach Troxell gives some last remarks about next game and this season as a whole.
“We are really looking forward to the last CC game against Gettysburg. It will mark the 100th time the two colleges have played. The all time record is 46-46-7. It is such a great rivalry and we want our seniors to go out winners in their last game.”
“The first goal is to always have a winning season. We still have 2 games left so we still have that goal to attain. However, we really think we have achieved more than people thought we would. This group of guys has represented F&M and their families in a first class manner. My goal is to develop incredible young men that will leave here and give back. I believe the 13 seniors that are going to graduate will be very successful in their jobs, as husbands, and as fathers and that is the ultimate goal of our football program.”
F&M’s final home game will take place Saturday, November 8th against Johns Hopkins at noon.
It should be an action filled, exciting final game for the
Diplomats.
Senior Nicole Strauss is a contributing writer. Her email is nstrauss@fandm.edu.