EWING, N.J. – The TCNJ football team dropped a 34-9 decision at Franklin & Marshall on Thursday night in its road opener.

The Diplomats (3-0) scored the game's first 20 points and put the game away with a quick touchdown out of the halftime intermission.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Diplomats drew first blood on a 31-yard deep strike from Ty Tremba to Gary Lewis at the 10:17 mark of the first quarter, three plays after All-American Justin Gerhart picked off Trevor Bopp near midfield
• The Lions' defense stood tall as F&M maneuvered inside the 35-yard line, but Laurence Miller booted home a 50-yard field goal to extend the lead to 10-0 with 3:35 left in the opening frame
• F&M made it a 17-0 game on the second touchdown connection from Tremba to Lewis, who made a leaping snag in the back corner of the end zone for a 22-yard score
• Logan Flaherty and Dylan Patscher split a big sack to help short-circuit another dangerous Diplomat possession, forcing the hosts into a 43-yard field goal by Miller
• A 3^rd-and-10 conversion from Bopp to Thomas Burke and a 17-yard reception by Jayson Schmidt gave the Lions a chance to get on the board at the end of the half, and the blue and gold did just that on Bobby Wortman's 45-yard field that split the uprights as time expired
• The Diplomats wasted little time getting going in the second half, needing just three plays to find the end zone as Jack O'Hearen took a slant on 3^rd-and-1 and outraced the TCNJ secondary for a 62-yard touchdown to make it 27-3
• Logan Flaherty gave the Lions life on the next F&M possession, stripping Lewis after a reception that would have been good for a first down. He jumped on the loose ball and, after completions to Jake McKown and Jasinski, Al-Shakier Drake picked his way down to the 2-yard line with a 12-yard run. The Diplomat defense rose up, however, stuffing four consecutive runs to turn TCNJ over on downs
• F&M put the game away with a 12-play, 98-yard march that culminated in Lewis' third TD catch, a 6-yard fade from Tremba with 2:27 to play in the third
• Burke caught a 22-yard touchdown pass from Bopp on the final play of regulation

FOR THE FOES

• Lewis (8 catches), the reigning Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Week, and O'Hearen finished with 109 yards apiece and combined for four touchdowns
• Tremba was 18-for-26 for 274 yards and the four scores
• Dante Wilson gained 78 yards on 16 carries for F&M, which had 414 yards of total offense and had the ball for 36:30 of game time

FOR THE LIONS

• Jasinski was Bopp's favorite target, racking up six catches in the first half alone and finishing with a career-high eight for 54 yards
• Burke wound up with six receptions for a team-high 71 yards and his fourth career touchdown
• McKown was right behind Burke with a career-high 70 yards on four catches
• Dominick Nocero led all players with 10 tackles and Cole Groschel landed on nine. Flaherty finished with seven tackles, including a pair of split sacks
• Tyler Rummel and Ryan McGuire each notched a sack. Rummell picked up two tackles for loss, with Flaherty, McGuire, Matthew Ochoa, and Dylan Patscher each logging one TFL

NOTES

• Bopp threw for 228 yards, eclipsing 2,000 for his career
• Wortman's field goal put him within two points of 100 for his career
• Thursday night marked the first meeting between the programs

UP NEXT

• The Lions open NJAC play at Montclair State next Saturday