LANCASTER, Pa. – Two turnovers proved to be the difference as Gettysburg handed Franklin & Marshall a 28-14 defeat in the Centennial Conference (CC) football season finale for both squads. F&M ends its season with a 3-7 overall, 3-6 CC record while the Bullets closed out 2011 with 6-4, 6-3 CC mark.
On the seventh play of F&M's first series John Harrison threw a backwards pass toLamont Jackson which bounce off Jackson's hands and was recovered by Larry DelViscio at the F&M 20. The Bullets capitalized four plays later when Kyle Whitmoyer connected with John Pesce on a five-yard pass to give Gettysburg a 7-0 lead.
F&M answered on its ensuing possession with a 94-yard drive. Jackson racked up 54 yards on four carries on the drive; with the last carry resulting in a seven-yard score to even the game at 7-7.
After a three-and-out by the Bullets, F&M was poised to strike again, driving down to the Gettysburg six with a first-and-goal. Two plays later, Hugo Nolasco picked off Harrison at the two. The Bullets needed just eight plays to drive 98 yards which was capped off by a Freddy Caruso four-yard run to give the Gettysburg a 14-7 edge early in the second quarter and into the halftime break.
Gettysburg went up 21-7 on its opening drive in the second half. Whitmoyer hit John Pesce for an 11-yard strike to cap of an 11-play, 71-yard drive.
F&M responded on its next possession to cut the deficit to 21-14. The Diplomats marched 60 yards down the field on nine plays and Harrison hit John Kaschak for a nine yard score.
The Bullets sealed the game with a 94-yard drive in fourth quarter that ended with a one-yard run by Ted Delia.
Saturday marked the final game for 13 seniors. The class of 2012 amassed a 22-20 mark over four years with back-to-back ECAC appearances. Two of them, Harrison and Kaschak left with their names all over F&M's record book.
Kaschak moved up on two career lists on the day. Kaschak picked up 30 yards on 13 carriers and moved into the No. 2 spot on all-time career rushing list. The senior finished his career with 2,384 yards and is only second to Andy Surtz's ' 2,913 set in 1996. Kaschak's touchdown in third quarter tied him with Keith Wert '77 on the all-time touchdowns scored list with 29.
Harrison owns just about every single passing mark in F&M history. The senior signal caller is the leader in attempts (1,298), completions (856), yards (8,886), percentage (65.9) and touchdowns (87).
Another milestone was reached today as C.T. Marsh became the all-time sack leader in F&M history with a sack today. Matt DesChamps '92 previously held the honor with 25.5; Marsh has 26 sacks for his career.
Jackson finished with 98 yards on 11 carriers with a touchdown. Harrison went 22-for-35 for 241 yards with Tim Muller catching nine of those for 109 yards.
Brian Velasco tallied a game-high 11 stops with an interception. Brendan Wenerter had eight stops and Ty Savastio finished with seven. Nick Barbieri and Marsh had an identical six tackles, one sack and two tackles for loss.
Gettysburg vs Franklin & Marshall (Nov 12, 2011 at Lancaster, Pa.)
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
Gettysburg 7 7 7 7 28 Record: (6-4,6-3)
Franklin & Marshall 7 0 7 0 14 Record: (3-7,3-6)
Scoring Summary:
1st 09:39 GC John Pesce 5 yd pass from Kyle Whitmoyer (Rob Pennella kick), 5-20 1:18, GC 7 - F&M 0
06:55 F&M Lamont Jackson 7 yd run (Chris DeStefano kick), 6-94 2:34, GC 7 - F&M 7
2nd 12:34 GC Freddy Caruso 4 yd run (Rob Pennella kick), 8-98 2:39, GC 14 - F&M 7
3rd 11:27 GC John Pesce 11 yd pass from Kyle Whitmoyer (Rob Pennella kick), 11-71 3:27, GC 21 - F&M 7
06:07 F&M John Kaschak 9 yd pass from John Harrison (Chris DeStefano kick), 9-60 3:24, GC 21 - F&M 14
4th 09:05 GC Ted Delia 1 yd run (Rob Pennella kick), 6-94 2:16, GC 28 - F&M 14
RUSHING: Gettysburg-Ted Delia 23-157; Kyle Whitmoyer 10-86; Kody Smith 7-65; Freddy Caruso 4-58; John Pesce 6-19. Franklin & Marshall-Lamont Jackson 11-98; John Kaschak 13-30; Sean Davis 1-4; John Harrison 6-minus 39.
PASSING: Gettysburg-Kyle Whitmoyer 8-12-1-73; Kody Smith 4-10-0-40. Franklin & Marshall-John Harrison 22-35-1-241; E.J. Schneider 1-1-0-24.
RECEIVING: Gettysburg-Kyle Davis 4-25; Ted Delia 3-32; John Pesce 2-16; Bobby Romano 1-16; Freddy Caruso 1-15; Aden Twer 1-9. Franklin & Marshall-Tim Muller 9-109; Jordan Zackery 6-48; John Kaschak 4-47; Paul McGann 3-31; Lamont Jackson 1-30.
INTERCEPTIONS: Gettysburg-Hugo Nolasco 1-1. Franklin & Marshall-Brian Velasco 1-3.
FUMBLES: Gettysburg-None. Franklin & Marshall-John Harrison 1-1.
SACKS (UA-A): Gettysburg-Larry DelViscio 2-0; Joe Ventresca 2-0. Franklin & Marshall-Nick Barbieri 1-0; C.T. Marsh 1-0.
TACKLES (UA-A): Gettysburg-Larry DelViscio 10-1; Mark Covington 8-1; Joe Ventresca 4-0; Rob Pennella 4-0; Fred Dietz 4-0; Joe Delaney 4-0; D.J. Thompson 3-1; Dave Wald 3-1; Chris Douthett 2-1; Gordon Prince 2-0; Robert Swierkowski 2-0; Hugo Nolasco 1-1; A.J. Hill 1-0; Peter Hak 1-0; Chad Bucur 1-0; Nick Ulassin 1-0; TEAM 1-0. Franklin & Marshall-Brian Velasco 8-3; Brendan Wengerter 7-1; Ty Savastio 7-0; Nick Barbieri 6-0; C.T. Marsh 5-1; John Gandolfo 5-0; Phil Barbieri 4-0;Kurt Rogers 3-1; Ryan Young 3-0; Jordan Studevan 1-2; Kyle Wengerter 2-0; Mike Shin 1-1; Kenny Provost 0-2; Lamont Jackson 1-0; Chris DeStefano 0-1.