Eagles Lose Early Lead and Fall to F&M, 24-7

LANCASTER, Pa.- Juniata scored first but host Franklin and Marshall put up 24 unanswered points as the Diplomats defeated the Eagles 24-7 on Saturday afternoon. F&M remains undefeated at 4-0 overall and 3-0 in the Centennial Conference. JC falls to 1-3 overall and 0-3 in the Centennial.

The Eagles scored on their second possession of the game. Starting at their own 19, quarterback Hank Coyne (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford HS) was able to move Juniata downfield. On third and seven from the 22, Coyne rushed for eight yards and the first down. Two plays later, he connected with DaVon Mitchell (Schwenksville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) for a 24-yard gain to the F&M 44. On a third and six, Coyne hit Luke Everett (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pine-Richland) for seven yards and a first down. Two plays later, Matt Lehr (Dover, Pa./York Catholic) picked up 14 yards from the F&M 34 to the F&M 20.

Juniata got to the Diplomat six after Aaron O'Brien's (York, Pa./York Catholic) eight-yard reception. On third and goal from the one, Lehr was able to punch the ball in and with Kevin Bonalle's (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) extra point, JC was ahead 7-0 with 3:24 remaining in the first quarter.

The Diplomats looked to respond as they got down to the JC 10. On first and goal, however, John Maclay (Reedsville, Pa./Mifflin County) intercepted F&M quarterback Tanner Erisman as the Eagles ended the Franklin and Marshall threat.

Juniata got as far as its own 39 before the drive stalled and it was forced to punt. The Eagle defense seemingly had the Diplomats stopped yet again as they forced another punt. Kirby Breault (Elizabethtown, Pa/Elizabethtown) fumbled the return attempt and F&M recovered at the 29. The Diplomats ran on six straight plays that ended with Dave Shellhammer's three-yard touchdown run. The extra point failed and JC led 7-6 with 4:03 to go in the second quarter.

The Eagles' picked up three first downs on their ensuing possession and moved to the F&M 25. After calling a timeout with 1:16 to play, JC elected to go for the first down on 4^th and 1. Lehr would be taken down for a loss of three yards and the Diplomats would take over.

Franklin and Marshall quickly moved downfield as Erisman completed passes of 38 yards to Bobby Keyes and 44 yards to Andrew DeStefano. At the JC 39, Erisman connected with Keyes for the touchdown and with the two-point conversion, F&M went ahead 14-7 at halftime.

The Eagles held the Diplomats to a field goal in the third quarter to make the score 17-7. In the fourth quarter, Franklin and Marshall increased its lead to 24-7 on a Stephon Smith 22-yard rushing touchdown.

Juniata began its first possession of the final quarter at its own 45 after a 17 yard kickoff return by Andre Pendleton (Penn Valley, Pa./Harriton) and an added personal foul penalty by the Diplomats. Coyne complete three passes to O'Brien for 40 yards to get down to the F&M 15. A Coyne two-yard run brought the ball to the 13, but the drive stalled as Eagles turned the ball over on downs.

After forcing an F&M punt, JC had one more chance to get back into the game. Starting at its own 15, Coyne hooked up with O'Brien on third and 10 for 39 yards to get to the F&M 46. Coyne then passed to Mitchell for 12 yards, Brett Kunkel (Ambler Pa./UpperDublin) for seven yards, and Vinit Patel (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) for 17 yards as the Eagles had the ball at the F&M 10. The drive went for naught as Coyne threw four straight incompletions and the Eagles again turned the ball on downs. The Diplomats ran out the clock to end the game.

The Diplomats led in total yards, 366-319. F&M led in rushing 184-62 but JC had the advantage in the passing game, 257-182. Franklin and Marshall had the ball for 36:08 compared to 23:52 for the Eagles. Third down efficiency gave a slight edge to F&M (8-of-13 for 62%) while Juniata was 9-of-15 for 60%. There were a total of four penalties with Juniata picking up one and Franklin and Marshall three.

Coyne finished 22-of-40 for 257 yards and was only sacked once. O'Brien caught six passes for 91 yards. Breault had three grabs for 34 yards. Mitchell caught two balls for 36 yards.  Lehr led in rushing with 26 yards on six attempts and one score. Deonte Alston (Bel-Air, Md./Patterson Mill) ran nine times for 21 yards.

On the defensive side, Ryan Bologa (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone) led all tacklers with 13 stops. Maclay added nine tackles, an interception, and a pass breakup. Nick Bonavita (Sheffield, Pa./Sheffield Area HS) and Jonah Plymire (York Pa./Central York) both had eight total tackles with Plymire also picking up a sack.

Juniata returns to Knox Stadium next weekend to host nationally ranked Johns Hopkins on Homecoming Day. Kickoff will be at 1 p.m.