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| Shemory found senior wide receiver John Kim (Havertown, Pa./Haverford) in F&M endzone. |
LANCASTER, Pa. – Freshman Elijah Shemory (Jersey Shore, Pa./Jersey Shore Area) tossed for 277 yards and three touchdowns and caught a pass that got the Lycoming College football team inside the 10-yard line at the end of the game, but Franklin & Marshall College was able to hold on for a 21-20 win in the Centennial-MAC Bowl Series at Shadek Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 17.
Down by a point, the Warriors (5-6 overall) got the ball with 3:16 left at the Lycoming 17-yard line. Three plays into the drive, Shemory found junior Christoff Minott (Upper Darby, Pa./Upper Darby) for a 39-yard game to get the ball to the 30-yard line. On the next play, Shemory threw a backwards pass to Minott, who delivered a 17-yard reception on the backside to Shemory. From there, junior Jacob Fimbres (La Habra, Calif./Sonora) rushed twice to push the ball inside the five with 18 seconds left. A sack on the next play pushed the ball back to the 15, setting up a field goal attempt from 32 yards that was blocked by Brendan Kilkenny to end the game.
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| Senior Wide Receiver Nick Costello (Havertown, Pa./Haverford), posted eight catches for 125 and this touchdown. |
Shemory completed 16-of-25 passing for the 277 yards and three scores, but was sacked nine times. His favorite target was senior Nick Costello (Havertown, Pa./Haverford), who posted eight catches for 125 yards to go over 100 yard for the fourth time this season. Fimbres finished with 77 yards receiving and a touchdown and he ran nine times for 28 yards.
Junior Jeff Coplin (Philadelphia, Pa./Central) led the Warriors with 10 tackles and junior Trey Smith (Hughesville, Pa./Hughesville) added eight. Senior Sam Romanofsky (Havertown, Pa./Haverford) posted seven sacks, two for loss and a sack. Freshman Nasir Bowen (Elkins Park, Pa./Archbishop Wood) added four tackles and two breakups and senior Ahmad Curtis (Effort, Pa./Pleasant Valley) added four stops, a sack and a breakup. Senior Joe Pinzka (Perkasie, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) notched his fifth interception of the season.
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| Senior DB Joe Pinzka (Perkasie, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) notched his fifth interception of the season. |
The Warriors got the scoring started when freshman Matt Stankiewicz (Olyphant, Pa./Mid Valley) scooped up a fumbled punt at the F&M 37. On the next play, Shemory loaded up and found Costello for a 37-yard score.
On Lycoming’s next drive, Lycoming marched 80 yards after Pinzka picked off a pass in the end zone for a touchback. Lycoming made it to midfield when Shemory delivered a screen pass to Fimbres, who found the corner and scored on a 52-yard run. The extra point, however, failed to make it 13-0.
The Diplomats (8-3 overall) scored on their next drive thanks to a 31-yard rush from Keshon Farmer, but Lycoming took a 20-7 lead with 11:09 left in the second quarter after driving 64 yards on nine plays. Shemory extended the drive with a 39-yard pass to Costello to get the ball inside the 10 and two plays later, Shemory found senior John Kim (Havertown, Pa./Haverford), who leapt and caught the ball on the left side of the end zone.
Franklin & Marshall, though, scored on a 55-yard drive with 28 seconds left in the second quarter and took the lead with 11:18 left in the third quarter on a pass from Tanner Erisman to K.J. Pretty for a 20-yard score.
Lycoming got within the 5-yard line twice in the second half, but each time Franklin & Marshall blocked field goal attempts to hold onto the slim lead.
The Warriors reached the postseason for the first time since 2008, as it competed in the Centennial-MAC Bowl Series.
