FULL GAME NOTES
 
Ursinus (3-1, 0-1) at Franklin & Marshall (3-1, 0-1)
When: Saturday, October 7th
Where: Lancaster, Pa.
Stadium: Shadek Stadium (2,500)
Kickoff: 1:00 p.m.
Live Video: VIDEO
Live Stats: STATS
 
 
SERIES BREAKDOWN
All-Time Series: Franklin & Marshall leads 67-32-4
First Meeting: 1894 – F&M won 76-0
Last Meeting: Sept. 17, 2022 @ Ursinus – Ursinus won 35-28
Streak: Ursinus +2
 
 
The Ursinus Bears Football Team travels to face Franklin & Marshall as they continue Centennial Conference play.
 
 
LAST GAME: The Bears were defeated by No. 17/23 Muhlenberg 28-20 last Friday night at Patterson Field. Ursinus fell behind 28-0 to the Mules before getting a touchdown late in the second quarter to go into the locker room down 28-7. After a scoreless third quarter, the Bears staged a furious rally with two fourth quarter touchdowns to make it a 28-20 game with 5:10 left. Ursinus got the ball back with just over a minute left deep in their own territory but ran out of time that ended the game. The Bears defense valiantly shut out Muhlenberg in the second half that allowed the offense to rally back.
 
 
LAST MEETING: Last year, the Bears took down Franklin & Marshall 22-7 on the road. Ursinus staved off a slow start on offense by scoring a touchdown at the end of the first quarter to take the early lead. The Bears held that lead until they scored 12 points in the final 4:23 of the first half to take a 19-0 lead at halftime. The Bears tacked on a field goal late and dominated on defense the rest of the way to preserve the win.
 
 
BUILDING MOMENTUM: Junior wide receiver Cameron Dennis continued his strong stretch of play against Muhlenberg this past Friday. He finished with 48 yards on three catches and caught a touchdown pass, the second-straight game he has done that. Dennis now leads the team with 246 receiving yards and is second on the team with his two touchdown receptions. A big play threat, four of Dennis's receptions this season have gone for over 30+ yards. He has also recorded at least three receptions in each of the Bears past three games.
 
 
WHO'S BACK OF THE WEEK: Two Bears returned to action after bouts with injury against Muhlenberg. Junior wide receiver Justin Collier made his 2023 debut and led the Bears with six catches for 60 yards against the Mules, which were both team-highs. Collier had a breakout 2022 campaign for the Bears by leading the team with 10 touchdown receptions, which was just off the single-season team record and earned All-Centennial Honorable Mention. Junior defensive end Connor Carter also returned in his first action since the Alvernia season opener. Carter picked up where he left off in the opener by tallying eight tackles (two solo). He posted four tackles (two solo) and 1.5 sacks in limited action against Alvernia.
 
 
 
RYDIN' DIRTY: First-year wide receiver Ryder Zulkowski had been poised to get on the board this season and finally did so against Muhlenberg. Zulkowski hauled in his first collegiate touchdown this past Friday on a 40-yard reception in the second quarter that came on 4th down and 2. He flashed his potential against Rowan with two catches for 53 yards and caught his longest pass of the season with that touchdown. Zulkowski has recorded 100 yards on four catches this season and made his first collegiate start against Rowan as well.
 
 
ON THE DOORSTEP: Senior defensive end Ryan Bodolus took one step closer to setting the Bears all-time career sacks record with a sack in the fourth quarter on Friday against Muhlenberg. He now sits at 25.5 which is two sacks away from setting the all-time program record of 27 held by Frank Hennessey. Bodolus has recorded at least one sack in each game this season and now leads the Centennial with 4.5 sacks. Bodolus has recorded a sack in eight straight contests dating back to the Gettysburg game back last October and has tallied a sack in 11 of his last 13 contests.
 
 
GOTTA CATCH EM' ALL: Sophomore wide receiver Cody House was among the team leaders in receptions once again against Muhlenberg. He totaled just 27 yards against the Mules but caught five passes which was second most on the team. House has recorded at least five receptions in all four games this season for the Bears and leads the team with 22 receptions. He is currently tied for third in the Centennial Conference with that number and leads the team while ranking second in the conference with five touchdown receptions
 
 
ANOTHER ONE: Senior fullback Dawson Fresses punched in another touchdown for the Bears against Muhlenberg. Fresses is now up to five touchdowns on the season behind a pair of multi-touchdown games against the Profs along with Alvernia and now leads the Centennial Conference with that number. He also had a pair of multi-touchdown games last season as well. Fresses has rushed for 189 yards this season and is averaging a solid 4.6 yards per carry. Last season, Fresses set his career-high in carries with 19 against the Diplomats which led to his first collegiate start the following week against Susquehanna.  
 
 
SCOUTING THE DIPLOMATS: The Diplomats suffered a heartbreaking 19-17 loss at Dickinson last Friday night. F&M broke a 10-10 tie with a touchdown late in the third quarter and held a 17-13 lead with 8:40 left in the fourth quarter. However, the Red Devils drove 98 yards in 23 plays, using up every second of the remaining time, and scored the game-winner as time expired with a two-yard rush. Despite the setback, the Diplomats have had a strong start offensively to the season. Sophomore quarterback Ty Tremba has taken a step forward this season so far as he ranks fourth in the Centennial with 909 passing yards with nine touchdown passes. His favorite target is sophomore Gary Lewis, who leads the Centennial Conference with both 369 receiving yards and seven touchdown passes.
               On defense, the Diplomats have been stout as they currently rank second as a team in yards allowed per game at 180.5 while leading the conference in defensive efficiency at 101. Junior linebacker Matt Scully leads the team with 24 tackles (18 solo) and is tied for third in the Centennial Conference with three sacks while adding two forced fumbles plus one interception as well. Senior linebacker Owen Walsh ranks second on the team with 21 total stops (14 solo) and senior defensive back Justin Gerhart has one interception and 19 tackles (17 solo) after his All-American season of 2022.