FULL GAME NOTES
 
Ursinus (4-0, 1-0) vs Franklin & Marshall (3-1, 1-0)
When: Saturday, October 12th
Where: Collegeville, Pa.
Stadium: Patterson Field (1,700)
Kickoff: 1:00 p.m.
Live Video: VIDEO
Live Stats: STATS
 
 
SERIES BREAKDOWN
All-Time Series: Franklin & Marshall leads 68-32-4
First Meeting: 1894 – F&M won 76-0
Last Meeting: Oct. 7, 2023 @ Franklin & Marshall – F&M won 20-16
Streak: F&M +1
 
 
The Ursinus Bears Football Team will host Franklin & Marshall on Saturday in a key Centennial Conference matchup.
 
LAST GAME: Last Friday, the Bears won a memorable 53-50 Centennial Conference opener over Muhlenberg on the road. In a game that featured 103 combined points and 1,004 combined yards, the teams traded back and forth blows in the first half that saw six combined touchdowns. Ursinus led 27-21 at the half before the Mules scored two straight touchdowns to open the second half and took a 35-27 lead. Muhlenberg led 42-33 early in the fourth quarter, but the Bears rallied back with 20 unanswered points to go up 53-42. Ursinus staved off a late Muhlenberg touchdown and stopped the Mules in the final minute to win.
 
 
LAST MEETING: The Bears dropped a heartbreaker to Franklin & Marshall last season in Lancaster after the Diplomats scored with two seconds left. Ursinus went up 13-6 following a field goal before the Diplomats tied things up again with a touchdown. Ursinus took the lead back at 16-13 with 1:22 left in regulation but could not fend off a last-minute Diplomat drive which included a 4th-an-16 conversion.
 
 
ONE FOR THE BOOKS: Senior quarterback Jalen Bradford had an Ursinus record-setting night against Muhlenberg last Friday. Bradford delivered an Ursinus single-game program record seven touchdown passes behind going 22-of-30 for 303 yards. He bested Jack Psenicska's record of six touchdown passes against Gettysburg in 2022 and tied the Centennial Conference record for touchdown passes in a game. Bradford was named the Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in his career and had his first 300+ yard game of the season. Bradford surged to second in the conference with 11 touchdown passes and is tied for fifth all-time in school history with 40 touchdown passes.  
 
SEE YA: Senior running back Tony Holden came through in the clutch for the Bears on Friday against Muhlenberg in the fourth quarter. Holden broke through down the left sideline for a 79-yard touchdown with just over four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. His run, the second longest of his career, solidified his fourth straight 100+ yard rushing game of the season in four games. Holden well holds the Centennial Conference lead in rushing yards with 614 yards and is up to eight rushing touchdowns. Holden also snagged his first receiving touchdown of the season as well.
 
 
 
REMEMBER ME?: Senior defensive back Aaron Anderson made a key interception for the Bears in the second quarter with the Mules driving for a possible touchdown. It was Anderson's third interception in two career games played at Scotty Wood Stadium following a legendary performance his debut season in 2021 that saw him intercept two passes in the Bears upset win of then No. 6 ranked Muhlenberg. Anderson has 14 tackles this season (10 solo) with 1.0 TFL. He also holds the longest active start streak on the team for the Bears as he has started all 37 contests that he has played in since the 2021 season.
 
 
PUT IT ON THE HOUSE: Junior wide receiver Cody House registered the season three-touchdown reception game of his career against Muhlenberg on Friday. He hauled in his first three touchdowns of the season and posted 88 yards on five receptions. House entered the contest with just four catches for 10 yards that came against Alvernia in the season opener. His previous three-touchdown game was also against Alvernia, but in the 2023 season opener.
 
 
 
FOUR SCORES: Senior wide receiver Justin Collier continued his touchdown streak with one against Muhlenberg last Friday night. He has one touchdown reception in each of the first four Bear contests this season and caught four passes for 66 yards. Collier leads the team with 19 receptions and ranks second on the team for 233 yards. He has moved into second place all-time in Ursinus career touchdown receptions with 20 and is just three shy of tying the school record of 23 with Nick Giarratano. Collier has caught a touchdown pass in eight of the last 10 Bears contests dating back to the 2023 season.
 
 
UP WITH THE BEST: Junior defensive end Aaron Rios added another sack to his breakout season against Muhlenberg on Friday. He is now up to a Centennial Conference leading 7.5 sacks and is tied for third in all of NCAA Division III for sacks. He has recorded at least a 0.5 sack in every game this season and paces all of Division III with 13.5 TFL after adding two of those against Muhlenberg last week.
 
 
SCOUTING THE DIPLOMATS: The Diplomats rallied from a halftime deficit to defeat Dickinson 23-14 at home. The Red Devils took a 14-10 lead into the half before the Diplomats took the lead back for good at 16-14 early in the third quarter before adding an insurance touchdown in the fourth quarter. The Diplomats have most of their success so far through the air behind experienced quarterback junior Ty Tremba. Tremba ranks second in the Centennial Conference with 1,099 passing yards and has seven touchdown passes to five interceptions. Senior Jack O'Hearen has been Tremba's favorite target as he leads the Centennial with 412 receiving yards and ranks second with 24 receptions with three touchdowns. Sophomore running back Aidan Hutchinson paces the team with three touchdown runs and 136 passing yards.

The Diplomats defense has been a major strength as they lead are allowing the fewest points in the Centennial Conference at 12.5 points per game. Sophomore Connor Hille leads the team with 14 tackles (13 solo). Sophomore defensive lineman Quincy Long leads the team and ranks second in the Centennial Conference with 6.0 tackles for loss and has three sacks. Senior defensive lineman Jeff Decker ranks third in the Centennial Conference with 3.5 sacks. Junior defensive back Matt Wertz is tied with four other players for the Centennial Conference lead with four interceptions while senior linebacker Matt Scully does a little of everything with four pass break-ups, one sack and 21 tackles.