FULL GAME NOTES
 
Ursinus (5-0) vs William Paterson (1-4)
When: Saturday, October 19th
Where: Wayne, N.J.
Stadium: Wightman Stadium (1,700)
Kickoff: 1:00 p.m.
Live Video: VIDEO
Live Stats: STATS
 
 
SERIES BREAKDOWN
All-Time Series: Ursinus leads 1-0
First Meeting: 2023 – Ursinus won 39-15
Last Meeting: Oct. 14, 2023 @ Ursinus – Ursinus won 39-15
Streak: Ursinus +1
 
 
The Ursinus Bears Football Team will host Franklin & Marshall on Saturday in a key Centennial Conference matchup.
 

LAST GAME: Last Saturday, the Bears made a late stand to defeat Franklin & Marshall 23-17 at home to improve to 5-0. Ursinus scored a touchdown on its opening drive and caused a turnover on the Diplomats initial drive. The Bears led 10-3 at the half before Franklin & Marshall tied the game at 10 in the third quarter. Ursinus surged ahead with 13 straight points which included a 48-yard pick-6 early in the fourth quarter. The Diplomats scored a touchdown and got the ball back with just over three minutes left in regulation. Ursinus fended off the F&M drive  with 1:18 left in the game and held on for the win.
 
 

LAST MEETING: The Bears pulled away from William Paterson last year 39-15. Ursinus started fast with two quick touchdowns and took a 23-7 at the half. William Paterson made it an eight-point game at 23-15 which stayed the same into the fourth quarter. A Pioneers fumble opened the floodgates for the Bears to finally pull away in the fourth quarter with two more touchdowns.
 
 

GAME TAKEOVER: Senior defensive end Connor Carter delivered a career performance in the Bears win over Franklin & Marshall on Saturday. Carter registered a game-high nine tackles (four solo) and set career-highs of four sacks and 5.0 tackles for a loss in the Bears' 23-17 win over Franklin & Marshall on Saturday afternoon. Carter also forced a fumble on his first sack of the game in the first quarter and delivered his fourth and final sack on third down during the Diplomats' last drive that ended inside the red zone. He was named the Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season while earning a spot on the D3football.com team of the week for the second time as well.  
 
 

BIG TIME PLAYERS: Senior safety Ryan DiVergilis delivered the defining play of the Bears 23-17 triumph over Franklin & Marshall. With the score tied at 10 early in the fourth quarter, DiVergilis ran back a 53-yard interception for a touchdown to give the Bears a lead they never would relinquish. It was his third interception of the season and the first time he ran one back for a touchdown for his career. He also posted seven tackles (two solo) and now leads the Centennial Conference with his three interceptions. DiVergilis is up to eight interceptions for his career and has already set a new single-season career high for interceptions.
 
 

WELCOME TO MY HOUSE:: Junior wide receiver Cody House has proven over the last two seasons that he has piled up touchdowns in bunches. One week after catching three touchdowns against Muhlenberg, House opened the game for the Bears with another receiving touchdown, the lone offensive score of the game. House replicated this in 2023 as well when he caught three touchdowns in the season opener against Alvernia before following with a touchdown the following week against Kean. He caught five passes for 73 yards and a score against the Diplomats and is now tied for the team lead in touchdown receptions.
 
 

CAUGHT IN THE WOODS: Sophomore defensive back Ronnie Woods made key plays down the stretch for the Bears in their win over Franklin & Marshall. Woods finished with a career-high four pass break-ups including making several in important spots. None came larger than a break up on first down in the end zone that saved a touchdown when the Diplomats were at the Bears 20-yard line on their final drive of the game. Woods posted five tackles (four solo) as well in the win.
 
 
 

STEADY FORCE: Junior defensive lineman Sean Spinosa made a big impact for Ursinus last Saturday against Franklin & Marshall. He recorded his first sack of the season which was also a forced fumble. Spinosa finished the day with four tackles (two solo) and blocked a Diplomats field goal attempt in the first quarter. Spinosa has started in every game for the Bears since the start of the 2023 season and set a career-high with 4.5 sacks last season. He has 16 tackles (five solo) so far in 2024.
 
 

STUFFING THE RUN: The Bears continue to be one of the most dominant defenses against the run in the 2024 season. Ursinus is allowing just 57.4 yards per game on the ground which is tied for 10th fewest in NCAA Division III with the No. 1 ranked team in the country, North Central. Ursinus has held its opponent under 100 rushing yards as team in four of their five games this season after limiting Franklin & Marshall to just 66 yards as a team last Saturday. The Bears held William Paterson to a staggering low -36 rushing yards in their last meeting. 
 

 

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS: The Pioneers dropped a 63-0 contest to No. 9/12 Salisbury last Saturday afternoon. Salisbury used a 28-point second quarter to pull away from William Paterson after holding a 14-0 lead after one. Sophomore Amir Stewart earned the start at quarterback for the first time this season and threw for 27 yards against the Sea Gulls on 9-of-14 passing. Senior wide receiver Nolan Epps leads the team with 200 receiving yards on 19 catches with one touchdown. Junior wide receiver Caleb Rippey paces the team with three touchdown receptions and has 160 yards on seven catches. Junior running back Isaac Cherry leads the team with 191 yards on the ground and has one rushing touchdown.
              

On defense, the Pioneers are led by senior linebacker Samod Wingo who leads the team with 6.5 tackles for loss and a trio of sacks. Junior defensive lineman Quamire Green leads the team with 41 tackles (18 solo) and has one forced fumble. Junior defensive back James Nevels has a team-leading three interceptions while recovering three fumbles. Junior Jayce Harmon ranks second on the team with five tackles for loss and is third on the team with 25 total tackles (16 solo).