BALTIMORE, MD – Visiting Franklin & Marshall got a 68-yard touchdown run from Joe Hartley-Vittoria with 4:16 left in the fourth quarter to lift the Diplomats to a 20-17 victory over 16th-ranked Johns Hopkins at Homewood Field Saturday afternoon. The loss snaps a three-game winning streak for the Blue Jays, who slip to 4-2 overall and 3-2 in the Centennial Conference. F&M snapped its two-game losing streak and improves to 4-2 overall and 3-2 in the Centennial.
The Blue Jays led 14-12 at the half and pushed the lead to 17-12 with a 21-yard Mike Eberle field goal with 6:56 to play in the fourth quarter. Eberle's field goal was set up by a short F&M punt that gave the Blue Jays possession at the Diplomat 33, but the F&M defense stiffened inside the five-yard line and the Blue Jays had to settle for Eberle's eighth field goal of the season.
The Diplomats took over at their own 18 after the ensuing kickoff, converted one third-down chance and then Hartley-Vittoria sprung through the line up the middle, broke two tackles and raced down the sideline for what proved to be the decisive score.
The Blue Jays moved from their own 23 to the F&M 47 after Hartley-Vittoria's touchdown, but Kevin Gault's leaping interception of a David Tammaro pass halted the drive and the Diplomats got the one first down they needed to run out the clock.
The had teams traded first-half touchdowns to account for the 14-12 Blue Jay lead at halftime.
Keshon Farmer wrapped six and 14-yard scoring runs for F&M around a 10-yard touchdown pass from Tammaro to Emmett Turner in the first quarter, which ended with the Diplomats up 12-7 after the Blue Jays blocked F&M's first extra point and stopped a two-point pass attempt after the second score.
The Blue Jays grabbed the 14-12 lead late in the second quarter as they went 84 yards in seven plays and capped the drive with a two-yard touchdown pass from Tammaro to Harrison Wellmann. A 48-yard Tammaro rush – the longest of his career – set the Blue Jays up at the F&M 10 and he hit Wellmann on a fade route in the corner two plays later.
Johns Hopkins had two golden chances to take control in the third and fourth quarters, but the F&M defense stopped the Blue Jays on back-to-back drives at the one-yard line before the short punt that led to Eberle's field goal that gave the Blue Jays the 17-12 lead. That set the stage for Hartley-Vittoria's touchdown run and Gault's interception that sealed the victory.
Tammaro was 15-of-27 for 240 yards with the two touchdowns against two interceptions and he also rushed for a career-high 96 yards. Ryan Weed had a game-high 10 tackles to lead the Blue Jays defensively.
Farmer rushed for a game-high 136 yards and the two scores and Garrett Perschy was 17-of-23 for 207 yards and Harley-Vittoia rushed 12 times for 86 yards and the one touchdown.
Johns Hopkins will return to action on Friday, October 25 when the Blue Jays host Gettysburg.
Notes: Tammaro's two touchdown passes give him 72 in his career; he is two shy of Hewitt Tomlin's Johns Hopkins record of 74 • Ryan Hubley had four receptions for 73 yards in the game and became the 10th player in Johns Hopkins history with 150 career receptions (153) • The loss snaps a 30-game winning streak in the month of October for Johns Hopkins, which last lost a game in October on October 26, 2010 at Ursinus (26-17).
F&M Scores Late to Top Johns Hopkins, 20-17
/seasons/2019/boxscores/20191019_u380.xml
2019
Franklin and Marshall
20
Johns Hopkins
17
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin and Marshall (4-2) | 12 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 20 |
| Johns Hopkins (4-2) | 7 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
Oct 19, 2019
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