Box Score
(Carlisle, Pa.) – The Dickinson football team held on 4th-and-10 to hold on for the win and the Conestoga Wagon, defeating unbeaten Franklin & Marshall, 13-7, on Saturday. Senior Jack Margavitch (York, Pa./Dallastown) came up big with an interception to give Dickinson possession with just 34 seconds remaining to secure the victory.
The Red Devils scored on their second possession as first-year quarterback Billy Burger (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle) capped an eight-play, 74 yard drive with an eight yard touchdown run.
The teams traded punts throughout the second quarter. The Red Devil defense held the Diplomats on another fourth down, late in the first half with F&M threatening on the Dickinson 18 yard line. They would force the Devils to punt one last time in the half, taking over on their own 41, with just 38 seconds to play.
Matt Magarity connected with Andrew DeStefano for a 25 yard pass to move the ball to the Dickinson 14 to set up a 32 yard field-goal attempt. The Red Devils came up huge once again, keeping the Diplomats off the scoreboard as Josh Richardson (Ellicott City, Md./McDonogh) blocked the attempt as time ran out.
Dickinson used a similar tactic to open the second half with another touchdown, scoring again on its second possession after the break. Burger rushed for 40 yards on the drive and connected with senior fullback Chris Soulas (Far Hills, N.J./Delbarton) for a nine yard touchdown pass. The extra-point was no good, holding the score at 13-0.
F&M would make things interesting in the fourth quarter, scoring on its second possession to cut the lead to six, with 6:16 remaining in the game. The Diplomats moved the ball to the Dickinson 10 yard line before junior Kevin Sherry (Swarthmore, Pa./Strath Haven) sack Magarity for a four-yard loss.
Magarity answered with a 14-yard scoring strike to Andrew Haird, covering 67 yards on five completions on the drive.
The Diplomats had one final chance, taking possession with 2:29 left to play. They moved the ball to the Dickinson 39 yard line, but the Red Devil defense would stall the drive, forcing three straight incompletions to make it 4th-and-10.
Margavitch came up to make the play, intercepting Magarity at the 14 yard line to keep the Conestoga Wagon in Carlisle for another year.
Magarity finished the day 20-for-38, throwing for 237 yards, including 82 to DeStefano. Dave Shellhammer rushed for 89 yards while Brendan Daly led the defense with eight tackles.
Senior Cedric Madden (Norristown, Pa./Chestnut Hill Academy) had a solid game on the ground, coming up just shy of the century mark with 98 yards. Burger ran for 63 yards and completed 9-of-16 passes for another 87 to earn the win in his first collegiate start under center.
Senior Austin High (Wilmington, Del./Archmere) averaged 38.8 yards on eight punts, dropping two inside the 20. Classmate Teddy Airoldi (Bethlehem, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) led the Red Devil defense with a game-high 11 tackles while Jake Myers (Middletown, Del./St. Andrew's) added nine and Ned Emala (Baltimore, Md./Gilman) tallied seven stops.
Dickinson hands F&M its first loss of the season as they fall to 4-1 overall and 3-1 in the Centennial Conference. The Red Devils improve to 2-3 overall and 2-2 in the conference. Next week is a bye week with Dickinson returning to action at Johns Hopkins University on Friday night, October 16th. Opening kick-off is set for 7:00 pm.
