(Allentown, Pa.) – The Dickinson football team turned in an outstanding performance at Muhlenberg, coming up just short of an upset, falling 15-13, on Saturday afternoon.

The Red Devils held Muhlenberg to three field-goals in the early going, trailing just 3-0 at the end of the first quarter. Casey Fosbenner connected from 48, 35 and 32 yards to put the Mule in front, 9-0, with 10:08 remaining in the first half.

The Red Devils answered with a 29 yard touchdown pass from first-year quarterback Billy Burger (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle) to classmate Jake Walbert (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson), with just over a minute to play in the first half.

That capped a three play drive after junior Kevin Sherry (Swarthmore, Pa./Strath Haven) recovered a fumble in Muhlenberg territory.

The Mules countered before the end of the half as Nick Palladino tossed a 41 yard touchdown pass to Nick Lamb with 46 seconds on the clock for a, 15-7, halftime lead.

A scoreless third quarter saw senior punter Austin High (Wilmington, Del./Archmere) boom kicks of 60 and 53 yards to keep the Mules in check.

Junior Jack Margavitch (York, Pa./Dallastown) intercepted Palladino to stall a Muhlenberg drive at the one yard line at the end of the fourth quarter. The Red Devils were forced to punt to start the fourth, but came up with another turnover as first-year Matt Butz (Monkton, Md./Hereford) recovered a fumble on the Dickinson 25 yard line.

The teams traded punts with Dickinson taking possession at the Muhlenberg 48 yard line with 8:45 remaining in the game. The Devils opened the drive with a 12 yard run from senior Cedric Madden (Norristown, Pa./Chestnut Hill Academy) and Burger connected with Walbert for a 10 yard gain.

A pass interference penalty moved the ball to the Muhlenberg nine yard line and the Devils would cap the drive with a two yard touchdown pass to senior Jake Meluskey (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) to cut the deficit to just two. The two-point conversion failed, holding the score at 15-13.

The Red Devil defense held twice, giving Dickinson two more chances to look to take the lead. The Devils came up just short on fourth down and gained their final possession with just two seconds to play on a touchback off a punt.

Burger tossed a pass to Anders Overhaug (Yarmouth, Maine/Yarmouth) in the flat and he made it to the 36 yard line before being brought down with no time remaining.

A defensive battle saw the Mules rush for just over 100 yards while the Devils finished with 27 yards on the ground. Palladino finished with 153 yards passing, tying the career school record, completing 11-of-24 passes.

Burger completed 17-of-28 passes, throwing for 164 yards and two scores on the day. High averaged 41.7 yards on nine punts while Overhaug covered 82 yards on three kick-off returns.

Sherry anchored the defensive effort, recording a game-high 13 tackles to go with his fumble recovery. Jake Myers (Middletown, Del./St. Andrew's) added 10 tackles and a sack.

Muhlenberg improves to 6-2 overall and 5-2 in the Centennial Conference. The Red Devils slip to 3-5 overall and 3-4 in the CC. Dickinson is on the road again next Saturday, traveling to Gettysburg College for a 1:00 pm kick-off.