CARLISLE, Pa. - The Dickinson football team took an early 7-0 lead, but then turned the ball over four times leading to 17 consecutive Franklin & Marshall points as the visiting Diplomats reclaimed possession of the Conestoga Wagon with a 17-13 win at Biddle Field on Saturday.

F&M got the first chance at points early in the game after their opening drive went three-and-out. Jack Rodenberger's punt hit the back of a DC player allowing the Diplomats to fall on it inside the redzone. Three plays later Rodenberger was back on the field for a 27-yard field goal try, but he missed it left keeping the game scoreless.

The Red Devils would take advantage of a short field later in the period after Keon Eady jumped in front of a Logan Clouse pass to set up DC on the F&M33. Rushes by Princeton Douglass (3 yards), Diante Ball (3 yards), and Caleb Pruitt (28 yards) led to first-and-goal at the F&M5. Dickinson would then cash in with Ball taking it in from five out and Raleigh Wynot added the point for the 7-0 edge with 6:25 left in the first.

Dickinson began the final drive of the first at their own 21 with 25-seconds remaining as Bryce Baylor took the ball off the left side for 61 yards down to the F&M18 to end the period. The Devils would advance further down the field on the ensuing play with Pruitt hitting Douglass for eight yards. However, the drive ended on quite a sour note as on the next play Pruitt was picked by Colin Lavigne who took it 95-yards for a td. Rodenberger knocked the kick through the uprights to tie the score at 7-7.

Later in the frame, the Devils would put the ball on the ground twice on consecutive plays as Ball was able to recover his own miscue at the DC30 before Pruitt was stripped by Jake Perloski at the 30 resulting in a recovery for Thomas Downs. The Diplomats would pound the rock with Keshon Farmer who picked up chunks of 3, 2, 2, and 2 yards which led to third-and-six on the DC18. F&M seized their first lead of the day on the next play with Clouse hitting Drew Benfatti in double coverage to make it 14-7 at the break.

F&M earned another short field right out of the locker room as Daniel Bathon fumbled the opening kickoff with Owen Walsh landing on the ball at the DC18. A holding penalty forced the Diplomats back to the 26, before two runs by Farmer and a Clouse pass to Ben Moir allowed Rodenberger to drill a 34-yard kick and a 17-7 lead just three minutes into the third. 

The Diplomats looked to add on to their lead later in the third starting a drive at their own 22 with 7:10 to play. They then embarked on a time-consuming 17 play drive which comprised of a dozen runs and three third/fourth-and-long conversions leading to a 36-yard attempt for Rodenberger. However, Neville Krueger burst through the line and blocked the kick giving the Devils life early in the fourth. 

On the ensuing DC drive, Pruitt found both Bryce Peterson and Douglass for 14-yard receptions setting up first-and-ten at the F&M46. After a two-yard loss on second down, Pruitt hit Andrew Reale for eight yards creating a fourth-and-four on the 40. Unfortunately, Pruitt's pass came up short of Peterson giving the ball back to the Diplomats with 8:56 left. 

F&M used eight straight runs on the next possessions to advance the ball inside the redzone to the 14 yardline. On fourth-and-six, Clouse missed Nate Calderone to still give the Devils a shot as they began the next series with just over four minutes to play at their own 18. Dickinson would unfortunately not be able to move the ball as they had four straight incompletions to give the ball back to F&M. 

The Devils defense would stop the Diplomats on fourth down to have one last go at points with less than a minute to go. Pruitt would hook up with Robert Geiss for seven and Reale for 28 to bring the rock up to the F&M42. Pruitt capped off the scoring on the final play of the afternoon with a 42-yard bomb to Geiss for the 17-13 final.

Next on the Field

Dickinson returns to the road next Saturday as they visit Juniata for a 1 p.m. kickoff.