Diplomats Dominate Second Half to Edge Eagles
October 16, 2021

Diplomats Dominate Second Half to Edge Eagles

Audio Video Box Score

LANCASTER, Pa.- The Juniata football team led in the first half before Franklin & Marshall pulled away as the Eagles ultimately lost, 41-31, Saturday afternoon at Shadek Stadium. 

The Eagle defense started things off by forcing the Diplomats to go three and out. Juniata took over at their own 31. Noah Wright (Lewistown, Pa. / Mifflin County H.S.) ran for six yards, but JC got stuffed on second down.  On third and four, Wright fired off a quick pass to Charles DeBose (Tonawanda, N.Y. / Cardinal O'Hara HS), who ran untouched 63 yards to the endzone. 

The Diplomats responded with an eight-play 63-yard drive that culminated in a two-yard rushing touchdown. The Eagle offense took over at their own 26. They used two F&M penalties along with a 10-yard scamper by Debose and a five-yard catch to get to the F&M 29, where Beckett Leary (Fulton, Md. / Reservoir HS) smashed a 46-yard field goal through the uprights to make it 10-7. 

The Eagles defense made several big plays on the next drive as Nathan Barron (Somerset, Pa. / Somerset Area Senior H.S.) and Seth Bernstein (York, Pa. / William Penn Senior) stopped the RB for a five-yard loss on first down. Ethan Hurst (Lancaster, Pa. / Manheim Township H.S.) and Michael Grapin (Springfield, Pa. / Springfield HS) combined for a sack on third down.  

Juniata couldn't get much going on their next drive and punted, with F&M returning the punt 42 yards to the JC 39. Once again, the Eagle defense stood tall, with Dan Drop Jr. (Hatfield, Pa. / North Penn HS) picking off an errant pass near the goal line to end the first quarter. 

A 14-yard run by Wright and a 19-yard completion to Jevon Heggs (Jacksonville, Fl. / Sandalwood HS) got the ball out of the shadow of their own endzone. The drive ultimately stalled out at the Juniata 45.  

The Eagle defense wasn't done forcing turnovers, as on second and 19, Hurst intercepted a pass as JC took over deep in Diplomat territory.  

The Eagles couldn't find the endzone, so Leary kicked his second field goal of the day to make it 13-7. 

Neither team scored the rest of the quarter, with the main highlight for the Eagles being Noah Jacks-Waters (Chesapeake, Va. / Atlantic Shores Christian High School) recovering a fumble. 

The second half saw F&M get going, and JC couldn't impede their momentum, as they scored 34 unanswered points, including 20 in the final quarter, to defeat Juniata. 

Adam Grajewski (Export, Pa. / Franklin Regional) had a career-high 15 total tackles, while Nathan Barron (Somerset, Pa. / Somerset Area Senior H.S.) tallied a career-high 11.  

Juniata will travel to take on #21 Muhlenberg next Saturday, at 12:00.