Lancaster, PA – The Montclair State University football team fell to Franklin & Marshall 35-10 on Saturday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Red Hawks (1-1) fell behind early, as the Diplomats forced a three-and-out on the afternoon's opening drive and then struck for the game's first points on their initial possession. The home side found the end zone on a 12-yard run to cap off a 10-play, 61-yard drive to put them up by seven at the 8:29 mark of the first.
• Following a Montclair fumble at their own 23, Franklin & Marshall doubled their advantage three plays later with an 18-yard touchdown pass with under nine minutes remaining in the first half.
• The Red Hawks responded on their next drive, as AIDAN MCLAUGHLIN strung together back-to-back completions to ANTHONY ROIGE and JAMIE HAMILTON to push the ball to the Montclair 40. Later in the drive, McLaughlin found COLE MASSAR for 23 yards to set the Red Hawks up just outside of the redzone. The Diplomats defense held tough, but Montclair put points on the board with a GREG CASIMIR field goal from 41 yards out.
• Franklin & Marshall answered on their final drive of the half, collecting 79 yards on 10 plays to go up 21-3 with a seven-yard touchdown pass with 37 seconds on the clock. On their opening drive of the second half, the Diplomats added another touchdown after going for 80 yards on six plays, capped off by a 10-yard pass to balloon the advantage to 25 points.
• The Montclair defense forced a turnover later in the third, as JOHN NICOSIA intercepted a pass at the F&M 45 yard line that was initially broken up by BRANDON PRIMUS with five minutes remaining in the quarter. Neither side could generate momentum the remainder of the frame, as both punted once, with the third drive spanning into the fourth that the Diplomats forced a turnover on downs by Montclair.
• F&M expanded the margin to 35-7 with just over five minutes remaining in the contest, as they found the endzone to cap off an eight-play, 63-yard drive. After forcing the Diplomats to punt with two minutes on the clock, the Red Hawks were set up with great field position at the F&M 23. McLaughlin completed a short pass to MAKAI MICKENS, who moved the ball to the 12 yard line. Montclair capped off the drive with a six-yard touchdown reception from Roige to make the final margin 25.

INSIDE THE RESULTS

• Casimir's field goal set a new career-high, surpassing his previous mark of 28 from the 2023 season.
• The touchdown reception for Roige was the fifth of his collegiate career.
• On top of the interception, Nicosia led the Red Hawks defense with nine tackles on the day along with a 16-yard tackle for loss. 

FROM THE FIELD

"Franklin and Marshall executed really well today. We got in a hole early and struggled to regain momentum. Looking forward to getting back to practice and getting the bad taste out of our mouth." - Head Coach Mike Palazzo

UP NEXT

The Red Hawks will host Union College (NY) on Homecoming on Saturday, September 28. Kickoff from Sprague Field is scheduled for 5:00 PM.