HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The Juniata football team lost to visiting Franklin and Marshall, 38-13, Saturday afternoon at Knox Stadium.
Quintin Stephens did things on both sides of the ball for the Eagles, leading the defense with 12 total tackles, an interception, and one (one-handed) catch for 32 yards and a touchdown. Julian Jackson tallied four receptions for 52 yards, while Dontey Rogan totaled six tackles and a pick. Hunter Wolfley amassed two catches for 68 yards and a touchdown with 37 yards rushing, while Noah Wright threw for over two hundred yards and two touchdowns.
The game opened with the F&M kick returner bobbling the ball, so the Diplomats started at their own five. On the first play from scrimmage, F&M looked to go deep, and Stephens beat the wide receiver to the ball.
Stephens with the pick!!!! pic.twitter.com/5FvZXJILUM
— Juniata Athletics (@JuniataEagles) October 15, 2022
Juniata gave the ball back two plays later as the Diplomats picked off Wright as he looked for Jackson and took over near the 50.
Eight plays later, F&M's running back crossed the goal line for six.
Juniata started at their 22, and Wolfley danced passed some would-be tacklers for 13 yards. The next pass was incomplete, so on third and 10, Wright floated a ball over an F&M linebacker to Wolfley, who blew past most of the defense. At the 15-yard line, the final Diplomat tried to tackle him, but he cut inside for six. The extra point was blocked, so JC trailed by one.
Wolfley says see ya later pic.twitter.com/KcOsPAUZbA
— Juniata Athletics (@JuniataEagles) October 15, 2022
Franklin and Marshall started from their 36 and needed three minutes and forty seconds to find the back of the endzone for a second time. A 39-yard pass that bounced around before being hauled in by their wide receiver was the big play on the drive.
The next drive for Juniata featured a nice 18-yard catch along the sideline by Jackson, but Juniata ultimately had to punt from their 45. Wyatt Buell unleashed a nice punt that landed at the Diplomat 10. F&M didn't falter, as they used two runs over 20 yards to go down the field and score to make it 21-6 with a little under 11 minutes to go in the half.
Following an Eagle punt, the visitors did a majority of their damage on the ground again before completing a 10-yard pass to the running back on second and goal to push their lead to 22.
Starting from their own 35, Juniata managed to get down to the F&M 17, largely thanks to Wolfley doing some tough running between the tackles and a 19-yard completion to Dylan Sweger on third and one. The Eagles elected to kick a field goal on fourth and 11, but it was just wide right.
On the fourth play of the Diplomat drive, Rogan intercepted a pass at the F&M 48, and a penalty saw JC take over at the 33 with a little over a minute to go in the half. A pass interference penalty saw Juniata get to the one, but the Diplomats stood tall and tackled Stephens in the backfield on an end-around to push JC back to the seven. On fourth down, Wright looked for Stephens under heavy pressure but couldn't get enough on the throw to get the touchdown. F&M kneeled the ball to end the half.
The Diplomats found the endzone once in the third, a lengthy drive that lasted over nine minutes, with their other drive halted by a big sack on third down by Seth Bernstein.
Early in the fourth, trailing 35-6, Juniata took over from their own 35. A 35-yard completion to Sean Hakanson helped move the ball into F&M territory, but Juniata struggled to get into the red zone as they faced fourth and 10. Wright dropped back and stepped up in the pocket to avoid the rush before hurling the ball toward the right side of the end zone. Stephens beat his defender and hauled the ball in with one hand for a spectacular touchdown.
Stephens with one handed snag for six!! #WingsUp #GoEagles #TakingFlight pic.twitter.com/rJrtii6q8I
— Juniata Athletics (@JuniataEagles) October 15, 2022
An F&M field goal wrapped up the game's scoring.
Juniata will host Muhlenberg next Saturday at noon.
