LANCASTER, Pa. – The Ursinus College football team scored the final ten points of the football game, capped by a 1-yard touchdown run from sophomore Corey Kelly (Conshohocken, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) in the first overtime as the Bears (3-0, 2-0 Centennial) defeated Franklin & Marshall (1-2, 0-2 Centennial) 31-24 Saturday afternoon.
The Bears, who trailed by as much as ten in the game, sealed the win when senior defensive back Max DeNardo (Hazlet, N.J./Raritan) intercepted F&M quarterback Matt Magarity on the third play of the possession to end the game.
"Our kids played with a strong will and made plays when the game was on the line," said Ursinus head coach Peter Gallagher, who won his 70th career game at the school.
Senior quarterback Kevin Monahan (East Windsor, N.J./Hightstown) threw for 264 yards and two scores, including a 62-yard completion to freshman wide out Shawn Hackett (Swarthmore, Pa./Ridley) with no time left in the second quarter. Monahan found Hackett on a 9-yard completion as he was scrambling and the freshman ran the remaining 53 yards for the score. Monahan finished 15-for-35.
Kelly finished with 74 yards on 23 carries for two scores, while junior wide receiver Nick Lundholm (Barrington, N.J./Haddon Heights) caught a game-high five passes for 91 yards and a score.
Again the defensive came up big when it needed two, forcing three turnovers. Junior defensive end Steve Ambs (Pottstown, Pa./Pottsgrove) had a game-high nine tackles (all solo) while junior defensive lineman Jim Worrilow (Wilmington, Del./Concord) had eight stops.
DeNardo and sophomore linebacker Tim Rafter (Springfield, Pa./St. Joe's Prep) each had an interception, while defensive lineman Zach Tharp (Hamilton, N.J./Notre Dame) had a fumble recovery. Through three games, Ursinus now has a +10 turnover margin.
F&M was led by running back Taalib Gerard who rushed for a game-high 134 yards on 13 carries with two scores. Quarterback Matt Magarity threw for 172 yards and a score, while Paul McGann caught four passes for 57 yards and a score.
Ryan Young had eight tackles for the Diplomats.
Trailing 24-21 in the fourth quarter, Ursinus tied the score on a 11-play, 43-yard drive in 4:16. During that drive, Ursinus converted a fourth-and-2 from the Diplomat 45 when Kelly ran for an 11-yard run to give the Bears a first-down at the Diplomat 34. Kelly would gain more yardage on the drive, putting the ball on the F&M 10 yard line with 4:20 to go before Boyer kicked the game-tying field goal from 27-yards out.
On F&M next drive, the Diplomats would get all the way to the Bears' 33 yard line with just over a minute to go. However, F&M was whistled for back-to-back personal fouls, pushing the Dips all the way back to their 37-yard line. After taking two kneel downs, the game went to overtime and Ursinus went on offense first.
On second-and-6, Monahan threw an incomplete pass but F&M was called for pass interference which put the ball on the Dips 6-yard line. Three plays later, Kelly scored from one-yard out to give the Bears the lead.
On F&M's possession in the overtime, Magarity was picked off by DeNardo at the Bears' 11 to end the game.
F&M scored the lone touchdown of the first quarter, a 9-yard TD pass from Magarity to McGann with three minutes left.
Ursinus then got on the board with 14:53 left when Lundholm caught a 25-yard pass from Monahan, tying the score at 7-all. F&M would retake the lead at 14-7 when Gerard rushed on fourth-and-1 for a 55-yard score with 11:42 left.
A Billy Zwicharoski field goal, from 21-yards out, gave the Diplomats a 17-7 with 7:00 left in the second quarter.
Ursinus would score on their next two drives, a 10-yard run by Kelly with 1:18 left and then the last second touchdown pass down the far sideline to make the halftime score 21-17 in favor of Ursinus.
Gerald's 36-yard touchdown run with 9:49 to go in the third quarter accounted for the lone score of the third quarter and gave F&M the lead at 24-21.
The win marked Ursinus' first overtime win since September 8, 2007, a 14-7 win over Lycoming.
The Bears end their two game road swing at McDaniel next Saturday at 1.