Five games into the 2008 season, F&M's football team had reached a crossroads.
Franklin & Marshall wide receiver Jarrell Diggs pulls down a pass as he's swarmed by Ursinus defenders.
Ursinus running back Mark Jaskowski is brought down by F&M's Zach Romash, left, and Michael Marcinek.
The Diplomats had beaten two teams they should've beaten - Washington & Lee and Juniata - and lost to two teams that, arguably, they should've lost to - Catholic University and Dickinson.
Game 5 would be a homecoming matchup with Ursinus, a team that, like F&M, was looking to establish its identity.
Let the record show that F&M took a step - possibly a giant step - toward Centennial Conference respectability with a 51-13 thrashing of the Bears at Sponaugle-Williamson Field.
The Diplomats (3-2, 2-1) cashed four second-half interceptions for 27 points and turned what passed for a close game at the half into a rout.
In all, the Diplomat defense forced six turnovers and the special teams blocked a punt.
"Coach [Craig Sutyak] put in a real good game plan," said linebacker James Gregory, whose day included a fumble recovery and two interceptions.
"We played assignment football, gapped it up pretty well and it turned out all right for us."
While F&M's defense was making life miserable for the Bears (2-3, 1-2), the Diplomat offense was having a day that left Ursinus coach Peter Gallagher puzzled.
"This is a defense one year removed from not allowing four teams - including F&M - to get into our end zone over four consecutive weeks," he lamented.
Freshman quarterback John Harrison completed 15 of 30 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns against that defense Saturday.
Wide receiver George Eager had six receptions for 139 yards, including a 67-yard TD on an option pass from freshman wide out Jarrell Diggs. Diggs ran for a score and caught a TD pass as well.
"We put everything in this week," Harrison said. "This was a 'must' win."
Must win?
"I think that's accurate," head coach John Troxell said. "This was one we needed to get.
"We're getting better. But ... until we start beating better teams in the conference, we're never going to separate ourselves from the bottom of the pack."
F&M wasted little time separating itself from Ursinus Saturday. The Dips took the opening kickoff 75 yards in six plays with Diggs outracing the defense to the pylon on a jet sweep.
Just a minute later, F&M was in business at the Bear 24 after a Michael Deutch blocked punt.
Three plays later, Harrison heaved an across-the-grain screen to Matt Jenschke that the tight end pulled in at shoe-top level for a 13-yard TD.
Ursinus struck back on a 45-yard TD pass from Nick Dye to Shea Wisler, but F&M answered on Diggs' 67-yard strike to Eager.
Four touchdowns and the first quarter was only half over!
When F&M tried an onsides kick on the ensuing kickoff - covered by Ursinus at the F&M 44 - it seemed Troxell was sending the message that he liked his chances in a shootout.
"We weren't going to leave any stone unturned," he said afterward. "When you're playing a team that is supposed to be better than you, why leave anything on the table?"
Gregory saw it as less an invitation to go mano-a-mano offensively and more as a defensive statement.
"A lot of people might ask why [onsides kick]," he offered. "[But], as a defense, that shows [Coach] has a lot of faith in you."
That faith was soon rewarded.
The Bears' Mike Jaskowski rumbled 44 yards to the Dips' 25, but cornerback Paul Sousa forced a fumble at the end of the run with lineman Byron Avery falling on the loose ball.
That would be the only Bears turnover that did not result in points, but one possession later, cornerback Barry Lovett forced a Dye fumble, recovered by Gregory at the Ursinus 36.
On third-and-9, Harrison found Diggs at the Bear 4, leading to Sousa's 21-yard field goal.
With time running out in the half, Ursinus' Al Desiderio returned a punt 30 yards to the F&M 26. Two plays later, Dye hit Desiderio in the end zone for an 11-yard score.
Theoretically, with F&M leading 24-13, it was still a ball game at the half.
Theory soon gave way to actuality.
On Ursinus' second possession, Dye looked for wideout Jessie Ordonio in the flat at the Bear 32.
Instead, he found Sousa, who picked the ball, returning it 29 yards down the right sideline to the end zone.
Next possession, Gregory intercepted Dye at the Bear 31 on a truly horrible pass.
Gregory returned it to the 28 and Dye's day was done.
"We saw, under pressure, he didn't always make the greatest decisions, and we capitalized on it," Gregory said.
Justin Dechristofaro replaced Dye and flogged the Bears 49 yards to the F&M 19. But Gregory intercepted him at the 12 and, eleven plays later, Diggs out-jumped Billy Stolle in the end zone for a 20-yard score.
Nick Petrelli picked Dechristofaro on the next offensive play, returning it 40 yards to the Bear 7. Ryan Murray burst off-tackle from there to cap the scoring.
"It's a big win for our program," said Troxell, enjoying the feeling for a last few moments. "But it doesn't get any easier from here."
F&M hits the road - where the Dips are 0-and-2 - the next two weeks, traveling to the Lehigh Valley to play Moravian and Muhlenberg.
Like this contest, those games will be defining moments for the Dips.
"We've had one winning season in 11 years," Troxell said. "Our kids are hungry to get back to the winning ways of F&M football."
Dave Byrne is a Sunday News sports writer. E-mail him at dbyrne@lnpnews.com.
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