LANCASTER, Pa. – Ursinus senior quarterback Justin Decristofaro (Jenkintown, Pa./Father Judge) threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to junior wideout Nick Giarratano (Wapwallopen, Pa./Crestwood) with 6:21 left in the fourth quarters as the Bears (2-0, 1-0 Centennial) won their conference opener with a 10-7 win over Franklin & Marshall (1-1, 0-1 Centennial) Saturday afternoon.

With the win, the Bears won their conference opener for the fifth straight year.

More importantly, head coach Peter Gallagher became the all-time wins leader in Ursinus football history with the victory, putting him at 42 wins.

The Bears held the Diplomats to just 72 yards of total offense in the second half and outgained F&M 291-235 on the afternoon.

Ursinus scored on a three-play, 44-yard drive, which started off with a 20-yard punt return by junior defensive back Mike Rissmiller (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) with 7:32 remaining in the final quarter.

Two runs by freshman tailback Bryan Ellis (Owings Mills, Md./McDonough School) put the Bears on the 22-yard line. Ellis finished the day with 126 yards on 23 carries.

On the scoring play, Decristofaro threw a strike to Giarratano who caught the ball near the back of the end zone for what turned out to be the winning score.

Decristofaro threw for 142 yards on 9-of-18 passing with the lone touchdown pass. Junior wide out Storm Miller (Jamison, Pa./Central Bucks South) had three catches for 36 yards.

For F&M, junior quarterback John Harrison threw for 193 yards on 16-for-37 passing, with six catches and 118 receiving yards by senior wide receiver Jay Ridinger. Junior running back John Kaschak had 63 yards on 15 carries.

Defensively, junior defensive back Joe Henry (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) and sophomore defensive tackle Sam Morgan (Chester Springs, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) each had seven stops. Morgan had 1.5 sacks for nine yards, with sophomore defensive back Chris Rountree (Lawnside, N.J./Haddon Heights) had an interception. Ursinus forced four sacks on the afternoon and forced two turnovers, with senior defensive tackle Dave Queroli (Narberth, Pa./Harriton) recovering a fumble with 6:01 left in the second quarter which stopped a Diplomat scoring drive. Senior defensive lineman Wills Wendell (Villanova, Pa./Radnor) forced the fumble.

F&M took a 7-0 lead with 7:19 left in the first quarter as junior running back Alan Williams plunged in from one-yard out.

Ursinus got on the board with 40 seconds left in the second quarter as freshman kicker Michael Bennett (Maple Glen, Pa./La Salle College High School) kicked a 32-yard field goal to make the score 7-3. Bennett attempted a 32-yard field goal in the third quarter, but, missed wide left.

Sophomore punter Derek Giannetti (Dresher, Pa./Upper Dublin) punted the ball ten times for an average of 38.4 yards.

Ursinus hosts Juniata on Saturday in its home opener.