COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Franklin & Marshall got 122 yards from sophomore running back Taalib Gerald as the Diplomats (3-0, 2-0 Centennial) defeated Ursinus (1-2, 0-2 Centennial) 17-13 on Saturday in the home opener for the Bears at  Patterson Field.

Gerald scored the game-winning score on a 1-yard run off left tackle with 4:36 left in the game. From there, Ursinus put together one last drive in the final minutes but stalled on fourth down from the Diplomat 45.

Ursinus, who finished with 345 yards of total offense, got 201 yards in the air from junior quarterback Sal Bello (Phoenixville, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) who was 12-for-27. Senior wide out Safi Hasseeb (Oakland, Calif./Alameda) had four catches for 31 yards and the lone TD, a 10-yard reception from Bello early in the first quarter. Junior running back Corey Kelly (Conshohocken, Pa./Plymouth-Whitemarsh) had 50 yards on 11 carries.

Defensively, senior defensive back Kyle Adkins (Holland, Pa./Archbishop Wood) had a game-high 11 tackles, while senior defensive lineman James Worrilow (Wilmington, Del./Concord) had ten.

Senior defensive lineman William Ghaul (Media, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) had seven tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in the loss.

Ursinus went up 7-0 early in the game when Bello completed that 10-yard scoring pass to Hasseeb ending a seven-play, 65 yard drive in 3:24. Ursinus looked to go up 14-0 on its next drive, but, a fumble on the 3-yard line ended the scoring chance.

F&M got on the board on its second drive in the second quarter, going 49 yards on 13 plays capped by a 31-yard field goal from junior kicker Billy Zwicharowski with 3:35 left, making the score 7-3.

Ursinus went up 10-3, as a sack by Ghaul forced a fumble and gave the Bears the ball on the Diplomat 44. The Bears went all the way down to the 22-yard line, before senior kicker Eric Boyer (Fort Washington, Pa./Upper Dublin) converted a 39-yard field goal with 33 seconds left to make the halftime score 10-3.

The Diplomats took the second half kickoff and went 76 yards on five plays, getting a 14-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Matt Magarity to junior wide receiver Billy Keyes with 12:16 left, tying the score at 10-all.

Ursinus had a chance to go up 17-10 with about eight minutes left, but, was stopped on the one-yard line three straight times by the Diplomat defensive unit. In the fourth, Ursinus went up 13-10 with 8:29 left when Boyer made a 23-yard field goal, before F&M went on its game-winning drive.

Ursinus will host McDaniel on Saturday.