Muhlenberg College Athletics

Senior Nicholas D'Amico drilled a 29-yard field goal as time expired to give the Muhlenberg football team a thrilling 31-28 win against nationally ranked, previously undefeated Franklin & Marshall.

The ending capped a 14-point comeback in the fourth quarter for the Mules (3-2, 1-1) and fit in perfectly with their recent history against the Diplomats (4-1, 1-1). In 2023, the Mules won in double overtime on a walkoff touchdown catch and in 2024 on a field goal as time expired. Last year's game was decided on a failed two-point conversion attempt with less than a minute to play.

A 7-yard touchdown run by senior Amari Dunn and ensuing two-point conversion catch by junior Chris Holland brought Muhlenberg to a 28-all tie with 7:15 remaining. After the teams traded punts, F&M took over at its own 11 with 2:39 to play.

The Diplomats got one first down, but on second-and-8, senior Mick O'Malley and juniors Ben Girard and Myles Byrd Rice teamed up for a sack that put F&M in third-and-long. After sophomore Triston McNeal broke up a long pass over the middle, senior Tommy Donnelly returned the ensuing punt 18 yards to the F&M 33.

A 10-yard pass from junior Luke Spang to junior JR Walley and a pair of runs by Dunn gave the Mules two first downs. Muhlenberg ran the clock down to 3 seconds before calling timeout to send out D'Amico (pictured above), who hadn't made a field goal all season. The Diplomats called a timeout to try to freeze him, but the snap by senior John Roeder, the hold by junior Brandon Booker, and D'Amico's kick were all true, giving the Mules their first Centennial Conference win of the season.

Until the fourth quarter, it was two big plays that kept Muhlenberg in the game against the Diplomats, who came in ranked 21st by the American Football Coaches Association and 22nd by D3football.com.

After F&M's first touchdown, midway through the first quarter, freshman Jahmir Brown returned the kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, tying the school record for longest kickoff return. It was the second kickoff return for a score this season for the Mules, following Christopher Short's season-opening 92-yard TD. The last time they had two different players bring back a kickoff all the way in the same season was 1984.

Late in the first quarter, with F&M leading 10-7, sophomore Caleb Pasols took a pass from Spang over the middle and embarked on a scintillating 63-yard pass play, breaking several tackles along the way.

Pasols is the first Mule since 2008 to catch a TD pass in each of the first five games of the season.

Muhlenberg did not score in the middle two quarters and entered the fourth trailing 28-14. On the fourth play of the quarter, Pasols caught his second TD pass of the game, an 8-yarder, but the extra point attempt failed.

After the defense forced a three-and-out, the Mules drove 69 yards in 12 plays - only one longer than 9 yards - to draw within two on Dunn's scoring run. Holland was wide open in the end zone on the two-point play, catching it while falling to his back.

Dunn finished with a career-high 157 yards - the most by a Mule since 2018 - on 33 carries against a Diplomat defense that entered the game 11th in Division III in rushing defense.

Spang passed for 158 yards while also rushing for 48.

Girard had a big day on defense, adding 3 quarterback hurries and a pass breakup to his 6 tackles. McNeal and junior Thomas Cerruti broke up a trio of passes apiece as the Mules held the F&M quarterback to a 47-percent completion percentage.

Freshman Algee Macon provided a highlight on the second kickoff. With F&M shying away from kicking to Brown, the 6-1, 230-pound Macon caught a short kick and rumbled 31 yards into Diplomat territory.