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By Jeffrey Kauffman, September 20, 2008

Last updated: Saturday, September 20, 2008 1:17 AM EDT

The Conestoga Wagon will stay in Carlisle.

The annual trophy in the Franklin & Marshall-Dickinson College football series will stay with Dickinson for the next year and for the ninth time in the last 10 seasons. The Devils grounded out a 34-20 victory at Biddle Field in front of an estimated crowd of 5,200, the largest crowd that anyone in the Dickinson community could remember.

The electricity Friday night wasn’t just coming from the crowd, but the lights that looked down on Biddle Field on everyone in Dickinson’s first ever home night game. It also marked the 1,000th game in the program’s history and 100th game in the Conestoga Wagon series.

The Diplomats lead the series 59-38-3 overall and have a 25-21 advantage since the Wagon was first awarded, but have not won at Biddle Field since 1998.

“One Wagon,” said Red Devils’ head coach Darwin Breaux, who won his 98th game at Dickinson. “This is such a big game for both programs. It is big for our seniors as they have won all four years and it is the first conference game. The kids played hard every snap and the defense came up with some big plays like the turnover at the end of the game. Ian (Mitchell) did a good job tonight and he makes plays with his feet. He made good decisions and (Patrick) O’Conner and (Greg) Lord are just playmakers. The line really blocked well, especially in the second half. It is a big win for our program.”

The Diplomats took an early lead as they held their ground on the Devils’ opening series and then drove to paydirt on a John Harrison-to-Jay Ridinger pass for the score. The Diplomats led 6-0 as the extra point was blocked.

The Devils drove right down the field behind Mitchell, but the drive was thwarted by a Zack Romash interception inside the red zone.

After three series went back-and-forth, Dickinson finally put points on the board as Lord ran in from 7 yards out and Gordon Craig’s point after gave the Devils a one-point lead.

Dickinson (1-0 Centennial, 2-1 overall) scored on its next possession as Mitchell hit three passes and Lord squeezed through the line a few times before Tim Wells blasted over the left tackle for 18 yards and a score. Craig’s point after made it 14-6, but George Eager returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards for an F&M score.

The fireworks had barely subsided when O’Conner grabbed the kickoff and split the defense, but was caught on a touchdown-saving tackle by Ridinger. Mitchell hit 6-of-7 passes and found O’Conner cutting across the back of the end zone for a score with less than one second on the clock.

Franklin & Marshall (0-1 Centennial, 1-2 overall) scored on its first possession of the second half as Harrison found Eager for 10 yards and a score and Sousa added the point.

Dickinson fumbled its next possession, but the defense stood tall on a third-down play with a sack by Tredell Johns, forcing a punt — Johns had two sacks for 17 yards.

Lord tallied two scores in the final quarter and the Devils came up with a big interception in the final minute in the end zone by Michael Maxwell.

Mitchell completed 22-of-28 passes with one pick for 245 yards. Mitchell found O’Conner on 12 of his passes for 161 yards. Lord rushed for 115 yards and three touchdowns.

For Franklin & Marshall, Harrison completed 18-of-26 passes, but had two passes picked off.

“This is a huge win for our team.” said Lord. “It is our big rivalry and the fact that it was on a Friday night and the 1,000th game and 100th against them and the crowd was loud. I loved playing in front of all of those fans. For a D-3 game, this was incredible out there. Tim Smith played well and pounded the ball before he got hurt a bit and Tim Wells ran the ball well and O’Conner was awesome tonight. The linemen really gave us a push and opened holes for me and gave Ian plenty of time to throw. Maxwell made that pick and Matt Stone picked that ball off and got too excited and almost gave it back to them.”

Stone picked off an errant fourth down throw from Harrison and had a convoy of blockers and nothing but green space. He ran about 10 yards and the ball bounded out of his hands but was recovered by his teammates to maintain possession but ruined a linemans’ dream.

“You can’t imagine the anticipation of this game,” Mitchell added. “It seemed like the whole school came out. This was definitely the biggest win of my career here. I really felt good out there and we just had to make good decisions with the ball. I would like to have one pass back, that interception in the first half. Joe Sandoe has really stepped up. I hear it everyday from my roommate O’Conner that he wants the ball, and tonight he made some plays. You have to want the ball but this was definitely a team win.”

Dickinson travels to McDaniel next Saturday for a 1 p.m. kickoff.