View live stats here

Wilkes University will be making its seventh appearance in the ECAC Championship when the Colonels take on Franklin & Marshall at noon on Saturday in Lancaster. Wilkes is 3-3 in ECAC games and will be taking on the Diplomats for the first time in school history.

The Colonels (6-4) will be looking for their fourth win five weeks, while F&M has won six of its last seven games. The Diplomats ended the regular season with a 33-23 win over Gettysburg where they gained 430 yards of total offense in their eighth win of the season.

Like Wilkes, the Diplomats like to throw the ball, as they average 298.6 yards through the air
and just 70.7 on the ground for a total of 369.3 yards a contest. Defensively, F&M is giving up 146 rushing and 176 passing a game. Five different players have seen time under center with John Harrison getting most of the snaps at quarterback. For the year, he has completed 247-362 passes for 2,865 yards, 29 touchdowns with nine interceptions. John Kaschak and Alan Williams handle most of the rushing duties with 44 and 31.6 yards a game respectively.

For the Colonels, quarterback Rob Johnson (Bridegwater, N.J./Bridgewater) has completed 137-247 with 10 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Wilkes is averaging 253.5 yards a game, 177.8 via the air. Zach Tivald (Edison, NJ/Edison) has been the workhorse in the backfield with 516 yards on 138 carries with five scores on the year. Jordan D'Emilio (Stowe/Saint Pius X) and Genarro Zangardi have been the go-to receivers with 77 catches between them with D'Emilio leading the team with 49 grabs. D'Emilio has 562 yards on the year with a touchdown, while Zangardi leads the team with four scores and 421 yards on 28 receptions.

Wilkes' defense is led by All-Freedom Conference first-team selection Kevin Gerhart (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) who leads not only the team, but the league in tackles with 93. He has three interceptions on the year along with six breakups and nine passes defended. Sean Madden (Dunmore, Pa./Bishop O'hara), who is playing defense for the first time in his collegiate career, has 73 tackles, good enough for second on the team with two interceptions.

The last time the Colonels made an appearance in the ECAC Championship was in 2003 when they fell to Washington & Jefferson 41-19. Wilkes has posted wins over King's Point, FDU-Madison and Stony Brook.