ANNVILLE, Pa. ­­– Dion Bryant rushed for a game-high 123 yards and scored the Lebanon Valley College football team's first touchdown of the year, as the program dropped a hard-fought 31-21 game to Franklin & Marshall College in a rainy season opener on Thursday, Sept. 4, under the lights and on the new turf at Arnold Field. 

The Dutchmen (0-1) received the opening kickoff and promptly opened the scoring, taking a 7-0 lead over the Diplomats (1-0) with 11:58 remaining in the first quarter. LVC faced third and one on their own 45-yard line, and Bryant came through with a big 51-yard rush up the middle to put the program just four yards away from the end zone. Bryant later ran up the middle again for a three-yard touchdown rush before Brian Dym converted the extra point attempt. Lebanon Valley's defense then came through with an important stop, forcing Franklin & Marshall to punt. 

The Diplomats evened the score at 7-7 with 6:42 left in the opening quarter, following an eight-yard touchdown pass to the middle and a successful PAT. The programs proceeded to battle defensively through the end of the first, maintaining the tie.

Franklin & Marshall began the second quarter with the ball, facing third and seven on LVC's 38-yard line. The Diplomats then scored a touchdown with 13:50 to go, making it a 14-7 game on a 24-yard rush into the right corner of the end zone, before converting the extra point try. This was followed by the programs going back and forth defensively. Franklin & Marshall started a drive with just over four minutes left in the first half, and Lebanon Valley's defense delivered an important stop. Sheadan Makosy contributed to LVC forcing the opposition to punt, sacking the quarterback for a loss of eight yards when the Diplomats faced second and 14 on their own 16-yard line. 

A face mask penalty during this punt by Franklin & Marshall prompted the Dutchmen to take over on offense at the Diplomats' 23-yard line with 2:32 to go in the opening stanza. Lebanon Valley put together a four-play, 23-yard drive in just 1:17 to score and tie the contest at 14-14. Quarterback Logan Klitsch ran into the right side of the end zone for a three-yard touchdown rush, and Dym converted the PAT. Franklin & Marshall then scored on a 37-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter, prompting the Diplomats to take a 17-14 advantage into halftime.  

The Flying Dutchmen started the second half with a productive defensive drive, limiting the opposition to gaining just one yard and getting the ball back after 1:44. Franklin & Marshall later began a drive with just over nine minutes left in the third quarter, which ended when Lebanon Valley's defensive pressure contributed to a 41-yard field goal attempt missing the uprights with 2:43 to go. The Diplomats then scored with just seven seconds remaining in the third, going up 24-14 after a 15-yard touchdown pass and a successful extra point attempt. 

The Dutchmen continued to battle defensively when the fourth quarter got underway, keeping the opposition off the board during its first drive of the frame. The Diplomats had a 10-yard holding penalty on the opening play of the drive, and then a tackle for a loss of three yards by LVC's Alex Brown prompted Franklin & Marshall to face second and 23 on their own 18-yard line and eventually punt. The Diplomats later scored a touchdown on a four-yard rush into the left side of the end zone and made the PAT, advancing the score to 31-14 with 7:28 remaining. 

Lebanon Valley's offense kept working to generate scoring chances as the fourth quarter progressed, finding the end zone to narrow its deficit to 31-21 with 3:59 left on the clock. The Dutchmen drove 75 yards down the field in nine plays over 3:29, and the drive was capped off with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Klitsch to Vassallo in the left corner of the end zone. Dym then tacked on the extra point for LVC. This would stand as the final score, as Franklin & Marshall maintained its lead through the end of play. 

Inside the Box Score

• Bryant rushed for a game-high 123 yards and had a game-long and career-long 51-yard rush. The running back also scored Lebanon Valley's first touchdown of the 2025 season. 
• Klitsch recorded a game-high and career-high 218 passing yards while logging a passing touchdown and his first career rushing touchdown. 
• Vassallo led the Dutchmen with 74 receiving yards on five receptions, while scoring a touchdown. 
• Lebanon Valley had a 218-144 advantage in passing yards, a 177-158 advantage in total rushing yards, and a 395-302 advantage in total offensive yards.
• Dym went 3-for-3 on PAT attempts. 
• Carter Foust and Luke Pollock led the Flying Dutchmen with six total tackles each. 
• Brown registered five solo tackles, including a pair of tackles for loss. The senior also tallied two pass breakups. 
• Makosy logged four total tackles, along with a game-high and career-high two sacks for LVC. 
• Ryan Sisko broke up two passes and made a pair of solo tackles. 

Up Next
Lebanon Valley will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 13, at 1 p.m., when the program will begin Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) competition against FDU-Florham at Arnold Field. 

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