The Friday Tailgate 9.14

It's a first in the 25-year football history of the Centennial Conference as two games will be played under the lights Friday with four more games on tap for Saturday. Of course, Johns Hopkins has its traditional Friday night game at home against Gettysburg but Franklin & Marshall rolls out the portable lights for the 99th renewal of its rivalry with Dickinson. It's truly "The Friday Tailgate." For more info, check out our Gameday site.

Dickinson at Franklin & Marshall
It's the "Conestoga Wagon Trophy" between the Red Devils (2-0) and the Diplomats (0-1) ... Dickinson has won 16 of the last 19 meetings to close the all-time deficit to 59-36-3 ... F&M is 88-30-1 in home openers and 7-3 over its last 10 ... the Diplomats are 17-7 in their CC opener, while Dickinson is 13-11 ... the Devils are led by LB Eric Dube, the 2006 Centennial Defensive Player of the Year, who already has 36 tackles through two games ... offensively, watch QB Ian Mitchell and WR Chris McInerney ... F&M counters with QB Kyle Turner, who led the CC in passing yardage last season, and DL George Farrell ... Diplomat OL Brian Rice , who may be better known as a three-time All-CC lineman, may be the heaviest caddy in the country at 335 pounds ... he spent the summer toting bags at the Lancaster CC.

Gettysburg at Johns Hopkins
A staple of the JHU schedule is at least one Friday night game and this year only the Bullets agreed to come to Homewood to play under the lights ... this is the seventh straight meeting between Hopkins and Gettysburg in Baltimore on a Friday night with the Blue Jays winning all six previous games ... JHU is 25-12-1 on Friday nights ... a series of streaks -- Gettysburg was 17-1-1 against Hopkins from 1916-1994 ... Hopkins then reeled off 11 consecutive wins before the Orange and Blue snapped the streak last season with a 23-18 triumph ... Hop is 15-9 in CC openers, while Gettysburg is 13-11 ... the Blue Jays have blocked five kicks in their last three games ... Gettysburg has dropped 17 consecutive road games.

Ursinus at Juniata
The Eagles begin Centennial Conference play by welcoming preseason CC favorite Ursinus to Knox Stadium ... it should be an interesting battle between strong-armed Juniata QB Jay Leonard and the Bear secondary, led by DBs Ryan Van Wright, Chris Frank and DeVohn Butler ... Leonard has thrown for 553 yards in his last two games, while the Bears have allowed only 157 ... the Eagle defense will have its hands full with UC's Aaron Harper, who is averaging 98 yards per game.

Catholic at McDaniel
The Cardinals come calling on the Green Terror in Westminster, looking to break a 7-game losing streak to the Green and Gold ... the last two meetings have been decided by a single point - 37-36 (2005) and 14-13 (2006) ... McDaniel will look to turn its offensive production around after mustering just three points in the first three quarters of two games this season ... the Terror have not finished with a losing record at home since 1989 ... Catholic is 2-0 after wins over Shenandoah and Ohio Wesleyan.

Lebanon Valley at Moravian
The Greyhounds look to make it three in a row when they welcome the Flying Dutchmen to Rocco Calvo Field ... this is the 65th time that the two teams have met on the gridiron with Moravian leads 32-31-1 ... except for a five-year period from 1980-1985, LVC and Moravian have met every year since 1946 ... RB Tyler McCambridge became the 19th 'Hound runner to reach 1,000 career yards ... PK Brian Reckenbeil became just the third kicker in school history to reach 100 points (107) ... the Valley is 1-1 rebounding from an opening-week loss to Gettysburg with a win over Susquehanna.

Union at Muhlenberg
The Dutchmen and the Mules meet for the eighth time in a series that began in 1994 ... Union has won the last two games to take a 4-3 series lead ... Muhlenberg was idle last week after opening the year with a 15-0 shutout of TCNJ ... Union lost its opener at home to Springfield ... the Dutchmen shared the Liberty League title with Hobart, but lost their all-time leaders in rushing, passing and receiving yards.