Extreme weather has a tendency to favor a certain team by limiting what its opponent does best. Simply put, Susquehanna is built to play in a snowstorm; Franklin & Marshall is not.

Fronted by an offensive line that averages 260 pounds, and featuring the fourth leading running back in the Centennial Conference, the Crusaders earned their first-ever victory against F&M with a 40-14 win Saturday.

"Playing in weather conditions like this, you have to do two things: run the football and stop the run," Diplomats coach John Troxell said, referring to the snow that covered Sponaugle-Williamson Field. "We didn't do either. We're a spread offense, and the weather hurt us a little bit more."

Susquehanna (5-3, 4-3 CC) took an early 7-0 lead on its first possession of the game when Greg Tellish (29 carries, 148 yards) took a toss 15 yards to paydirt.

The Diplomats (3-4, 3-5) appeared to be in good position to answer the Crusaders late in the first quarter when John Kaschak took a screen pass from John Harrison 52 yards to the SU 18. The play was negated by a hold, and F&M was forced to punt two plays later.

Tellish (3 catches, 87 yards) struck again midway through the second quarter when he caught a screen from Rich Palazzi, broke a few tackles and hurdled a defender en route to a 57-yard score and a 13-0 Susquehanna lead.

"He was the difference in the game. He had more than 200 all-purpose yards," Troxell said. "He was the difference maker. He's one of the best backs in the league, and he showed that today."

Tellish wasn't finished.

After Will Dyson intercepted E.J. Schneider early in the third, Tellish hit paydirt for a third time on a 13-yard run to put the Crusaders ahead 19-0.

Susquehanna made it 26-0 on Palazzi's 1-yard keeper with 5:11 left in the third. The drive was highlighted by Palazzi's 29-yard hookup with Spenser Ercole to the F&M 1 and was kept alive on an F&M personal foul penalty on third down.

"It was a game marred by 15-yard penalties. Three of their scoring drives were kept alive by penalties," Troxell said. The Diplomats were called for 10 penalties (5 personal fouls) for 100 yards. "It's unacceptable. If we can't be disciplined, we won't win games.

"That's our kids losing poise, and I can't let that happen. It's something I won't take lightly. We won't see that the rest of the year. I promise that."

The Diplomats finally stopped the bleeding late in the third when John Kaschak (17 carries, 84 yards) sprinted in from 35 yards out to cut the deficit to 26-7. Kaschak is now one score shy of reaching the No. 2 all-time spot.

Tellish scored his fourth touchdown early in the fourth on a 35-yard run.

Harrison hooked up with Kevin O'Shea on a 17-yard scoring toss four minutes later to make it 33-14.

The Crusaders added one more score on Matt Lottes' 3-yard run.

The Diplomats, whose season started with higher hopes, have two more games left with the possibility of finishing with a .500 record. Those two games, though, won't be easy. The Diplomats travel to No. 12 Johns Hopkins Saturday before ending the season against perennial rival Gettysburg.

"Two tough games left," Troxell said. "It'll give us a chance to be the spoiler and play for something."

Elsewhere in the Centennial Conference:

Muhlenberg 12, Dickinson 0: Dan Deighan and Terrance Dandridge ran for 120 yards and 114 yards respectively, and each scored a touchdown as Muhlenberg (5-3, 5-2) shut out Dickinson (3-5, 3-4).

Johns Hopkins 37, Ursinus 9: Johns Hopkins (8-0, 7-0) racked up 303 yards and four touchdowns on the ground to beat Ursinus (5-3, 5-2) and clinch an automatic postseason berth.

Gettysburg 22, Moravian 14: Sophomore Aden Twer caught his 12th touchdown pass of the season, breaking a 47-year-old Gettysburg receiving record and leading the Bullets (5-3, 5-2) past Moravian (1-7, 1-6).

MAC

Lycoming 10, Lebanon Valley 7: Lycoming (7-1, 5-1) didn't complete a single pass, but churned out 217 rushing yards on 62 carries to wear down Lebanon Valley (5-3, 3-3).

Widener 60, Albright 20: Sophomore Tevin Campbell ran for three scores and threw for two more as Widener (8-1, 6-1 MAC) routed Albright (5-4, 3-4).