DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Franklin College football team had a chance to close out the month of October with three straight wins, as the Grizzlies faced off with Defiance College on Saturday (Oct. 30) afternoon.

For the second week in a row, the Grizzlies (5-3, 3-2 HCAC) leaned on a dialed-in defense that held the Yellow Jackets (1-7, 1-4 HCAC) scoreless for the final 50:25 of game action, scoring the go-ahead touchdown midway through the third quarter in a 13-7 win.

How it Happened
On the game's first possession, the Yellow Jackets marched 75 yards on nine plays for a game-opening touchdown. It would prove to be the lone bright spot of the day for the Defiance offense, as the Grizzly defense conceded just 159 yards the rest of the game.

Franklin's first drive produced three points as Derek Baldin capped a 12-play, 59-yard drive with a career-long 40-yard field goal. The Grizzlies' next drive saw them the offense match into the red zone before Carter Brown ended the drive with a 28-yard field goal to cut the lead to 7-6.

The Grizzlies trailed until the 7:34 mark of the third quarter, when they took advantage of a short field and two critical Defiance penalties to find the end zone. Garrett Cora was the man to find pay dirt, punching the ball in from a yard out to put Franklin in front.

The visitor's defense controlled the rest of the game, forcing three Defiance punts and one turnover on downs before the final whistle sounded.

Inside the Box Score
-Freshman quarterback Kai Ross earned his first career start, going 14-for-27 for 182 yards and an interception.
-After missing a couple games, junior wideout Jarrett Gibson returned to the lineup and had another big day, catching nine balls for a season-high 148 yards.
-Cora handled the work load in the run game, picking up 86 yards on 25 carries. Franklin ran the ball a season-high 45 times on Saturday afternoon.
-Nick Winders led all Franklin defenders with eight tackles, all coming as the solo variety.
-Jireh Ojata continued to torment opposing offenses, recording five tackles and a career-high three sacks. The Carmel, Ind.-native has found his way to the quarterback in six straight games and is up to 12.5 sacks on the year.

Up Next
The Grizzlies are back at home next Saturday (Nov. 6) for a matchup against league-leading Rose-Hulman. Before the start of the game, the Grizzlies will say thank you to this year's group of players playing in their final career home game on Senior Day. Kick-off is set for 1:30 p.m.