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The Opening Kick
The Franklin Grizzlies bring a three-game winning streak into their home final on Saturday afternoon, where the Griz will welcome the lone remaining unbeaten team in the league, the Rose-Hulman Fightin' Engineers.
Last Time Out
The Grizzlies closed out a two-game road trip last Saturday afternoon, battling back from an early deficit for a 13-7 win over Defiance in another dominant showing by the FC defense. Franklin held their third straight opponent to seven points or less and took the lead for good in the third quarter on a
Garrett Cora rushing touchdown. A full recap can be found on page 14 of the notes.
About the Engineers
Under 11th year head coach Jeff Sokol, the Engineers enter Saturday afternoon as the last remaining unbeaten team in HCAC play at 5-0 after last Saturday's 48-12 win over Bluffton. The Engineers boast the league's top offense, averaging 52.2 points per game in conference play.
Fifth-year quarterback Andrew Dion has had an outstanding year under center for Rose and leads the HCAC with 280.1 yards per game passing and 23 touchdowns through the air. Dion's 63% completion percentage ranks second in the conference to Hanover's Matthew Weimer.
Three Engineer pass catchers have hauled in more than 30 balls this year with Noah Thomas (39 rec, 747 yds), Daniel Huery (37 rec, 512 yds) and Adam Tice-Saliu (33 rec, 416 yds) all giving defenses fits. Add in Jailen Hobbs' 29 grabs for 390 yards and the Engineers boast four big-play threats in the passing game. On the ground, Shane Welshans anchors the run game and has racked up 494 yards and eight scores this year.
Defensively, Michael Stevens tops the team with 65 tackles and Deven Cobb's 3.5 sacks are a team-high. Tyce Miller has picked off an HCAC-best five passes.
Last Time They Met
The two teams last battled on Apr. 3, with the Engineers winning 34-14 in Terre Haute. Saturday's matchup will be the first between the two in Franklin since 2018, where Franklin won a thriller 42-39.
Griz and Engineers All-Time
The two in-state rivals have been battling since 1902 and Franklin enters the day with a 43-25-2 lead in the all-time series. The Grizzlies have claimed 11 of the last 14 matchups with the most recent Rose victory at Faught Stadium coming in 2016.
HCAC Game of the Week
Saturday's game has been tabbed by Indiana SRN as the HCAC Game of the Week, and will be shown live through the Indiana SRN website. The broadcast starts at 1:15 and is the first of two straight weeks the Grizzlies will be in the featured broadcast.
Thank You, Seniors
Before the game, the Franklin football program will say "thank you" to its senior class before their final home contest. This year's senior class is: WR
Ryan Poole, S
Nick Winders, CB
Wyatt Carmack, CB
Michael Heading, S
Evan Stambaugh, K
Casey Smith, K
Carter Brown, WR
Bobby Scaggs, RB
Ian Seim, DL
Noah Ryan, DL
Dante Darden, LB
Jason Pigg, OL
Evan Hosea, DL
Tanner Swindle, OL
Thomas Witham, OL
Ethan McClain, WR
Devon Mueller and DL
John Svinarich.
Sack Master
Sophomore defensive end
Jireh Ojata has been a nightmare for opposing quarterbacks this year. The Carmel, Ind.-native leads Division III with 12.5 sacks and has found his way to the QB in each of the last six games.
Bully Ball
The Franklin defense has been giving teams fits during their winning streak, surrendering just 13 points over the last three games to Bluffton, Anderson and Defiance. The last time an FC defense held three different opponents to under 10 points in a game was back in 2015.
The Grizzlies currently rank third in the HCAC in scoring defense at 20.5 points per game allowed. That number is the lowest total for an FC defense since 2015, when the Grizzlies ended the year allowed just 20 points per game.
Catch Him if You Can
Junior wideout
Jarrett Gibson continued his stellar season with nine grabs for 148 yards last week. The Angola, Ind.-native sits in second place in the league in catches (47) and yards (661) and moved back into first place in all-purpose yards with 983 on the year.
Special Teams Weapon
Junior punter
Dylan Boswell has had an outstanding year and has been a key member of the winning streak with his effort on special teams. Boswell leads the HCAC with 39.8 yards per attempt and ranks second in the league with 17 punts inside the 20, one behind Manchester's Andrew Kiber on 17 fewer attempts.
Around the HCAC
League play resumes on Saturday and will feature three other games in conjunction with the Grizzlies and Engineers. The rest of the slate is as follows:
Hanover at Mount St. Joseph, 1:30 PM
Manchester at Bluffton, 1:30 PM
Defiance at Anderson, 1:30 PM
