FRANKLIN, Ind. – The Franklin College football team made their Faught Stadium debut on Saturday (Sept. 17) afternoon, welcoming the Trine Thunder to town for their final non-conference game and the annual Salute to Service Day at the field.
 
Sophomore quarterback Kai Ross chucked three touchdown passes to three different receivers but the Grizzlies (0-3) dropped the game to the Thunder (3-0) by a 55-21 score.
 
How it Happened
The Grizzlies took the opening kick and marched right down the field for the opening touchdown. Garrett Cora hauled in an over-the-shoulder pass from Ross in the end zone from 14 yards out to cap an 11-play opening drive.
 
Jarrett Gibson hauled in a nine-yard pass from Ross early in the second quarter to cut Trine's lead to 17-7. But the Thunder would limit Franklin to one scoring drive the rest of the afternoon, which came late in the fourth quarter on an 18-yard strike from Ross to Dylan McKinney.
 
Inside the Box Score
-Ross finished the game with 157 yards on 15 completions, matching a career high with those three touchdown passes.
-Gibson led the FC receiving corps for the second straight week, catching nine balls for 85 yards. The senior also led all players with 207 all-purpose yards.
-Garrett Cora led the Griz ground game with 52 yards on 10 carries.
-Kody Wilkerson led the Griz defense with 11 tackles and Jireh Ojata topped the pass rush with 1.5 sacks to go along with eight stops.
 
Up Next
The Grizzlies are off for a week to get ready for their conference opener on Oct. 1, when they travel to Bluffton to kick off Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) play. Kick-off is set for 1:30 p.m.