OLIVET, Mich. – The Franklin College football team kicked off the 2022 campaign on Saturday (Sept. 3) afternoon, taking on the Olivet Comets in the first of two road contests to open the schedule.
 
Sophomore quarterback Kai Ross set a career-high with 373 yards passing and two Grizzly (0-1) wideouts recorded 100-yard afternoons. But two late touchdowns from the Comets (1-0) was the difference and a last-minute comeback bid fell short as Olivet held on for a 35-31 win.
 
How it Happened
The Grizzlies claimed the lead for the first time late in the first quarter, with a 26-yard Derek Baldin field goal followed by a one-yard Cam Johnson touchdown run that made it 10-7 with 22 seconds to go in the first quarter.
 
The Comets re-claimed the lead early in the second quarter with a touchdown but Franklin answered 2:02 later when Jarrett Gibson hauled in a seven-yard score to make it 17-14, a score that held when the teams went into the half.
 
Three plays into the second half, Franklin extended the lead when Ross and Dylan McKinney connected on a 62-yard play action play that made it 24-14 Franklin. Olivet cut into the lead with a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter but Franklin turned an interception into a short touchdown run from Garrett Cora that made it 31-21 with 11:18 to go in the game.
 
But a potent Olivet run game took over the rest of the way, and the Comets found the end zone on each of their final two drives to take the lead with 51 seconds to go. Franklin moved the ball down to the Olivet 24 with three seconds to go, but a game-winning heave into the end zone was broken up as the final gun sounded.
 
Inside the Box Score
-Ross was sensational in the passing game, going 30-for-41 for 373 yards and a pair of scores. The Lizton, Ind.-native set new career highs in completions, yards and attempts in the game.
-Cora led the Franklin ground game with 92 yards on 13 carries/
-Junior Spencer Wright made his first career start at wideout and hauled in 10 balls for 143 yards, leading all recievers on both teams. McKinney joined him in the 100-yard club with 106 yards on four grabs.
-Matt Nealy, Malachi Joy and Dawson Dallape all hauled in their first career passes, with the trio combining for five grabs and 51 yards.
-Freshman T'Lijah Robinson led the Grizzly defense with eight tackles, seven coming in the solo variety.
-Sophomore Brock Thurman recorded the first two sacks of his career.
-In his first career game, freshman defensive back Andrew Poppa picked off a third quarter pass and ran it back 27 yards to set up Cora's touchdown.
 
Up Next
Franklin heads back out on the road next Saturday (Sept. 10) for their final road non-conference game. The Grizzlies take on Aurora University with kick off from Illinois set for 2:00 p.m. eastern time.