The four-hour bus ride each way might have been boring, but the game sure wasn't.

After letting a 28-10 cushion slip away, Franklin football put together a late scoring drive to pull out a 34-33 triumph at Muskingum on Saturday evening.

The Grizzlies wrap up the nonconference portion of their schedule with a 2-2 record.

Down 33-28 after the Muskies scored with 11:07 to go in the fourth quarter, capping a run of 23 unanswered points, Franklin marched 64 yards to the Muskingum 12-yard line before turning the ball over on downs at the 6:37 mark. The Grizzly defense, though, came up big, using a Carter Edney sack to force a punt that gave the visitors the ball back at their 29 with 2:49 remaining.
 
Franklin got an 11-yard throw from Marshall Kmiecik to Jordan Fonda, converting a fourth-and-8 to keep hope alive. Three plays later, Kmiecik completed another 11-yarder, this one to Isaiah Miller for a touchdown with 1:13 on the clock.

Muskingum had time to respond, but the Grizzlies' Haidyn Bulmer came up with a game-sealing interception in the final minute.

Kmiecik gave the Grizzlies an early lead when he threw a 65-yard touchdown to Jace Mohr on the second play from scrimmage. Brayden Wilkins' 1-yard TD run made it 14-0 late in the first quarter, and a 31-yard scoring pass from Kmiecik to Jeremy Lee early in the second stretched the lead to 21.

A 15-yard keeper by Kmiecik made it 28-10 with 5:18 left in the half, but the Muskies answered with 10 points before the intermission to make it a one-score game, then scored the only points of the third quarter and took the lead on a fourth-quarter rush by quarterback Cavan Cooper before the Grizzlies managed the last word.

Kmiecik finished 21 of 40 through the air for 335 yards and three TDs against one interception. Fonda led a balanced receiving corps with 88 yards on four catches.

Defensively, Brayden Baker had a monster night with 19 tackles, 2.5 of those for loss. Haden Durnil added 16 stops in the win. DeMarreia Stephens added an interception.

The Grizzlies begin HCAC play next Saturday afternoon (Oct. 11) when they host a Homecoming tilt against Rose-Hulman.