RING MY BELL
Franklin football is at Hanover on Saturday afternoon (1:30 p.m.) to finish out its season with the 95th installment of the annual Victory Bell game. The Panthers have taken the last three meetings, rallying late for a 31-27 triumph at Faught Stadium in last year's finale.

LAST TIME OUT
Last Saturday's home finale saw the Griz (5-4, 3-2 HCAC) get caught up in an old-fashioned shootout, going three overtimes before emerging with a 59-57 victory. Marshall Kmiecik connected with Jeremy Lee on a two-point pass to start the third overtime before junior safety Haidyn Bulmer ended the back-and-forth contest with a tackle in the backfield. 

SITTING ON TOP
The Panthers sit atop the HCAC with a 5-0 league record (7-2 overall) and can seal up an outright conference championship and an NCAA playoff appearance with a win on Saturday. Hanover's last HCAC title came in the spring 2021 season that had been delayed and shortened by a global pandemic. The Grizzlies can guarantee themselves no worse than a tie for third by winning.

WALKING WITH A PANTHER
Hanover leads the all-time Bell series by a narrow 48-43-3 margin after winning the last three, but each side has seen extended runs of success over the years. The Grizzlies won 13 meetings in a row from 2005-17 under current coach Mike Leonard, himself a former Panther. Leonard sports a 13-2 record against his alma mater.

THE MARSHALL PLAN
Sophomore quarterback Marshall Kmiecik comes into Saturday's game with exactly 2,700 passing yards on the season after going for a career-high 429 in the Bluffton win. By adding 300 more against the Panthers — right on his season average and a mark he has hit four times this season — the Michigan City, Indiana product can become the Grizzlies' first 3,000-yard passer since Braden Smith in 2018. Four different Griz receivers — Jordan Fonda, Jace Mohr, Lee and Isaiah Miller — have at least 27 catches and 400 yards apiece. Kmiecik has thrown 27 touchdowns against nine interceptions.
 
AROUND THE HCAC
Mount St. Joseph is at Rose-Hulman on Saturday afternoon, while Anderson plays at Manchester. Bluffton, which finished with a 3-3 league mark after falling at Franklin last week, wraps up with a trip to Ohio to take on Marietta.