Host Hanover looked the part of the HCAC champion on Saturday afternoon, but while Franklin did suffer defeat in the annual Victory Bell game, it made sure it didn't go down without a fight.

Down 23-0 at halftime, the Grizzlies showed some grit with three second-half touchdowns before ultimately suffering a 51-18 setback.

"The Victory Bell game did not go as we had hoped," Griz coach Mike Leonard said, "but I'm extremely proud of the fight that our players gave throughout. And they did it in a very sportsmanlike way, of which I'm even more proud."

Franklin (5-5, 3-3 HCAC) got on the board in the third quarter when Jeremy Lee pulled in a 15-yard pass from Marshall Kmiecik. After the Panthers stretched their lead back out to 37-6, Kmiecik found Marlon Gans for a 17-yard touchdown. Devlin McGee tallied the final Griz score on a 4-yard TD run with 30 seconds remaining in the game.

Kmiecik was 17 of 31 passing for 191 yards and the two scores. Senior Trevor Winkles had a team-high five catches for 35 yards and also paced the team with 45 yards rushing. Defensively, Haden Durnil made nine tackles and Haidyn Bulmer and Drew Servies added eight apiece. Jace Dorsey had an interception.

Leonard had plenty of praise after the game for the 2025 Grizzlies, his first team after a five-year hiatus.

"This great bunch of guys were a pleasure to coach all year long, and I'm very pleased with the way they bought into our new way of doing things," he said. "My hope is that they were all able to learn some valuable life lessons that will help them all in their careers and lives going forward.

"We will work to build on the improvements that were made this season. We will continue to work hard to regularly compete for Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference championships and NCAA Division III playoff berths."