GRIZ FOOTBALL HOSTS NO. 18 FLYING DUTCHMEN
Fresh off a season-opening victory, Franklin is back at home Saturday for a Salute to Service Day matchup against Hope College, the No. 18 team nationally in this week's D3football.com rankings. The Flying Dutchmen, who come in off a 62-0 rout of Loras in their opener, defeated the Grizzlies 48-6 last September.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Grizzlies started the 2025 season off with a bang, holding on for a thrilling 27-20 victory over an Ohio Northern team they'd lost to by 38 points a year ago. Junior receiver Owen Wright caught five passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns, and he also threw an 84-yard TD pass to Jordan Fonda on the game's first play. Sophomore nose tackle Seth Rindfuss pressured ONU quarterback Sam Feldman into a fourth-down incompletion with 1:26 left to preserve the win.
 
SHARP UNDER CENTER
Sophomore quarterback Marshall Kmiecik, making his second career start, was 21 of 35 through the air for 238 yards and three scores against ONU. He got plenty of help from his receiving corps; Fonda joined Wright in the 100-yard club, making four grabs for 127 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Jace Mohr was a reliable short option, catching all nine of his targets for 37 yards.

COMING UP BIG
Franklin's defense, which surrendered 135 points over its first three games in 2024, looked considerably sharper to start this season, limiting Ohio Northern to three first-half points and holding the Polar Bears without a touchdown for more than 43 minutes to start the game. After the visitors rallied to within seven points late, the Grizzlies were able to close it out with their fourth turnover on downs. ONU converted just one of five fourth-down attempts against the Griz D.

CONTROLLING THE CLOCK
Time of possession heavily favored the Grizzlies in the opener, with coach Mike Leonard's squad holding the ball for 35:45 to ONU's 24:15. Franklin put together touchdown drives of 84, 94 and 79 yards in the first half. Helping the cause was a ground attack, led by Trevor Winkles (16 carries, 71 yards) and Brayden Wilkins (10 carries, 56 yards), which kept the chains and the clock moving throughout. Kmiecik added 29 yards rushing on five attempts.
 
CATCH THE GRIZ ON INDIANA SRN
Indiana SRN will carry all five Franklin College home games for the third consecutive year. Each game will be shown free of charge on HCAC.tv, and games will be archived upon completion so that fans can watch back at any time.
 
AROUND THE HCAC
Only two HCAC teams are on the road this week, with Rose-Hulman traveling to Trine and Anderson venturing all the way to New York to take on Maritime. The rest of the league will be cooking at home, with Hanover welcoming Butler, Bluffton hosting Albion, Mount St. Joseph playing Aurora and Manchester taking on Concordia Chicago.