Box Score Franklin's second Mike Leonard era began with a very loud bang.

Beginning with an 84-yard touchdown play on the first play from scrimmage and ending with a critical fourth-down stop in the closing moments, the Grizzlies delivered in fine fashion on Saturday afternoon at Faught Stadium, holding on down the stretch to earn a 27-20 triumph over Ohio Northern.

The Polar Bears had beaten Franklin by a 45-7 spread in last year's season opener.

Starting the game from its own 16-yard line, Franklin dialed up some trickery on the first play. Junior receiver Owen Wright took a handoff on a reverse and rolled right before firing a strike to classmate Jordan Fonda, who hauled the ball in around midfield and dashed all the way to the end zone, whipping an already spirited crowd into a frenzy. 

"The most challenging part of that play is catching the reverse," Wright said. "From there, Fonda ran a great route, got open, sold it — he made my job really easy."

The Grizzly defense got stops on the first two ONU possessions, ending the first one with a Haidyn Bulmer interception at the Franklin 29-yard line and then forcing a Polar Bear punt. After regaining possession on that kick, the Grizzlies embarked on a 10-play, 94-yard march that was capped by another Fonda TD catch, this one a 23-yarder from sophomore quarterback Marshall Kmiecik with 3:39 to go in the first period. Ian Williamson's second PAT of the quarter made it a 14-0 game.

A 37-yard field goal from Braylen Kennedy got the visitors on the board late in the first, but Franklin was able to punch back and add to its lead before halftime. Facing fourth and goal from the ONU 5, Kmiecik threw to the back of the end zone and found Wright, who stretched the margin to 20-3 with 9:46 to go in the half.

Franklin outgained the Polar Bears 258-184 in the first half, gaining 207 of those yards through the air.

"I thought we did a great job overall," Kmiecik said. "The offensive line did amazing, wide receivers ran good routes and caught all the balls I put in their hands. I couldn't ask for a better Week 1."

Kennedy opened the second-half scoring with another field goal for ONU, this one from 23 yards with 4:16 to go in the third quarter, but the Grizzlies answered back just 54 seconds later when Kmiecik followed a 43-yard Brayden Wilkins run by throwing to Wright for a 32-yard score. Charlie Overton's extra point put the home side up 27-6 with 3:22 left in the third.

The Polar Bears, though, did not go down quietly. Sam Feldman threw a 19-yard TD pass to Raffi Stauffer before the quarter ended and then scored on a 23-yard keeper with 9:47 left in the game. Franklin killed off six and a half minutes of clock but couldn't seize the opportunity to put the game away, turning the ball over on downs at the ONU 14 with 3:16 remaining.

Ohio Northern advanced to its own 40-yard line before the Grizzlies' defense came up with its last and biggest stop of the day. Feldman's last two passes, both under pressure from Franklin nose tackle Seth Rindfuss, fell incomplete on third and fourth down, with Rindfuss making contact on the release on the latter play to flip possession with 1:26 left.

"Our defense was really the talk of the day," Leonard said, deferring credit to coordinator Kenny Kuzmuk for the game plan. "Just did a tremendous job stopping people, and I couldn't be more pleased."

"When the defense does their job, it makes our job a lot easier too," Kmiecik added. "I cannot thank them enough. When we fell down, they picked us right back up."

Franklin finished with a narrow 472-439 advantage in offense, buoyed by 322 passing yards. Kmiecik was 21 of 35 for 238 yards, throwing three touchdowns in his second career start. Fonda had 127 yards on four catches, while Wright made five grabs for 113; both scored twice. Jace Mohr made a team-high nine receptions for 36 yards. Trevor Winkles and Wilkins rushed for 71 and 56 yards, respectively, to provide some needed balance, especially after halftime.

On the defensive side, Drew Servies led the Grizzlies with nine tackles, followed closely by Amari Gittings (eight) and Brayden Baker (seven).

Leonard said he could feel the energy in the stadium from the get-go, especially after that early touchdown.

"You get the crowd behind you, and the energy on the sidelines, it sure doesn't hurt," Leonard said. "Glad to have our Franklin College faithful behind us."

The Grizzlies will be back at home this coming Saturday (Sept. 13) against 20th-ranked Hope.