Saturday afternoon's Homecoming thriller against Mount St. Joseph had everything a Franklin football fan could have asked for — outside of the final result.
The Grizzlies saw a late go-ahead touchdown countered by a Lion kickoff return for a score, then drove all the way back up the field in the final minute only to get stopped at the goal line in a heartbreaking 42-36 defeat at Faught Stadium.
"I'm so proud of our guys and the way they battled," Franklin coach
Mike Leonard said. "We're not into moral victories — we expected to win, and we practiced pretty darned well all week. ... We knew this was an opponent for a Homecoming game that we were not the favorite, so I was really pleased to see how we came out. It's never over 'til it's over in football, and you can't let up."
Down 28-21 after three quarters, Franklin (1-4, 0-2 HCAC) answered with a 13-yard scoring pass from
Marshall Kmiecik to
Owen Wright with 14:06 to go in the game. Rather than kick for the tie, Leonard opted to go for two — and Kmiecik connected with
Isaiah Miller to give the Griz a 29-28 lead.
"I wanted to get it on an odd number and just change the dynamic," Leonard said. "I can't stand going to Las Vegas, and I can't stand going to casinos around here, but I love gambling on fourth down and gambling on two-point conversions."
The visiting Lions struck back three minutes later to go back up by six. The two teams then exchanged punts, and each side forced a turnover on downs to give Franklin the ball at its own 43-yard line with 3:57 left. Nine plays later, Kmiecik lofted a fourth-down pass into the end zone, with Wright making a catch in heavy traffic for a 19-yard touchdown.
Charlie Overton's point after put Franklin back on top, 36-35, with 1:34 remaining.
That lead lasted all of 16 seconds, as MSJ's Eli Aston fielded the ensuing kickoff and took it 95 yards for a gut-punch TD. But the Grizzlies refused to fold, driving the other way and getting to the Lions' 20-yard line on a 17-yard throw from Kmiecik to
Noah Lien. An 18-yard completion to
Isaiah Miller put the ball on the 2-yard line with 10.6 seconds to go.
On the next play, Kmiecik was unable to find an open receiver and decided to scramble up the middle. Just inches before the goal line, he was met by MSJ's Mason Morris, who knocked the ball loose and recovered it in the end zone.
"Our guys were focused, and they were determined to win," Leonard said of the final drive. "They're bummed, because really, neither team could stop one another for most of the game."
Franklin struck first in the opening quarter, turning a
Michael Loehmer interception into a 21-yard scoring throw from Kmiecik to Lien. The Lions tied it up, but the Grizzlies went back in front late in the first quarter on a 14-yard TD grab from
Brayden Wilkins.
A 3-yard touchdown run by
Evan McIntire put Franklin up by seven with 6:51 left in the half before the visitors tied it up at the 2:25 mark and pulled ahead in the third quarter.
Kmiecik finished 33 of 62 passing for a career-high 476 yards and the four touchdowns. Three Griz receivers went over 100 yards on the day, with Wright's nine catches for 168 yards leading the way. Lien and Miller each caught seven passes, gaining 115 and 103 yards, respectively.
On the defensive side of the ball, four Grizzlies —
Haidyn Bulmer,
Jackson Haston,
Haden Durnil and
Nash Stroud — shared the team lead with eight tackles. Bulmer forced a fumble that was recovered by
Drew Servies in the third quarter.
Despite the agonizing setback on Saturday, Leonard found plenty to be happy about going into next week's trip to Manchester.
"I'm encouraged for the last half of the season," he said.
