FIGHTIN' THE ENGINEERS
Franklin football begins Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play at 2 p.m. on Saturday with a trip to Rose-Hulman. The Grizzlies lead the all-time series, 35-23-2, but the Fightin' Engineers have won the last six meetings in the series, including a 35-34 thriller to spoil Franklin's homecoming weekend last October.

LAST TIME OUT
Both teams are coming off of a bye week. Prior to that, Rose-Hulman defeated Albion in an MIAA crossover game, 38-24, while the Grizzlies took a home loss against a Calvin team now receiving votes in the Division III national polls.

UNDER CENTER
Who will start at quarterback for the Grizzlies? Sophomore Josh Bruner got the call last week in place of the injured Marshall Kmiecik and threw his first collegiate touchdown pass, a 16-yarder to Dawson Slaughter, in the first quarter. Kmiecik, who could be available Saturday, played well against Rose-Hulman last year, passing for 340 yards and two touchdowns without an interception and adding a pair of scores on the ground.

ALL THE STOPS
Senior linebacker Drew Servies comes into Saturday leading the HCAC in total tackles with 31 and tied for the top spot in solo stops with 17. Teammates Haden Durnil (23 tackles) and Brayden Baker (21) are tied for third and sixth, respectively, on the conference leaderboard.

AROUND THE HCAC
There are two other league tilts on the Saturday schedule, with Bluffton hosting Anderson at noon and Mount St. Joseph travels to defending conference champion Hanover for a 1:30 p.m. showdown. Manchester is out of the league loop, traveling to Ohio to take on Otterbein.