Down by a point after the first 10 minutes of Saturday's game at Bluffton, Franklin football owned the rest of the afternoon.
The Grizzlies scored five unanswered touchdowns to seize control of the affair, rolling to a 41-14 road win.
"It was another great day for college football," Franklin coach
Mike Leonard said. "Our guys made some outstanding plays on both sides of the ball."
Set up in good position after
Noah Lien returned the opening kickoff to the 40-yard line, the Griz (3-4, 2-2 HCAC) needed just five plays to go the remaining 60 yards for a 6-0 lead.
Marshall Kmiecik completed five straight passes, the last of those to
Owen Wright for a 16-yard touchdown.
The Beavers blocked the extra point and had a TD drive of their own later in the opening quarter to go ahead by one, but Franklin clapped back quickly. A 33-yard throw from Kmiecik to
Jared Brooks moved the ball into Bluffton territory, and a 34-yard heave to
Brayden Wilkins on fourth and 9 set up first and goal at the 2. Kmiecik ran it in on the next play to give the visitors a 13-7 edge.
From there, the floodgates opened. Franklin's first second-quarter drive ended with a 40-yard touchdown pass from Kmiecik to Wilkins, and Brooks caught a 7-yard TD throw with 41 seconds left in the half to make it 27-7 at the break.
Bluffton's opening possession of the second half started in Griz territory but ended early when
Brayden Baker forced a fumble that was recovered by
Seth Rindfuss. Kmiecik then turned that into a 63-yard scoring toss to Wilkins, and he added a 15-yard TD throw to Wright on the next Franklin drive to make it 41-7 with 7:49 left in the third quarter. The Grizzlies played their reserves the rest of the way.
Kmiecik completed 24 of 35 passes for 419 yards — his fourth straight game of 400 or more — and five scores in addition to a rushing TD. Wilkins and Wright each made six receptions for 178 and 98 yards, respectively.
On the defensive side, Baker led the way with 12 tackles and had one of the team's three interceptions, joining
Jackson Haston and
TJ Michel in that department. Franklin outgained the Beavers 542-284 and allowed just 77 yards on the ground.
"Marshall's passing was on point and several receivers made outstanding catches," Leonard said. "Our defense did an excellent job of limiting the opponent's rushing yards and keeping both the QB and running backs contained."
Franklin will play its final three games of the season at home, beginning with a Halloween battle against Muskingum. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. at Faught Stadium.
