No. 28 Franklin Uses Quick Start to Get Past DC, 30-14

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The No. 28 ranked Franklin Grizzlies built a 20-0 cushion on Saturday and spoiled Defiance's 2008 Homecoming with a 30-14 victory over the Yellow Jackets inside Coressel Stadium.

Franklin's high-powered offense came out of the gates clicking on all cylinders and took the opening drive of the game 82 yards on only seven plays for the early score. Fred McMoore capped the drive with his first of two rushing touchdowns, scoring from five yards out.

The Grizzlies missed the extra point attempt, but got the ball back after a quick Defiance punt and needed only one play to find the end zone again. Chad Rupp connected on a 73-yard pass to Adam Mellencamp to push the spread to 13-0 with 7:37 left in the first quarter.

McMoore struck once again midway through the second quarter to highlight a 14-play drive by Franklin, which spanned 79 yards and took 7:11 off of the clock. The three-yard dash was the third Grizzly touchdown in their first four touches of the afternoon and put Defiance in the early 20-0 hole.

The Yellow Jacket defense settled in from that point on and only yielded one more touchdown and 10 Franklin points over the final 38:44 minutes of action.

Defiance got its offense on track following the third Franklin score and answered with a touchdown strike of its own to trim the gap to 20-7. The Jackets, who had managed only seven total yards on their first three possessions, found pay dirt on a 24-yard screen pass from Rick Powell to Lewis Caralla at the 5:48 mark of the second quarter. The drive covered 59 yards on seven plays and marked DC's first opening half score of the season.

The Jackets would not score again until their final drive of the afternoon. Facing a 30-7 deficit, Powell opened the drive with a one-yard scramble before completing his next four passes for 54 yards and a touchdown. Powell connected with Nick Wiedenhoft on three of those passes, including a 24-yard strike and the 25-yard touchdown reception to make it a 30-14 game with 1:47 left on the clock.

Powell guided DC to its finest offensive performance of the season, as he connected on 16-of-18 passes for 182 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The freshman quarterback did not throw an interception and ran for 38 yards, despite ending with a net gain of only six due to a trio of sacks.

Wiedenhoft also excelled in his first collegiate start and ended with five catches for 77 yards and one touchdown. Dan Mull joined Wiedenhoft with five receptions and ended with 29 yards.

Keith Snyder led the DC defense once again with 12 total tackles and Rodney Donald turned in 10 with a pair of hits coming for lost yardage.

Travis Guisinger, Josh Wade and Kyle Longsdorf also played well for the Purple and Gold. Guisinger tallied seven hits and one sack, Wade had seven tackles and one forced fumble and Longsdorf also ended with seven tackles.

Defiance (0-4, 0-1 HCAC) will look to continue its improvement and try to crack the win column on Oct. 11 when it takes on Manchester (2-2, 1-1 HCAC) at 1:30 pm.