Coaches will be in contact to re-schedule for another day.

 

TEAM GRIZ Awards Day
Thanks to everyone involved for making this a GREAT day! 

 

The Franklin College 2009 AWARDS DAY CEREMONY will be held on Saturday December 5^th at 3:00 p.m. in the Branigin Room of the Student Center.  The campus community is excited to recognize many of the outstanding accomplishments of this years’ team, including honoring the senior class, which had more victories, with a record of 36 wins and only 8 defeats, than any other class in Franklin College football history.  The class also won the Victory Bell vs. Hanover College in all four years.  We look forward to a great celebration of a fine season.

 

Click the logo below to read about the HCAC Awards.

HANOVER, Ind. (Nov. 14) – Franklin College jumped on football arch rival Hanover with four touchdowns in the first half and went on to win 42-28 in today’s annual battle for the Victory Bell trophy.

The Grizzlies closed out their 2009 season at 5-2 in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference – tying for second place with Manchester – and finished 7-3 overall. The host Panthers dropped to 3-4 in the conference and 3-7 in all contests. The decision, which featured both teams combining for 995 total offensive yards, marked FC’s fifth straight triumph over Hanover.

Junior quarterback Nick Purichia (Indianapolis, Ind./Cardinal Ritter H.S.) completed 17 of 25 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns and freshman running back Ethan Cook (New Albany, Ind./Providence H.S.) rushed 25 times for 142 yards and a pair of scores to propel the Griz offensive attack.

Franklin got on the scoreboard first in the opening quarter after the Panthers pinned the visitors on their own 1-yard-line on a downed punt. Five plays later, Cook broke loose for a 74-yard run to the Panthers’ 12. On the next play, Cook rushed into the end zone to break the scoreless tie.

The Grizzlies went up 14-0 about three minutes later when Purichia hit Cook with a 15-yard touchdown pass to cap a 69-yard drive.

Hanover tallied its first touchdown with 40 seconds left in the first quarter after driving 87 yards for a 3-yard TD pass from freshman quarterback C.J. Croft to sophomore receiver Daniel Passafiume.

Franklin, however, dominated the second quarter. The Griz scored on a 7-yard toss from Purichia to senior tight end Matt Gates (Royal Center, Ind./Pioneer H.S.) with 11:16 left in the half. FC then broke it open when Cook ran in from 1 yard out with 3:17 remaining. The visitors scored their fourth TD by capitalizing on an interception by senior linebacker Joe Rush (Speedway, Ind./H.S.) at the Panthers’ 35-yard-line.

In the third quarter, two touchdowns by Hanover sandwiched the Grizzlies’ lone TD. Croft hit Passafiume with another 3-yard TD strike to finish a 72-yard march to begin the period. FC answered with a 15-yard roll-out and throw from Purichia to junior split end Matt Zmich (Noblesville, Ind./Westfield Washington H.S.) at the 3:51 mark. Croft then fired his third scoring pass of the day, a 30-yarder to senior tight end Bobby Smart with 1:38 to go.

The Grizzlies scored their final TD on a 22-yard run by sophomore running back Nick Mongan (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove H.S.) with 4:00 remaining in the contest. Mongan rushed six times for 74 yards on the day. Croft, who rushed 25 times for a game-best 181 yards, scampered his way for a 12-yard TD with 1:22 left to round out the scoring.

Hanover edged FC in total offensive yards – 504 to 491. Croft completed 42 of 57 passes for 304 yards and three scores, finishing with 485 yards of individual total offense. Passafiume made a Panthers school-record 25 receptions for 153 yards and two TDs.

The Grizzlies’ defense was led by junior linebacker Nick Cochran (Plainfield, Ind./H.S.), who made 10 total tackles, including eight solo tackles. Sophomore strong safety Tyler Huls (Salem, Ind./H.S.) had nine total tackles, as did sophomore linebacker David O’Rourke (Evansville, Ind./Memorial H.S.). Rush had eight solo tackles to go with his interception.

Franklin’s other two pickoffs were made by senior free safety Jesse Mercer (Franklin, Ind./H.S.) and senior cornerback Ross Tierney (Logansport, Ind./H.S.).