Isaiah Borjas early, Brandon Rosado late.
It was a recipe that helped the Greenwood football team to a 4-0 start this season — and the duo helped the Woodmen get back on track Friday night after a three-game losing streak.
Rosado rushed for 219 yards, setting up the go-ahead touchdown with a 51-yard scamper and putting the game away with a 58-yard touchdown in the final minute, as Greenwood got past a stubborn Franklin club 36-22 to retain possession of The Cannon traveling trophy.
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“They came after us, and they really outplayed us for most of the game and played harder than we did,” Greenwood coach Mike Campbell said. “We made plays when we needed to, and we’re certainly happy with the win, but we know we have a lot of things we need to work on and improve on.”
The final score was deceptive — Franklin (1-7) gave the home club everything it could handle despite the absence of quarterback Jake Moore, who is no longer with the team.
The Woodmen (5-3) got on the board first when Borjas broke free up the left sideline for a 45-yard touchdown run with 3:56 left in the opening quarter — but the Grizzly Cubs needed all of 20 seconds to respond. On the next play from scrimmage, Tyler Fromer sprinted 75 yards to tie the game up.
A debatable pass interference call helped set up the next score for the Woodmen, a 24-yard toss from Seth Gallman to Isaiah Drew at the 5:27 mark of the second quarter. Rosado’s two-point run made it 15-7.
Franklin, though, answered again. Freshman quarterback Drew Byerly, coming off the bench to make his debut under center, drove the Grizzly Cubs 77 yards down the field, capping the march with a 14-yard scoring throw to Stone Peddycord.
That touchdown, which came with just 27.2 seconds to go in the half, brought the visitors to within a point.
The Woodmen went up 22-14 on a 37-yard Borjas run late in the third quarter, but Byerly rumbled 51 yards in traffic for a Franklin touchdown, and Fromer punched in the two-point conversion run to tie it at 22-22 with 9:17 remaining.
The rest of the night belonged to Rosado, who set the table for Gallman’s 1-yard keeper and then put the finishing touches on the victory by scoring with 59.5 seconds on the clock.
Rosado credited his offensive line, particularly senior Ryder Burchett, for paving the way for the Greenwood ground attack. Borjas finished with 135 yards rushing.
“I tried to do my job the best I could, and just chug down the field and get us a win,” Rosado said.
Franklin coach Adam Reese was pleased with how his team battled after a tough week.
“You’d like to come out on the top end, of course, but if we had it wouldn’t change how proud I am of these kids,” he said.
