<p>Both Franklin and Whiteland were able to sustain long drives on Friday night.</p>
<p>The host Warriors were just a lot better at turning them into points.</p>
<p>Melvin Taylor and Jake Perry led a dominating effort on the ground and quarterback Austin Kirkman rushed for a pair of touchdowns as the Class 5A No. 6 Warriors used their physical superiority to earn a 44-20 victory in Mid-State Conference play.</p>
<p>"We needed to be able to dominate the line of scrimmage, and I really thought we played well on both sides of the ball up front," Whiteland coach Darrin Fisher said.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
<p>After Franklin’s 13-play drive to start the game ended with an incomplete pass on fourth down in Whiteland territory, the Warriors (3-1, 1-1) got it moving in the other direction with a 50-yard run by Brylar Metz. That big play helped set up a 1-yard scoring run by Kirkman that put Whiteland up 6-0.</p>
<p>The Warriors then pushed the lead to 14 after a botched snap on a Franklin punt led to a 2-yard Perry scoring run and a Taylor two-point conversion with 1:21 to go in the opening quarter.</p>
<p>Noah Crow got the Grizzly Cubs (2-2, 1-1) on the board, hauling in a 15-yard touchdown pass from Drew Byerly at the end of a 10-play, 80-yard drive that lasted less than 78 seconds, but Whiteland quickly reclaimed the momentum. Dakota DeBaun returned the kickoff 31 yards to the 42, and Taylor followed immediately with a 58-yard scoring dash on the first play of the second quarter.</p>
<p>The Warriors carried that 22-7 edge into the half despite being outgained by a 225-217 margin over the first two periods. Franklin was able to move the ball consistently but had four scoreless drives of seven or more plays in the first half.</p>
<p>"We got those stops," Fisher said. "Great defense is getting a stop when you need one; it’s not about yardage. And our guys got the stops early in the ball game when we needed to."</p>
<p>Kirkman’s second TD of the night to start the second half, followed by a Brock Christianson touchdown later in the third period, effectively put the game away at 37-7.</p>
<p>Franklin got a shot in the arm when Cory Richards managed to grab a deflected pass and take it 54 yards for a score, and Byerly added a 6-yard touchdown keeper to cut the deficit to 17, but the Warriors were able to run out most of the remaining time and Gavin Lutz tacked on a touchdown with 1:43 remaining to ice it.</p>
<p>Both teams are at home next week. The Warriors host Perry Meridian, while the Grizzly Cubs face another tough test in unbeaten Martinsville.</p>
