Daily Journal Staff Reports
The Franklin College football team has made light work of most of its road opponents in conference play this season, and the final one on the schedule was no different.
Braden Smith, Brad Bonomini and Jacob Earl paced another dominating offensive effort as the Grizzlies rolled to a 45-24 win at Manchester on Saturday afternoon.
Smith passed for 309 yards and three touchdowns, including a 77-yarder to Bonomini on the third play of the game. He found Bonomini again from 29 yards out to put the Grizzlies up 14-7 with 6:01 left in the opening quarter.
Earl stretched the lead to two touchdowns with a 15-yard run, and after Manchester answered with nine straight points, Smith connected with Bonomini one more time to give Franklin a 28-16 lead with two seconds left in the half.
The Grizzlies (7-1, 6-0 HCAC) put the game away after halftime, with short scoring runs by Smith and Austin Grunden as well as a Carter Brown field goal stretching the margin to 45-16.
Bonomini finished with seven catches for 164 yards. Earl added 90 yards on the ground and 50 more on three receptions.
Defensively, the Grizzlies were led by Logan Hale’s seven tackles and a Chaz Hill interception.
Franklin College will be at home for its final two regular-season games, including this weekend’s clash with Bluffton.
