Third downs told the tale of Franklin College’s Saturday afternoon contest at Manchester.
The Grizzlies converted 10 of their 17 on the day; the Spartans failed on 11 on 13. Not surprisingly, it was the visitors who ended up departing with a 24-6 victory.
Franklin College (4-4, 4-1 HCAC) dominated time of possession by a margin of almost 3 to 2, in large part because of the defense’s ability to get off the field on third down. After taking the lead on a David Smith touchdown run in the first quarter, Manchester (1-6, 0-4) didn’t sniff the end zone again.
Meanwhile, the Grizzlies’ offense fared just fine in the first half. Kai Ross hit Dylan McKinney for a 41-yard TD pass a little more than two minutes after Smith’s score, and Derek Baldin’s PAT put Franklin on top for good. Garrett Cora scored on a 13-yard run early in the second quarter and Baldin added a 25-yard field goal to give the visitors a 17-6 lead at the break.
The lone scoring action in the second half came when Ross threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Dawson Dallape with 11:12 remaining in the third quarter. Manchester managed just 61 yards of offense over the last 30 minutes, ending each of its five second-half possessions with punts.
DeMarion Newell had 10 tackles, including 2.5 for loss, to lead the Grizzlies’ defense; Carter Edney added eight stops.
Ross finished 19 of 29 passing for 220 yards, with McKinney (five catches for 85 yards) and Jarrett Gibson (six for 80) accounting for the majority of that output. Cora rushed 26 times for 87 yards.
The Grizzlies are at home for their final two games, beginning with this Saturday’s game against Mount St. Joseph.
