Garrett Cora had himself a day.
The junior running back rushed for 318 yards and four touchdowns, nearly eclipsing a 50-year-old school record in the process, as Franklin College bulled its way to a 35-21 HCAC victory at Defiance on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, the Grizzlies (3-3, 3-0) remain tied atop the conference standings with Rose-Hulman, which visits Faught Stadium this coming Saturday.
Cora got his career day started with first-quarter touchdown runs of 58 and 77 yards, taking the visitors out to a 14-0 lead. He added a 31-yard scoring run in the second quarter and sealed the win with a 35-yard TD at the 3:24 mark of the fourth quarter, just moments after the Yellow Jackets had scored to get within seven at 28-21.
Franklin College took a seemingly insurmountable 28-7 cushion into the final period after Kai Ross’ 2-yard touchdown pass to Owen Wright with 6:23 left in the third quarter. Defiance got a pair of rushing TDs from Tyshaun Freeman before Cora’s final touchdown closed the door.
Both teams relied heavily on the ground game in the less than ideal weather conditions; the Grizzlies completed just five of nine passes for 16 yards, while the Yellow Jackets were 5 of 17 for 42 yards. Two of those Defiance attempts were intercepted, both by Franklin’s Haidyn Bulmer.
Jireh Ojata spearheaded the Grizzly defense with nine total tackles, 2.5 quarterback sacks and a forced fumble. Charlie Moore and Keegan O’Neill each made seven stops.
