The crowd at the top of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference title race thinned out just a little bit on Saturday, as Franklin College eked out a 42-34 win at Mount St. Joseph in a battle of league unbeatens.
The Grizzlies (5-1, 4-0) remain deadlocked with Hanover College for first place. The win was the 121st for head coach Mike Leonard, breaking a tie with Red Faught for the most in school history.
Down 17-14 at halftime, Franklin went ahead for good when Braden Smith hit Ben Fleet and Brad Bonomini for touchdowns of 12 and 46 yards to make it 28-17. Fleet caught another 5-yard scoring pass early in the fourth quarter, and Smith capped it off with an 18-yard TD run that stretched the lead to 15 with 5:40 remaining.
Smith and Jacob Earl had rushing touchdowns in the first half for the Grizzlies.
Earl finished with 186 yards rushing to lead the Franklin ground attack, while Smith finished with 257 yards through the air. Bonomini was the top target, making seven catches for 113 yards.
The Grizzlies will host Earlham next.
