Franklin College’s Jarrett Gibson reaches to pull in a pass during Saturday’s game against Mount St. Joseph.
Sam Findley | For the Daily Journal
Everyone wants to beat the unbeaten. However, not everyone can.
Franklin College wanted and expected to beat the undefeated and 22nd-ranked Mount St. Joseph on Saturday. That want resulted in a valiant effort but a 27-20 loss at Faught Stadium.
The Grizzlies (4-5, 4-2 HCAC) allowed Lions quarterback Josh Taylor to account for four touchdowns and 321 yards in total offense (191 rushing, 130 passing).
Both teams came up empty early, either via three-and-outs or turnovers — Franklin’s Gervasio Mitchell came up with an interception. The host Grizzlies got on the board first with a 40-yard field goal from Derek Baldin with 4:47 remaining in the first quarter.
That lead didnt last long. Taylor kept the ball himself and, with the wind blowing in his face, the junior took off down the sideline for an 80-yard track race. Taylor won that race putting the Lions on the board, but Franklin special teams kept the game a field goal away when Jackson Kahari blocked the point-after attempt.
Baldin put another three on the scoreboard, this time from 37 yards out, tying the game at 6-6 with under a minute left in the first quarter.
The beginning of the second period looked like a rerun of the first, with both offenses sputtering out and making no headway, until the Lions (9-0, 6-0) stomped down the field for a four-play 56-yard drive that was capped by a 2-yard Taylor rush. That put Franklin in a 13-6 deficit going into the half.
Shay McRath and the Grizzlies’ special teams came up big with a blocked field goal attempt early in the third quarter, and the offense followed with a 10-play, 63-yard drive that was capped off when Cameron Johnson punched it in from 2 yards out to tie it back up. Mount St Joseph responded with a go-ahead touchdown; this time Taylor took to the air, zipping a ball to Hunley Zykeem for a 20-13 lead with 2:11 remaining in the third.
Johnson stretched into the end zone from a yard out to even the score once again with 9:38 remaining in the contest, but a 65-yard run by Cornell Beachem quickly set the Lions up with a first and goal at the Franklin 5. The Grizzlies’ defense held for three plays before Taylor scored from 2 yards out on fourth down.
Franklin had 6:32 left to answer, and the Grizzlies looked capable of doing that when they got all the way to the Mount St. Joseph 32 before two incomplete passes resulted in a turnover on downs with 1:47 left.
Although Franklin didn’t come away with the win they wanted or expected, head coach Alan Hensell was happy with the team’s performance.
“We were in it the whole time,” he said. “I’m really proud of the way our guys played. They played extremely hard. We just ran out of time at the end.”
The Grizzlies will finish the season at home next week, hosting Hanover for the 92nd Victory Bell game.
