INDIANAPOLIS
In a game where Perry Meridian’s offense piled up enough yardage to win by a comfortable margin, Franklin’s defense shut down the host Falcons when it counted most Friday.
After Perry Meridian scored a touchdown with 4:08 to tie the game 20-20 and force overtime, the Grizzly Cubs’ defense stoned the Falcons on all four of its overtime plays. Franklin, meanwhile, needed just two plays to win it. Greyson Betts rolled to his right and found Kaleb Owens in the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown pass to give the Cubs an improbable 26-20 Mid-State Conference win.
The Falcons (1-2, 0-1) doubled the Cubs (2-1, 1-0) in yardage by a 432-214 margin. But Franklin made up for that deficit with the overtime score and also by converting one of Perry Meridian’s three turnovers into a touchdown, while another of those miscues likely prevented another Falcons score.
Harjot Singh’s interception in the Cubs’ end zone early in the second quarter ended what looked to be a sure Perry Meridian touchdown drive. The Falcons had moved 86 yards in 11 plays to the Franklin 7-yard line when Singh’s interception ended it.
“We just played hard,” Franklin coach Chris Coll said of the defense’s revival in overtime. “We’ve got some good people up front who caused them some trouble. They hit some big plays on us, but all night long, our guys up front gave them some trouble.”
In overtime, Perry Meridian got the ball first. Franklin stoned Jonathan Hunter for a two-yard loss on the first play from the Cubs’ 10, then Zach Huckaby dropped the snap, scrambled, and lost another yard. Franklin linebacker Jake Dinkens hit Allen Zupan as he threw on third down, forcing an incompletion, and Blake Smythe sacked Zupan on fourth down to end the Falcons’ threat.
When it was Franklin’s turn, the Cubs wasted little time. Clay Pinnick gained four yards on a keeper on first down, then Betts found Owens in the end zone on what he said was a busted play.
“We started with a run (on the touchdown) and it just wasn’t working,” Pinnick said of the game-winning play. “I had trust in our defense (on Perry Meridian’s overtime possession). I knew they were going to get the stop.”
Alex Leugers scored two of Franklin’s three touchdowns in regulation and finished with a game-high 132 yards on 21 carries. Braden Bonesteel hauled in a 25-yard touchdown pass from Greyson Betts with 3:33 left in the first half to account for the Cubs’ other touchdown. That play was set up by a sack-fumble, which Brayden Isley recovered. Betts found Bonesteel on the next play.
“It wasn’t always our best, it wasn’t always pretty, but we played hard,” Coll said. “We had different guys on offense, defense, and special teams to make huge plays for us. It wasn’t just one or two guys.”
Franklin hosts Whiteland next Friday.
