Winless Anderson wasn’t supposed to present such a difficult test for Franklin College on Saturday, but the Grizzlies managed to pass it anyway.
Garrett Cora scored three rushing touchdowns, two of them coming five and a half minutes apart in the second half, to allow Franklin to secure a 36-28 road win over the Ravens.
Down 7-0 after Anderson cashed in on an early turnover, the Grizzlies (2-3, 2-0 HCAC) got on the board with a 1-yard touchdown run by Kam Jennings and then followed up with two more scores — a 14-yard pass from Kai Ross to Center Grove grad Owen Wright and a 26-yard Cora run — to build a 21-7 cushion by the 12:02 mark of the second quarter.
The Ravens (0-5, 0-2) answered back with a field goal and two touchdowns, taking a one-point lead when Marquane Taylor pulled in a 29-yard scoring throw from Roosevelt Norfleet III with 7:46 left in the third period.
Cora then finished off seven- and 10-play Franklin College drives with touchdown runs, the first a 10-yarder that was followed up by a Malachi Joy two-point conversion, and the second a 1-yarder on the first play of the fourth quarter that gave the Grizzlies a 36-22 cushion.
Anderson got back to within one score and got the ball back with 7:15 remaining, but Franklin was able to force a punt and then maintain possession for the final 5:53, finishing the game on the Ravens’ 4-yard line.
Ross was 15 of 20 passing for 240 yards, with Dylan McKinney (eight catches, 173 yards) his favorite target on the day. Cora gained 122 yards on the ground for the Grizzlies, who outgained the Ravens 463-352 and allowed just 11 yards rushing. Jireh Ojata and Beau Hess led the defense with nine tackles each; Ojata had three tackles for loss and also blocked a pair of extra points.
The Grizzlies are on the road again Oct. 14 at Defiance.
