Franklin College put itself in an early hole on Saturday afternoon and never recovered, dropping a 36-17 decision at Hanover in the season finale for both teams.
The Grizzlies (4-6, 4-3 HCAC) missed two chances to get off the field on the Panthers’ opening drive. After an offside penalty wiped out a Haidyn Bulmer interception, Franklin forced a punt but fumbled it right back to the hosts. Another pair of flags helped set up Hanover’s first touchdown.
A 26-yard field goal by Gabe Crutchfield at the 10:18 mark of the second quarter moved the Grizzlies within 6-3, but the Panthers responded with a field goal and a touchdown before halftime to go ahead by a dozen. A 55-yard touchdown pass, the only points of the third quarter, left Franklin College staring at a 22-3 deficit entering the final period.
Kai Ross found Dylan McKinney on a 6-yard scoring toss with 12:28 left and also connected with Owen Wright for a 16-yard TD with 7:01 remaining, but Hanover responded to each of those touchdowns with one of its own to maintain a double-digit cushion.
The Grizzlies ended the day with a slight 378-372 edge in total offense, but the Panthers were far more efficient, needing just 55 plays to Franklin’s 87.
Ross was 32 of 53 passing the ball for 310 yards, with Wright (nine catches for 100 yards) and McKinney (seven for 72) his favorite targets, but he was also sacked four times. Garrett Cora rushed for 98 yards to finish the season with 1,419, the second highest one-year total in school history.
Defensively, Hayden Kermode led the Grizzlies with seven tackles; Jireh Ojata and Beau Hess each had two tackles for loss.
