Ohio Wesleyan 30, Franklin 14

Sept. 3, 2005

Senior quarterback Ryan Sir Louis (Hinckley/Highland) ran for 2 touchdowns and turned in a brilliant passing performance to lead Ohio Wesleyan over Franklin in the season opener for both teams on Saturday at Selby Field.

Ohio Wesleyan's first possession of the season went like clockwork, with the Bishops assembling an 8-play, 70-yard drive. Sir Louis set up the score with a 30-yard gain on a quarterback draw, then found junior halfback Nick Rice (Dublin/Scioto) along the right sideline, with Rice bumped out of bounds just before reaching the pylon. On the next play, Sir Louis went over from 1 yard out to give the Bishops a 7-0 lead.

The Bishop defense set up the next score. Midway through the second quarter, Franklin took over on its 17-yard line. On first down, junior end Owen Case (Marion/River Valley) stuffed Grizzly running back Austin Gorrell for a 2-yard loss. On second down, Franklin set up a screen to Gorrell, but sophomore linebacker Chad Ellis (Dublin/Scioto) sniffed the play out and dumped Gorrell for a 5-yard loss. Senior end Cisco Clervoix (Naples, Fla.) then sacked Franklin quarterback Andy Clark on third down, pushing the Grizzlies back to their own 4-yard line and forcing a Josh Benjamin punt that gave the Bishops the ball on the Franklin 35.

Sir Louis and Rice connected again for 22 yards, with that play setting up a 28-yard field goal by freshman Chris Kras (Aurora) that increased the Ohio Wesleyan lead to 10-0.

Franklin got on the scoreboard during the final minute of the first half, when Danny Sears hauled in a pass from Andy Clark and scored on a 45-yard play, biring the Grizzlies within 10-7 at halftime.

As they did in the first half, the Bishops opened the second half with a methodical march, but the drive bogged down at the Franklin 17 and on fourth-and-1, freshman halfback Joey Riley (Grove City) was tripped up for a 1-yard loss to turn the ball over on downs.

The Bishop defense held Franklin on 3 plays, and this time Ohio Wesleyan found the end zone, covering 62 yards in 9 plays. Freshman halfback Kyle Adams (North Canton/Hoover) had a couple of key plays in the drive, rumbling for 11 yards for a Bishop first down early in the possession, then capping the drive with a 10-yard scoring run. Senior fullback Matt Carducci (Hudson) reeled off a 17-yard gain for another first down, and Sir Louis connected with sophomore split end Zach Dennis (Jefferson) for 28 yards on a key third-and-23 call from the Franklin 38.

Ohio Wesleyan added another touchdown later in the third quarter, with Sir Louis scoring on a 17-yard run to finish off an 88-yard, 6-play drive and give the Bishops a 23-7 lead. Earlier in the drive, Sir Louis and Rice connected on a 22-yard pass play and Adams had a 39-yard run to move the ball deep into Franklin territory.

On Franklin's next possession, Case sacked Clark and forced a fumble, which was recovered by Ellis to give the Bishops the ball at the Franklin 26.

Four plays later, Carducci went into the end zone from 1 yard out and the Bishop lead increased to 30-7.

Ty Fritz rallied the Grizzlies to a score, tossing a 5-yard TD pass to Brian Nay to make it a 30-14 game with 5:15 to play, and it appeared that Franklin would make a run when the Grizzlies forced the Bishops to punt and got the ball back with 4:13 to go.

But the Bishop defense sealed the game. On second down from the Franklin 15, Fritz threw toward Nay at the Grizzly 30-yard line, but junior safety Kyle Sherman (Plain City/Dublin Scioto) picked off the pass and returned the ball to the Franklin 14. The Bishops were able to run over 2 minutes off the clock and Franklin did not threaten again.

Adams led the Bishops with 71 yards in 7 rushes, while Sir Louis ran for 70 yards in 11 carries and completed 13 of 18 passes for 165 yards. Rice had a team-high 6 receptions for 90 yards.

For Franklin, Clark completed 11 of 22 passes for 92 yards and a TD, while Fritz completed 5 of 9 throws for 86 yards. Nay and Luis Galeano each had 4 catches and Dustin Criswell led the Grizzlies with 13 yards in 5 rushes.

Defensive standouts for the Bishops included Clervoix, who led the Bishops with 7 stops, including a sack and 2 for loss; Case, who made 6 tackles, including a sack and 2 for loss, and forced 2 fumbles; Ellis, who had 6 tackles, including 1 for loss; sophomore end Patrick Trenor (Urbana), whose 5 tackles included 2 sacks; sophomore cornerback Josh Wheeler (Columbus/Dublin Scioto), who made 5 stops, including 1 for loss; and senior safety Jeff King (Sidney/Piqua), who had 3 tackles, including 1 for loss, and broke up a pass.

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