Franklin 34, Ohio Wesleyan 21

Sept. 1, 2007

Senior quarterback Steve Hymes (Barberton/Massillon Washington) fueled a comeback that sliced a 27-0 deficit to 27-21 early in the fourth quarter, but Franklin seized back the momentum by returning a blocked punt for a touchdown and went on to defeat Ohio Wesleyan in the season opener for both teams on Saturday at Selby Field.

The Grizzlies took a 6-0 lead on their first possession of the game, with Austin Gorrell returning a punt to the Ohio Wesleyan 18-yard line. After R.J. Hartsfield ran the ball to the Bishop 1, David Mongan went over to put Franklin on the scoreboard.

Hartsfield set up another Grizzly touchdown on Franklin's next possession, breaking loose for a 30-yard gain and a first-and-goal that eventually produced a 5-yard scoring strike from Chad Rupp to Gorrell for a 13-0 Franklin lead.

Rupp extended the Franklin lead to 20-0 with a 12-yard TD pass to Tony Gregory with 4:43 left in the first quarter. Rupp was 5-for-5 on that drive, accounting for all 60 yards in the scoring march.

Ohio Wesleyan answered with a lengthy drive, with the Bishop offense covering 70 yards in 22 plays while chewing up more than 12 minutes. Ohio Wesleyan converted 3 straight fourth-down situations during the possession, which stalled when Hymes' pass fell incomplete on fourth-and-goal from the Franklin 10.

With the Bishop offense starting to find its footing, the Ohio Wesleyan defense turned in a stop late in the second quarter, forcing an incompletion on fourth-and-goal from the Ohio Wesleyan 6-yard line to keep the margin at 20-0 going into the locker room.

Hartsfield broke loose on a 51-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter to give the Grizzlies a 27-0 lead, but Ohio Wesleyan bounced right back with a long score of its own, with Hymes connecting with junior split end Nathan Osborn (Edgerton) on a 62-yard bomb that got the Bishops on the scoreboard.

Mixing up the Bishop offense, Hymes marched Ohio Wesleyan downfield on its next possession, first scrambling for 17 yards and a first down before connecting with junior split end Grant Geib (Brecksville/Brecksville-Broadview Heights) for 10 yards and another first down. A third-down connection with junior tight end Terrance Raeford (Brookline, Mass./Chesire Academy) and another Hymes double-digit gain moved the ball to the Franklin 3, and from there, junior running back Zack Rojek (Buffalo, N.Y./City Honors School) found the end zone to bring Ohio Wesleyan within 27-14 in the closing seconds of the third quarter.

After forcing a Franklin 3-and-out, the Bishops churned out another long drive, with junior running back Kyle Adams (North Canton/Hoover) converting another fourth-down opportunity before Hymes ran right and cut back for a 43-yard run that capped an 81-yard scoring march and made it a 27-21 game with 9:48 left in regulation time.

The Bishop defense sent the Grizzlies off again after 3 plays, giving Ohio Wesleyan the ball on its own 26-yard line at the midway point of the fourth quarter. But 3 Hymes passes fell incomplete, and junior Mark Wall (Delaware/Buckeye Valley) had his punt blocked by Franklin's Lance Pickrell. Ross Tierney picked up the loose ball and returned it 11 yards for a 34-21 Grizzly lead with 7:09 to play.

Ohio Wesleyan wasn't done, with Hymes picking up 11 yards on a key third-and-7 call and scrambling for 6 yards on a third-and-5 later in the drive. The Bishops moved to a first-and-goal at the Franklin 10, and on fourth down from the Franklin 2, Hymes was brought down just short of the goal line, keeping the score 34-21, and Franklin was able to run out the clock.

Hymes led all rushers with 157 yards on 24 carries and completed 18 of 32 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown. Raeford caught a team-high 5 passes for 44 yards.

Junior linebacker Tommy Saunders (Gallipolis/Gallia Academy) led the Bishop defense with 12 tackles, while senior linebacker Chad Ellis (Dublin/Scioto) added 10 stops and a pass breakup. Freshman defensive back Mike Fisher (Chagrin Falls/Kenston) added 8 tackles, including 1 for loss.

Hartsfield led the Grizzlies with 135 yards on 11 carries. Rupp completed 17 of 22 passes for 121 yards and 2 TDs, and Gorrell finished with a team-high 4 receptions for 19 yards.

Pickrell collected 19 tackles for Franklin.

Box Score