Grizzlies topple Bulldogs in dramatic fashion

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By Dan Schumerth, September 13, 2008

Butler is a member of the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division 1-AA).

Both teams fumbled the ball away on their first possessions and it was awhile before the Grizzlies turned it around. Franklin’s first seven possessions went fumble, punt, punt, fumble, punt, punt and turnover on downs.

Franklin’s defense stepped up to keep the game within reach, though, by forcing four punts in the first half. Also, Freshman Jonathan Roederer recovered a fumble and senior Trent Dahlstrom picked off a pass.

Butler’s Matt Kobli threw two touchdown passes, of 48 and 10 yards respectively, to Dan Bohrer to give the bulldogs a 14-0 lead with 12:51 left in the second quarter.

The Grizzlies switched to a no huddle offense towards the end of the half and drove down the field in just over two minutes. Junior Matt Gates caught the first of senior Chad Rupp’s three touchdown passes with 1:38 remaining in the half.

“The wind was a big factor in this game. I think we scored nearly all of our points going that direction with the wind. I’d say Butler was probably very similar,” head coach Mike Leonard said.

“They had the wind that first quarter and we just weren’t functioning like we wanted to. Part of it is our execution, but part of it is field conditions and wind conditions.”

The Bulldogs lead 14-7 at the half.

“We talked right out here on the field where I had 100% attention that, ‘we’ve got to show what we’re made of now. We’re down 14-7, but we have all the momentum’,” Leonard said.

“And we were the aggressor the entire second quarter. And I love being the aggressor. I hate being on our heels.”

The second half was a different story. Butler started the third quarter with the ball, but Franklin’s defense quickly forced a punt. Three plays and 58 yards later senior Jon-Erik Bennett ran into the end zone on a 16-yard carry.

One play from scrimmage and 15 seconds later, sophomore defensive lineman Rex Olds picked off a Kobli pass. Then it took all of one play for Rupp to throw a 14-yard touchdown pass to senior Kevin Lynch, which gave the Grizzlies their first lead, 21-14.

It looked as if Franklin would pull away when senior Scott Martin blocked a punt to set up a 30-yard field goal by junior Machy Magdalinos, which put them up by two scores. However, Kobli and Bohrer connected for a score for the third time of the afternoon.

The Grizzlies, not to be outdone, drove 51 yards in ten plays. Senior Cole Zook capped off the drive with a two-yard touchdown reception from Rupp. 31-21, Grizzlies.

Butler quickly scored again on Bohrer’s fourth touchdown reception of the day, this one going for 13 yards. 2:17 remained on the clock as the Franklin lead, 31-28.

The Bulldogs then attempted and recovered an onside kick, giving them an opportunity to go for the tie or win.

But the Grizzly defense stopped them cold. In four plays the Butler lost 11 yards.  Dan McManus provided the exclamation point with a sack on fourth down.

“Our guys had the resolve that they weren’t going to get beat deep and they were going to go make a play. And that’s what they did,” Leonard said of the defense’s last stand.

Franklin then ran out the 1:33 remaining on the clock to secure the victory.

“I liked the standpoint of getting down. I didn’t want to get down but after we were down I had to live with it and just say ‘this is a great opportunity to show what we’re made of’ regardless of who we’re playing,” Leonard said.

“Bigger school, Division I team, doesn’t matter. This is one of the most satisfying wins that’s we’ve had here just because we haven’t had to come from behind in the past. This will give us some great lessons for the future.”

The game was about as close as a game can be. Franklin had 26 first downs to Butler’s 22. Franklin had five turnovers to Butler’s four, plus a blocked punt. Franklin had one sack to Butler’s two. Franklin controlled the ball for 26:31 to Butler’s 33:29. Franklin gained 448 total yards to Butler’s 403.

One major difference was in penalties. Butler had 10 for 81 yards, while Franklin had just four for 44 yards.

The Grizzlies stepped up when the needed to.

“Dan McManus is always going to get an attaboy just for how hard he plays,” Leonard said.

“Scotty Martin, one of our defensive backs, played great pass defense and he got the blocked punt down here which was a game changing event.“

Rupp threw for 394 yards and the Grizzlies rushed for 54.

Sophomore Nick Cochran led the defense with 15 tackles, while seniors Roshawn Hill and Nick Rulon each recorded 9.

According to Leonard, “This Franklin-Butler game of 2008 will never be forgotten.”