Grizzlies drop second straight

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By Dexter Howard, November 2, 2009

Through the first quarter, Franklin (5-3, 3-2 HCAC) put the most emphasis on their ground game. Within two short-lived series, junior running back Mitch Downs rushed for 15 yards with freshman Ethan Cook adding 20 yards of his own to the offensive production. 

 

However the gains came to no avail for the visiting Grizzlies and resulted in two failed scoring attempts. Capitalizing on Franklin’s short-comings, Rose-Hulman put together a 12-play, 85-yard scoring drive, which spilled over into the early second quarter. Senior quarterback Derek Eitel went 3-for-7 with 60 yards for the Engineers on the drive, and added an extra 12 yards on the ground to get a 7-0 advantage.

 

Directly after the first points were put on the board, an unconventional onside kickoff from sophomore Nick Schneider allowed Rose-Hulman to maintain ball control. A costly offsides penalty against the Grizzlies on an Engineer fourth-and-short would result in a 32-yard touchdown toss from Eitel to wideout Reed Eason. The extra point from Scheider was blocked by freshman Robby Jordan, making the score 13-0 Rose-Hulman with 10:23 left in the half. 

 

The quarterback-receiver duo would hook up again later in the second quarter. With the help of a 42-yard strike to Reed, followed by a 38-yard touchdown completion to Thomas Reives, Eitel would pad his team’s lead to 20-0 in a 30-second scoring effort. Despite twice navigating into Rose-Hulman territory, the efforts of junior quarterback Nick Purichia and company were thwarted by the Engineer defense, who forced six punts and an interception in the first half.

 

During the second half of play, the Grizzlies cut the lead and fought back into the game. An early 80-yard drive from the offense would be capped off with a 58-yard throw from Purichia to senior wideout Adam Mellencamp, making it the seventh consecutive game in which Mellencamp has caught a touchdown pass, and making the score 20-7. However, with a potent mix of rushing and passing, the Engineers would respond with a 72-yard scoring drive of their own keeping their lead at 27-7. 

 

A 64-yard touchdown scamper from Purichia late in the third quarter and a Mitch Deffner touchdown reception from junior quarterback Kyle Ray in the fourth quarter would round out Franklin’s scoring efforts, but the Grizzlies couldn’t shake the early deficit. Linebacker Andrew Couch would intercept a Ray pass deep in Franklin territory to clinch the 34-21 win for the Engineers.

 

The Grizzlies will host Manchester College on Saturday in the final home game of the 2009 season.