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Franklin at Defiance Box Score
DEFIANCE, Ohio – A high powered Franklin team proved to be too much for the Defiance College football team on Saturday as the Grizzlies handed DC its first shutout loss of the season by a 21-0 score.
The teams battled through nearly a full half without denting the scoreboard before Franklin’s Chad Rupp hit Danny Sears for a 16-yard strike with 31 seconds remaining in the opening half for the 7-0 lead.
The lead quickly doubled after halftime as FC’s Lance Pickrell intercepted a Joey Higgins pass on the third play of the half. The Grizzlies capitalized on the miscue and covered 41 yards in three plays for the 14-0 lead. The drive was capped by a 26-yard run to pay dirt from R.J. Hartsfield.
Franklin struck again just over eight minutes later, once again benefiting from an errant DC pass to extend its lead to 21-0. Teddy Henkle hauled in the interception at Defiance’s own 18 and ran it back to the 11 before being dragged down by Robert Miller.
Rupp found Jared Modesitt on the very next play for the 11-yard score and his second touchdown pass of the game.
Franklin’s defense was outstanding from start to finish, seemingly getting stronger as the game progressed. The Grizzlies held Defiance to 74 total yards and only three first downs but did not allow a single first down in the second half while holding the Jackets to just 24 yards on 16 plays in the final 30 minutes.
DC’s defense also played well, racking up three sacks, five pass breakups, one interception and a fumble recovery. Mike Haydon led the way with 10 stops and a forced fumble while Nic Cass also posted 10 tackles. Chris Tietje followed up his HCAC Defensive Player-of-the-Week performance from last Saturday with nine tackles and a sack and Keith Snyder added nine hits and a pair of pass breakups. Steve Brancheau picked off a pass while picking up eight tackles and Ruben Echezabal had six stops, one fumble recovery and a sack.
Joey Higgins led the offense with 10 completions for 71 yards and Hans Vetter led all DC receivers with five catches for 39 yards.
Franklin was led by its standout quarterback, as Rupp completed 16-of-28 passes for 150 yards and a pair of scores. FC featured three running backs with over 50 yards on the game as Hartsfield, Everett Johnson and Jon Bennett combined for 167 yards on 27 carries.
Defiance (6-3, 4-2 HCAC) will wrap up its 2006 season next Saturday when it travels to Bluffton to take on the Beavers at 1:00 pm.
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