FRANKLIN -
Mike Leonard's example of Saturday was as unique as you might find from a football coach on a fall Saturday.
"We had two loaded pistols in our belt, and they were going off when they were in our harness," said Franklin's leader when talking about his team's contest with Mount Saint Joseph.
Translation, coach?
"We shot ourselves in the foot way too many times."
As in turnovers, five over the course of 60 minutes at Faught Field Saturday contributed to the Grizzlies' 26-16 loss to the undefeated Lions, who raced out to a 17-0 lead, then held off a second half Franklin attack to stay at the top of the Heritage Collegiate Athletic Conference standings. Leonard's team now sits a game-and-a-half behind in second place with a 3-1 conference record.
See: Franklin Rallies to Beat Trine
"It's tough to win games against good people, good opponents," said Leonard of the turnovers.
The two that the Grizzlies might want back the most came in the fourth quarter, when the team was down 19-10. Nick Purichia-who came in a quarterback in the second half and got 10 quick points-drove Franklin down the field to the Mount St. Joseph 17 yard line until he was unable to handle a high snap, and the ball was recovered by the Lions.
About five minutes later, the Grizzlies drove down the field again, but Puricha's pass was intercepted in the endzone by Ryan Smithmeyer.
Mount St. Joseph took advantage, going on a 12-play, 80 yard drive that was capped off with a fourth down halfback option pass from Jake Davis to Derick Tabar for a six-yard touchdown that made it 26-10. Franklin's offense finally punched on in late in the fourth quarter when Purichia found Adam Mellencamp for the 21 yard score, but a missed two-point conversion and the subsequent onside kick recovery by the Eagles ended any hopes of a comeback.
See: Huck, Butler Have Too Much For Grizzlies
"I knew he could give us a little bit of a spark and he did," said Leonard of his decision to put in Purichia-who finished with 239 yards and two touchdowns in the second half. "He was able to move around and find some open receivers and make some big plays we just didn't make enough of 'em."
Before he even got in the game, however, the hole was already dug for the Grizzlies, who were outplayed in the first half by a fast starting Mount St. Joseph team that scored on it's opening drive when quarterback Craig Mustard pushed it in from a yard out to make it 7-0. Turnovers then crept in for Franklin who fumbled on back-to-back possessions which lead to 10 points and a 17-10 halftime lead for the Lions.
For the first 30 minutes, Mount St. Joseph outgained the Grizzlies 220-64, with Franklin gaining just 64 yards though the air with the quarterback rotation of Nathan Ellis and Kyle Ray.
"The played a tremendous first half," said Leonard of the visitors. "They made all the plays and we just weren't making any."
See: Franklin Looks to Two QBs Early To Replace Chad Rupp
Hence why Leonard made the decision to go to Purichia-who missed last week's victory over Anderson-and the quarterback made an immediate difference. Following an interception by Joe Rush, Purichia put the Grizzlies deep into Lions territory in under a minute to help get Franklin on the board with a Machy Magdalinos 24 yard field goal to make 17-3.
The next possession Purichia got it all the way to the endzone, finding Matt Zmich who got his feet just inside the white line for a fingertip 21-yard touchdown to make it 17-10.
"We went in at halftime and just tried to talk about 'Hey, how can we get this momentum switched' and it was every guy just stepping up one at a time trying to play good team football within the framework of the team making some plays," said Leonard of the second half comeback.
"We had two loaded pistols in our belt, and they were going off when they were in our harness," said Franklin's leader when talking about his team's contest with Mount Saint Joseph.
Translation, coach?
"We shot ourselves in the foot way too many times."
As in turnovers, five over the course of 60 minutes at Faught Field Saturday contributed to the Grizzlies' 26-16 loss to the undefeated Lions, who raced out to a 17-0 lead, then held off a second half Franklin attack to stay at the top of the Heritage Collegiate Athletic Conference standings. Leonard's team now sits a game-and-a-half behind in second place with a 3-1 conference record.
See: Franklin Rallies to Beat Trine
"It's tough to win games against good people, good opponents," said Leonard of the turnovers.
The two that the Grizzlies might want back the most came in the fourth quarter, when the team was down 19-10. Nick Purichia-who came in a quarterback in the second half and got 10 quick points-drove Franklin down the field to the Mount St. Joseph 17 yard line until he was unable to handle a high snap, and the ball was recovered by the Lions.
About five minutes later, the Grizzlies drove down the field again, but Puricha's pass was intercepted in the endzone by Ryan Smithmeyer.
Mount St. Joseph took advantage, going on a 12-play, 80 yard drive that was capped off with a fourth down halfback option pass from Jake Davis to Derick Tabar for a six-yard touchdown that made it 26-10. Franklin's offense finally punched on in late in the fourth quarter when Purichia found Adam Mellencamp for the 21 yard score, but a missed two-point conversion and the subsequent onside kick recovery by the Eagles ended any hopes of a comeback.
See: Huck, Butler Have Too Much For Grizzlies
"I knew he could give us a little bit of a spark and he did," said Leonard of his decision to put in Purichia-who finished with 239 yards and two touchdowns in the second half. "He was able to move around and find some open receivers and make some big plays we just didn't make enough of 'em."
Before he even got in the game, however, the hole was already dug for the Grizzlies, who were outplayed in the first half by a fast starting Mount St. Joseph team that scored on it's opening drive when quarterback Craig Mustard pushed it in from a yard out to make it 7-0. Turnovers then crept in for Franklin who fumbled on back-to-back possessions which lead to 10 points and a 17-10 halftime lead for the Lions.
For the first 30 minutes, Mount St. Joseph outgained the Grizzlies 220-64, with Franklin gaining just 64 yards though the air with the quarterback rotation of Nathan Ellis and Kyle Ray.
"The played a tremendous first half," said Leonard of the visitors. "They made all the plays and we just weren't making any."
See: Franklin Looks to Two QBs Early To Replace Chad Rupp
Hence why Leonard made the decision to go to Purichia-who missed last week's victory over Anderson-and the quarterback made an immediate difference. Following an interception by Joe Rush, Purichia put the Grizzlies deep into Lions territory in under a minute to help get Franklin on the board with a Machy Magdalinos 24 yard field goal to make 17-3.
The next possession Purichia got it all the way to the endzone, finding Matt Zmich who got his feet just inside the white line for a fingertip 21-yard touchdown to make it 17-10.
"We went in at halftime and just tried to talk about 'Hey, how can we get this momentum switched' and it was every guy just stepping up one at a time trying to play good team football within the framework of the team making some plays," said Leonard of the second half comeback.
