GREENWOOD, Ind. – Franklin College opened the season with a 43-39 come-from-behind win over No. 11 Thomas More College Saturday evening at Faught Stadium. The Grizzlies (1-0, 0-0 HCAC) scored two touchdowns in the final 5:15 to earn the season opening win.
Junior Chase Burton (Corydon, Ind. / Corydon Central) finished 51-for-67 through the air for 514 yards with five touchdowns to lead the offensive attack.
Senior Ty'Ronte Files (Ocala, Fla. / Vanguard) balanced the attack with 55 rushing yards and one touchdown.
Junior Deontez Alexander (Indianapolis, Ind. / Manual) hauled in 12 catches for 164 yards and one touchdown, while junior Darrell Crenshaw (Trotwood, Ohio / Trotwood-Madison) had 104 yards and one touchdown reception on 13 catches.
Defensively, senior defensive lineman Devante Ash (Indianapolis, Ind. / Perry Meridian) led the Grizzlies defense with 10 tackles, five solo tackles, and 2 tackles for loss.
Rose-Hulman will travel to Butler University for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff Saturday evening.
In other action...
Anderson University (0-1, 0-0 HCAC) dropped its season opener against rival North Park, falling 1-13. Senior quarterback Garret Miller (Waynesfield, Ohio / Waynesfield-Goshen) led the Ravens offense, completing 22 of his 37 passes for 176 yards and a touchdown. Anderson will host Centre College on Saturday at 6 p.m.
Bluffton University (1-0, 0-0 HCAC) kicked off the 2016 season by beating Wilmington College, 49-20, on Saturday. On the offensive side, Bluffton's quarterbacks passed for a total of 193 yards for five touchdowns. The Beavers divided the number of pass attempts between Colby Speice (Paulding, Ohio / Wayne Trace), Conner Sheehan (Monroeville, Ind. / Heritage), and Brandon Koch (West Harrison, Ind. / East Central). Micah Roberson (Ada, Ohio / Ada) led the team with six catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns. Bluffton will travel to face Trine University at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Earlham College (0-1, 0-0 HCAC) opened the season with a 28-18 loss to Southern Virginia University on Saturday. Junior wide receiver Marcaus Cooper (Palm Coast, Fla. / Matanzas) caught five passes for 115 yards to lead the Quakers offensively. As a team, Earlham tallied 209 total yards of offense while Southern Virginia finished with 375. Earlham will travel to Gallaudet for a 2 p.m. kickoff Saturday afternoon.
The Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (0-1, 0-0 HCAC) football team lost its 2016 season opener 13-14 to Illinois College on Saturday at Cook Stadium under the lights. Senior quarterback Austin Swenson (Corydon, Ind./Corydon Central) completed 27-of-46 passes and threw for 287 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Fightin' Engineers offense. Despite the loss, Rose-Hulman totaled 402 yards of offense versus Illinois College's 293 yards. RHIT returns to action on Saturday at Millikin at 1 p.m. CT.