Published: October 31, 2009 12:03 am         

4-4 Rose football wraps up its home season today vs. Franklin

TERRE HAUTE — It doesn’t seem possible, but Rose-Hulman will wrap up its home football schedule with a matchup against Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference rival Franklin College at 1:30 p.m. on Phil Brown Field inside Cook Stadium today.

Rose enters its annual Dad’s Day/Senior Day contest with a record of 4-4 overall, 2-3 in the HCAC. The Engineers reached the .500 mark for the third time this season after a much-needed laugher on the road last week, a 50-14 drubbing of winless Bluffton.

“Winning always helps, especially getting a conference win on the road,” Rose coach Steve Englehart said. “We played well in all aspects of the game. Our biggest problem is consistency and we want to carry some of that momentum into this week’s game.”

Meanwhile, the Grizzlies, ranked No. 22 in the d3football.com poll, suffered its first conference loss of the season, a 26-16 decision at home vs. Mount St. Joseph last week.

MSJ generated 220 yards rushing against Franklin, chewing up nearly 45 minutes of the 60 minutes to dominate time of possession. Another key factor in the loss was three fumbles and two interceptions by the Franklin offense.

The loss snapped Franklin’s 21-game HCAC winning streak, but still possess a 13-game winning streak in HCAC road games. The Grizzlies have appeared in the last two NCAA Division III Football Playoffs.

Franklin relies heavily on the forward pass, accumulating 2,344 yards passing this season to just 679 yards rushing. Franklin paces the HCAC in passing offense at 334.9 yards per game, despite utilizing three quarterbacks.

One of those three QB’s, Nick Purichia, passed for 239 yards and two TD’s vs. MSJ. Leading rusher for the Grizzlies is junior Mitch Downs, a former Rockville player, with 236 yards (4.1 yards per carry) and two TD’s.

“This week will be a big challenge for our defense … [Franklin] will try to get four or five receivers into routes,” Englehart noted. “We will need to play sound on all sides of the ball. The turnover battle will be key. If we do, we have a great shot at winning.”

Other Wabash Valley players listed on the Franklin roster include senior OL Shawn Hines (Terre Haute North), freshman RB Kameron Silcock (West Vigo) and freshman WB Keith Cunningham (Linton).

In the Bluffton blowout, Rose senior quarterback Derek Eitel, Marshall, Ill., continued his assault on the school’s record book with just two games remaining in his collegiate career.

Eitel passed for 207 yards and three TD’s vs. Bluffton, becoming the all-time leader in completions (529) and tying the record for most touchdown passes (45). Eitel already owns the school mark of 6,773 passing yards.

Rose seniors being honored today include Eitel, Patrick Duncan, Thomas Reives, Nick Murphy, Calvin Bueltel, Bill Crosby, Todd Deskin, Clayton McCrindle, Ben Mueller, Jimmy Rago, Jared Stermole, Kyle Stevens, Tyler Thornton, Grant Walthall, Ben Wassell and Greg Williams.



Franklin at Rose-Hulman

The matchup — Rose-Hulman (4-4, 2-3) hosts Franklin College (5-2, 3-1) in a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference game on Dad’s Day.

Kickoff — 1:30 p.m.

Site — Cook Stadium, Terre Haute, Ind.

Broadcast — WMHD 90.7 FM

Coaches — Steve Englehart (24-14) in his fourth season at Rose-Hulman. Mike Leonard (46-25) is in his seventh season at Franklin.

Last season — Franklin won 42-7.

Last week — Rose won 50-14 at Bluffton. Franklin dropped a 26-16 vs. Mount St. Joseph.

Series — Franklin leads 34-22-2, winning the last three games.

— Dennis Clark