When Franklin College football coach Mike Leonard saw both his squad and Wabash had an open date for the 2006 season, he jumped at the opportunity to play the Little Giants.
"I just have the utmost respect for Wabash College and its football program," said Leonard, who is in his fourth season at the Grizzlie helm. "When I saw we had the opportunity to play Wabash, it was a no-brainer. Wabash year in and year out is one of the better teams in the region and this is a game where we are going to find out what we are made of for sure."
Wabash and Franklin play each other for the first time since 1999 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Faught Stadium. It will be the season-opener for the Little Giants, while Franklin already has a game under its belt. Franklin defeated Ohio Wesleyan - which was picked to finish second in the North Coast Athletic Conference standings - 38-23 Saturday at Franklin.
Leonard said Saturday's win over Ohio Wesleyan could have come because the Battling Bishops came to Faught Stadium overconfident and taking the Grizzlies lightly. Ohio Wesleyan defeated the Grizzlies 30-14 to open the 2005 season.
Franklin went to the ground to avenge last year's season-opening loss, rushing the ball 44 times for 214 yards. R.J. Hartsfield, a 5-foot, 9-inch 185-pound running back from Salem, led the Grizzlies' attack with 28 carries for 127 yards.
"R.J. is definitely one of the leaders on our team, both vocally and by example," Leonard said. "He would be the first to credit everyone else, but he had a nice game on the ground for us."
Franklin has five quarterbacks on its roster - senior Ty Fritz, sophomores Chad Rupp and Coty Bragdon and freshmen Blake Nevins and Anthony Tomasino, and Leonard isn't scared to use any of them. Franklin used a two-quarterback system against Ohio Wesleyan, with Rupp and Fritz combining for 250 passing yards. Rupp was 12-for-16 for 197 yards, while Fritz was 4-for-6 for 53 yards.
"I will play any of the five quarterbacks, it's just whoever has the hot hand," Leonard said. "Since I came here, I've been very fortunate that each year I've had two quarterbacks that are very capable of producing on Saturday."
Leonard didn't want to say his team had to play a flawless game, but knows it will take a strong effort from his squad to beat the Little Giants Saturday. The Little Giants are coming off an 11-1 season and berth in the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs. Wabash returns five defensive starters and seven offensive starters from that squad.
After starting last season with a 2-4 record, Franklin won three of its last four games to finish 5-5.
"We are just going to have to play the best game we possibly can," Leonard said. "There is no doubt in my mind that we are the underdog heading into this game, just based on what happened last year and what each team has returning. But we are going to go into this game preparing like we are expecting to win, just like we do every game, whether it's Wabash, Butler, Indiana State or Notre Dame."
Wilson is the sports editor for the Journal Review