By Clyde Hughes
D3sports.com
Franklin coach Mike Leonard said he doesn't like to use the word "business" when he talks about his football team. Leonard, the coach who has brought the Grizzlies football program to national prominence, said the word mission better describes the way his team handles its - well - business.
"I don't like to use business around our guys," Leonard said. "I don't want them to view this as a business. It's our mission that we have. If we take care of our mission, they will be motivated when playoff time comes and represent our conference well."
For No. 22-ranked Franklin, this is championship week as the Grizzlies take on Manchester (4-4, 2-3) on Saturday. If Franklin wins, they will get a share of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference title and its automatic playoff spot.
It seemed like this week would never get here for Franklin after its surprise 30-27 loss to Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association upstart Trine on Sept. 27. The loss to Trine, which is now nationally ranked as well, knocked the Grizzlies from the polls going into conference play.
The Grizzlies turned the ball over five teams in the game and started HCAC play looking less than the invincible. Leonard said he didn't think his team lost any self-confidence after the Trine loss, but it did make the team do a self-evaluation.
"Any time all of these bad things hit you in one game, it doesn't necessarily make you go back to the drawing board but go back and reexamine what's really important and fix problems we had," Leonard said. "When things don't go well, you have to dig down deep inside and talk about what do we need to do."
Franklin has now reeled off five straight conference wins since that loss, including a big victory over Rose-Hulman (5-1, 7-2) with a convincing 42-7 score last Saturday. The Engineers prevented the shutout with a Tim Schrock 96-yard kickoff return in the second quarter.
The Grizzlies defense limited Rose-Hulman to 224 yards in total offense, including 100 yards rushing. Chad Bueltel, the conference's leading rusher (114.8 per game), was held to 90 yards in the game by Franklin.
"Our defense is really playing well right now," Leonard said. "They did a really nice job keeping their running game in check."
Linebacker Jamison Foley had seven tackles for Franklin while strong safety Trent Dalstrom and cornerback Scott Martin each had interceptions.
Leonard said the play of quarterback Chad Rupp continues to keep Franklin rolling offensively. Rupp is passing for 302.2 yards per game and completing 64.8 percent of his passes (175-for-270). He has thrown for 26 touchdowns against seven interceptions.
"Chad is really playing well right now," Leonard said. "Our running game is getting better and better each game but it's not to the point where we're loving it. If we can continue to improve there, it's going to make us that much better."
Leonard said the most important thing for his team right now is that they can determine their own destiny. The Grizzlies will close out the season at home against rival Hanover (1-6, 1-4) for the Victory Bell.
"It's always fun to be in the driver's seat," Leonard said. "It feels like we're 16 years old again and just getting the license. We control our own destiny and I feel good about the team right now."