Franklin 70, Earlham 20
But this game wasn't anywhere close to being as competitive as the one three years ago. The Grizzlies scored 70 unanswered points -- 35 alone in the first quarter, and 56 in the half -- before the gun at Stewart "Red" Faught Stadium mercifully sounded with the final score 70-20. The winners' point total was their most in the school's 120-year history at that point.
Because the Grizzlies were so far ahead at halftime (56-0), I did not stick around for much of the rest of the game. It seemed pointless, and I knew I'd gotten enough photos to adequately represent what I'd seen of the game up to that point.
The scoring in this Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference game started quickly. I'd barely settled into a shooting spot in the end zone behind the Grizzlies kickoff receiving team and hadn't even made the final adjustments on my camera settings when, on the first play from scrimmage, quarterback Jonny West threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Linville.
Above: Earlham spent a lot of the afternoon receiving kickoffs after Franklin touchdowns. The Quakers' Marcus Coby (3), a freshman, meets a Franklin special teams tackler on this first-quarter kickoff.
Above and below: Joey Pasquale on separate runs in the first half. He would score the Grizzlies' third touchdown of the game on a 14-yard scamper. This is one of my panning successes; note Pasquale is sharp, while the defender behind him is not.
Above: Earlham's Jalen Kenner, another freshman, tries to outrun Franklin defenders.
Earlham's roster has three freshman quarterbacks, and one of them, Alonzo Genelin, was harassed intently by the Grizzlies' defense. Above and the first photo below, junior lineman Dominique Boyd (8) is the nemesis, netting a sack (above) and just missing blocking a pass by Genelin (above). Sacking Genelin in the second and third photos below are junior linebackers Johnny Varner (4) and Alex Van Cleve (9). Varner had two of the Grizzlies' six sacks on the day.
Above and below: This is Grant Welp's first of two touchdowns, curling around to the right and reaching the end zone after a 14-yard run just as a Quaker defender would tackle him. The post-TD celebration included a jump bump along the sideline.
Above and next three below: A sequence of shots as Franklin quarterback Jonny West (12) tries to make something out of a bad snap from center. He stumbles after freshman defensive back Terrell Scott (24) gets a hand on West's ankle, causing West to stumble. But he maintained his balance long enough to reach the sideline where another Quakers' defender pushed him out of bounds.
Above: With the end zone in sight, Grant Welp nears the end of his second, and longer touchdown run of the day. This time he did slip through an opening in the middle of the line and found no defenders in the backfield close enough to contain the damage. He scored from 58 yards out.
Above: Franklin sophomore special teams member Tim Sanders (5) prepares to take down Earlham's Marcus Coby on the opening kickoff.
Franklin wide receiver Kyle Linville (above) caught a 3-yard pass from Jonny West for the Grizzlies' second score of the game, boosting their lead to 14-0 after Cole Richards' extra-point kick. After the TD, Linville celebrated (below) with running back Joey Pasquale (45).
Two minutes after Linville's second touchdown, Pasquale (above) scored a TD himself on a 12-yard run, after which it was his turn to celebrate (below), with tight end Dylan Jenney (80). Offensive lineman Nick Schultz (79) is close behind.
Above: At 12:28 of the second quarter and the Grizzlies leading 35-0, running back Kyle Holzbog followed the blocking of offensive lineman Joe Green (64) for 11 yards, ending with yet another touchdown.
Above: Franklin linebacker Jordan Segner (39) has a beat on Earlham quarterback Alonzo Genelin (18) who was trying to avoid a sack in first-half action. Genelin was sacked four times (twice by Johnny Varner) for a total loss of 26 yards in the first half. Matt Couch, who took over quarterbacking duties for Earlham in the third quarter, was sacked twice for a total loss of 11 yards.
Above and below. The Franklin Men's Chorus opened homecoming festivities by singing the national anthem. Joining his fellow chorus members for the anthem was Grizzlies junior defensive lineman James Rogers (93).
Above: Leonard's Loft, located in the southeast corner of the field, is named for Grizzlies' head coach Mike Leonard.
The scoring in this Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference game started quickly. I'd barely settled into a shooting spot in the end zone behind the Grizzlies kickoff receiving team and hadn't even made the final adjustments on my camera settings when, on the first play from scrimmage, quarterback Jonny West threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Linville.
Yeah, I missed the shot. Ditto only a few minutes later when the Grizzlies blocked an Earlham punt. I was on the opposite end of the field expecting to photograph the kick returner, and moments later, Franklin had scored its second touchdown.
On the plus side, I was in great position (behind the end zone, again) when ball carrier Grant Welp (photo at top) passed on an opportunity to slip through this hole in the middle of the line — the defender behind offensive lineman Nick Schultz (79) would have had the angle on him to make the stop — and instead took off to his right and scored the team's fifth touchdown in the first quarter.
It wasn't looming as a very good day of picture-taking for me, however. I had decided to try something a little out of the ordinary of normal photography for sports. I set my shutter speed to 1/250 (which is rather slow for football) on the hope of shooting the bulk of my shots by panning. I was curious to see what I'd get.
It wasn't looming as a very good day of picture-taking for me, however. I had decided to try something a little out of the ordinary of normal photography for sports. I set my shutter speed to 1/250 (which is rather slow for football) on the hope of shooting the bulk of my shots by panning. I was curious to see what I'd get.
For those unfamiliar, panning means following the action with the plane of the camera, using a slower than normal shutter speed, with the expectation of blurring most of the scene except the subject you elect to follow. When panning, the subject is supposed to be in sharp focus, or at least relatively sharp, while the background is blurred. The technique is supposed to enhance the sense of motion, of which there is a lot in football.
Alas, I had more failures than successes on this day. Occasionally the angle was such that motion -- and, hence, blur -- was minimal, enabling me to get a few shots that could pass as if I'd shot them at a much faster 1/500 or more.
To view a full gallery of shots from the Franklin-Earlham game, click on the link in this sentence.
Alas, I had more failures than successes on this day. Occasionally the angle was such that motion -- and, hence, blur -- was minimal, enabling me to get a few shots that could pass as if I'd shot them at a much faster 1/500 or more.
To view a full gallery of shots from the Franklin-Earlham game, click on the link in this sentence.
Next up: Chapter 12, Team mascots
Previously in Game Day Revisited:
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