COLUMBUS
Friday night’s football season opener at Columbus North couldn’t have gone much worse for Franklin.
Standout linebacker Clayton Coll, the son of coach Chris Coll and a Ball State recruit, was injured after a four-yard carry late in the first quarter and did not return. He was on crutches with a knee wrapped at halftime.
Late in the third quarter, Coll collapsed while sitting on a training table on the sideline. Chris Coll said Clayton had low blood sugar, but that he was okay.
To add insult to injury, Franklin was outmatched on the field in a 64-7 loss.
The Bull Dogs drove into the red zone on their first offensive series, but had to settle for a 32-yard field goal by Spencer Rivera. Then, on their second possession, Trenton Kelley found Giovanni Alejandro wide open behind the Franklin defense for a 59-yard touchdown and a 10-0 lead. North added to its lead when Kelley snuck it in from the 2.
The Grizzly Cubs drove to the Bull Dogs’ 11 on their next series before Spencer Downhour missed a 28-yard field goal. But Franklin got the ball back and needed only three plays to drive 57 yards. A 42-yard run by quarterback Drew Byerly set up a 15-yard touchdown pass from Byerly to Peyton Ruble on the first play of the second quarter that cut the lead to 17-7.
The rest of the quarter, and the game, belonged to North. Kelley hit Preston Terrell for an 11-yard score, and third-string running back Daveed Jolley scored on runs of 10 and 5 yards after short fields set up by a fumble and a blocked punt.
The Grizzly Cubs did recover two fumbles of their own in the second quarter but were unable to capitalize.
The Bull Dogs erased any doubt by scoring touchdowns the first three times they had the ball in the third quarter. Kelley and Alejandro connected for a second time for a 22-yard score. Starting running back Michael Johnson ran five yards for a score, and backup Blake Huffman went in from the 14 for a 58-7 lead.
A fourth running back, Royce Lofton, added a 2-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Byerly finished 12 of 30 passing for 68 yards. Noah McCann carried nine times for 64 yards, and Cody Richards had four catches for 22 yards for Franklin.