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TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Franklin College rallied from a 21-0 deficit to top Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology 42-35 in a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference football matchup between conference co-leaders that lived up to its billing.
Chase Burton finished 23-44 through the air for 317 yards and four touchdowns, and rushed for two more scores to lead the Franklin offense. Ty'Ronte Files rushed for 190 yards, and Lee Wroblewski hauled in seven receptions for 139 yards and three touchdowns.
Rose-Hulman had an impressive offensive performance of its own. Junior Austin Swenson finished 28-42 for 329 yards and three touchdowns to lead the passing attack, with sophomore Kevin Dufauchard rushing for 80 yards and a touchdown to lead the ground performance. Swenson became Rose-Hulman's school record holder with 55 career touchdown passes during the game.
Senior Jacob Dye had seven receptions for 115 yards and two touchdowns, junior Joe Moehrle added seven catches for 83 yards and a touchdown, and junior Alec Fisher recorded 105 yards receiving on six catches.
Defensively, sophomore Kaelen Garner led the Engineers with 13 tackles and two pass breakups. Sophomore Alec Thompson reached double figures with 11 tackles (nine solo). Sophomore Sterling Mitchell contributed four pass breakups and an interception, while Mike Henry and Jon Poore recovered fumbles for Rose-Hulman.
Rose-Hulman jumped out to a 21-0 lead after an active first quarter. Swenson and Dye connected on a 66-yard touchdown pass on Rose-Hulman's first possession to make the score 7-0.
Senior Aaron Abbott scored from two yards out to push the lead to 14-0. Abbott would later become Rose-Hulman's career school record holder with his 201st career receptions as part of a five-catch day. Moehrle then caught a three-yard touchdown pass from Swenson to get Rose-Hulman off to its fast start.
Franklin answered with three consecutive touchdown passes from Burton to Wroblewski to tie the score at 21-21. Rose-Hulman took a 28-21 lead into the halftime locker room after a 40-yard touchdown run by Dufauchard capped a six-play, 65-yard march.
In the second half, Franklin tied the score again at 28-28 on a four-yard touchdown run by Burton. Rose-Hulman answered with another touchdown to take a 35-28 lead, when Dye capped a 91-yard, nine-play drive with a five-yard scoring catch with 5:37 left in the third quarter.
Franklin marched 21 plays in a drive that started in the sun, included a driving rainstorm in the middle, and ended with the sun back out. The Grizzlies took 8:01 off the clock before Burton scored on a one-yard touchdown run with 11:18 remaining to tie the score at 35-35.
Franklin took its first lead of the game with 6:07 left on a Burton touchdown pass to Kole Stonger. Rose-Hulman had one chance to tie the score, but the Franklin defense held to secure the victory.
Rose-Hulman stands 6-1 on the season and 4-1 in HCAC play entering next Saturday's matchup at Manchester University. Franklin improved to 6-2 and 6-0 in conference play.