In a game suspended by lightning on Friday at War Memorial Field with Franklin ahead 12-6 with 1:08 left in the first quarter, the Knights picked up where they left off there with a score 78 seconds into Saturday play. With the line collapsing in on Warren quarterback Brady Shene, the ball was knocked free and Franklin’s Jeremy Cunningham picked it up and ran 37 yards for an 18-6 Knights’ lead.

Fortunately for Warren, junior Greyson Linkerhof kept breaking through the line; he set the Dragons up at the Franklin 10-yard line when he blocked a punt with four minutes left in the half. Junior teammate Alex Meneo recovered the ball and set up quarterback Brady Shene’s 1-yard quarterback sneak, cutting Franklin’s lead to 18-12 at the half.

Franklin had too much of Mincer, who scored his second of four touchdowns out of his 29 carries at 4:11 of the third quarter.

Warren wasn’t done; running back Ayden Corbett proved his 59-yard touchdown on Friday wasn’t a fluke. On the ensuing possession, the freshman had rushes of 26 and 19 yards, respectively, to set up the Dragons’ third touchdown of the game. Sophomore Colby Zinger blasted through a linebacker for a 3-yard score to cut the deficit to one possession. Franklin blocked its second extra point attempt of the night to keep its lead at 8 points.

Warren running back Colby Zinger shakes a tackle for touchdown on Saturday in the Dragons’ 40-18 Region 6 loss to Franklin at War Memorial Field. Photo by Mark Evans

Corbett wasn’t done, finishing with 152 yards on 14 rushing attempts and Warren’s lone reception for 16 yards.

“We played hard for three quarters, but we let the momentum swing and that was the difference,” said Warren coach Cody Bupp. “Ayden ran hard, (and) the line did a good job opening up holes for the backs. He would be the first one to give credit to those guys opening up holes.”

Franklin’s own youngster, the sophomore Mincer, ended up with 241 yards and four touchdowns on 29 carries. His two fourth-quarter scores, including from 50 yards with 7:38 left in the game, put it away.

Franklin improved to 1-2 overall and 1-0 in the region with 291 yards rushing on 41 attempts. Knights quarterback Jason Carey was 3 of 8 passing for 84 yards, including a first-down completion to Landon Lynch on third-and-27 in the second half.

The Dragons had their most productive day with 203 total yards, but 187 were on the ground and only completed one pass.

“We saw growth, but there is still too many errors when it matters most,” said Bupp, whose Dragons are 0-3. “The defense gets them into a third-and-long, and we have a blown assignment that results in a big play. Offensively, we get moving and the penalties or a missed block halt a drive. Those are the hard lessons to learn; when you are in crunch time you have to execute. The kids tasted what it felt like to come back and be in a ballgame, and hopefully they let that fuel their fire to finish the next opportunity.”

FRANKLIN 40, WARREN 18

Franklin 12 7 7 14 — 40

Warren 6 6 6 0 — 18

First Quarter

F–Caiden Mincer 4 run (kick fails)

W–Ayden Corbett 59 run (kick fails)

F–Eddie Mattocks 1 run (pass fails)

Second Quarter

F–Jeremy Cunningham 37 fumble return (Connor Ritchey kick)

W–Brady Shene 1 run (kick fails)

Third Quarter

F–Mincer 31 run (Ritchey kick)

W–Colby Zinger 3 run (kick fails)

Fourth Quarter

F–Mincer 5 run (Ritchey kick)

F–Mincer 50 run (Ritchey kick)

Individual Stats

Rushing: F–Mincer 29-241, 4TD, Eddie Mattocks 5-20, TD, Evan Steigerwald 4-20, Jason Carey 2-12, Landon Lynch 1-(-2). W–Corbett 14-152, TD, Zinger 9-28, TD, Shene 3-13, TD, Austin Fiscus 2-3, Aiden Eger 2-(-6), Tommaso Clemente 1-(-3).

Pass: F–Carey 3 of 8 for 84 yards. W–Shene 1 of 6 for 16 yards.

Receive: F–Lynch 1-58, Jayden Wilmoth 1-16, Mincer 1-10. W–Corbett 1-16.