Butler Rolls to 49-19 Victory At Franklin
Quarterback Andrew Huck passed for four
touchdowns and rushed for a fifth to lead visiting Butler to a
49-19 win over Franklin in a non-league game at Stewart
“Red” Faught Stadium on Saturday (Sept. 12). It
was Butler’s second straight win to open the 2009 season.
Huck, getting his second collegiate start, completed 33 of 48
passes for 316 yards in the victory. He hit Zach
Watkins with a three-yard scoring pass in the first
quarter and then tossed touchdown passes of nine yards to
Dan Bohrer and eight yards to Eddie
McHale in the second period. The three scoring
aerials were added to a 28-yard first quarter field goal by
David Lang to give Butler a 23-7 halftime lead
over the host Grizzlies (1-1).
The second-year Butler signal caller found Watkins again in the
third quarter with a seven-yard strike to stretch Butler’s
lead to 30-7, and he scored on a five-yard run early in the final
period to boost the Bulldogs’ margin to 43-13. Huck led
the Bulldogs in rushing with 35 yards, and he had 351 yards in
total offense when he left the game in the fourth quarter.
Butler also picked up touchdowns from Ricky
Trujillo on a five-yard run in the third quarter and from
Jordan Koopman on a 10-yard pass from redshirt
freshman Calvin Blair. It was the first
career touchdown pass for Blair, who completed all five passes he
attempted for 25 yards.
The Bulldogs, who rolled up 461 yards in total offense, never
trailed in the game. Butler jumped to a 16-0 lead and led by
as many as 30 points on three different occasions. The 49
points were the second-most scored by the Bulldogs under head coach
Jeff Voris and the most since last year’s
56-7 victory at Campbell in the fifth game of the season.
Bohrer had eight catches for 72 yards in the game, and he became
Butler’s all-time leader in receptions with his first
catch. The senior wide receiver has 150 career receptions,
breaking the previous mark of 142 that he shared with Eric Voss,
1999-93. Watkins also had eight catches in the game for 91
yards, while McHale added seven receptions for 62 yards.
Free safety Mark Giacomantonio led a balanced
Butler offense with seven tackles, two pass interceptions and one
pass breakup. Freshman Jordan Ridley added
five tackles, including one tackle for loss, and one forced fumble,
while sophomore Grant Hunter had five tackles,
including two quarterback sacks.
The Bulldogs, 2-0 for the for the third straight season, will
return to action against Hanover on Saturday, Sept. 19. That
game at the Butler Bowl is scheduled for a 1 p.m. (ET) start.
