Panthers blow lead, fall to Murphy

Photo courtesy of bruceharwoodphotos.com. Franklin defender Tyler Landgrover covers Murphy wide receiver Ian Reese during Friday's contest. Murphy rallied from an 11-point deficit in the final minutes to secure a 27-24 victory. Franklin committed two late turnovers on offense and allowed four passing touchdowns in the loss.

It appeared the Franklin football team was on its way to a fairly routine victory. The Panthers were leading by 11 points, had possession of the ball just outside of the red zone and less than four minutes remained on the clock.

But two turnovers led to two Murphy passing touchdowns, as the Bulldogs rallied for a 27-24 victory Friday.

"We definitely gave it away. Plain and simple. No other things about it," Franklin coach Josh Brooks said. "Don't blame the kids, you can blame the head coach. It's my responsibility to get it taken care of. We obviously did not make any plays when we needed to. We turned the ball over twice, gave up big plays down the sideline, missed an interception, you name it. We just didn't make plays and that's a reflection of the head coach."

Franklin held a 24-13 lead and chewed up a time-consuming drive that looked like it might lead to a field goal at worst. But Murphy cornerback Ian Reese intercepted Christian Vose in the end zone.

Murphy didn't waste any time scoring, as Luke Charles found Kevin Williams for a 34-yard passing touchdown with 2:48 remaining. On the Panthers' next possession, running back Vince Collins lost a fumble. Three plays later, Charles connected with Reese for a touchdown that put the Bulldogs ahead. A two-point conversion made the score 24-21.

After Murphy kicked the ball out of bounds, Franklin had good starting field position to attempt to get into field goal range. But Vose was sacked on second and third down, and a long pass attempt on 4th-and-22 fell incomplete to end the Panthers' chances.

Brooks said the frustrating loss came down to a lack of making plays in the final few minutes.

"The bottom line is you've got to finish the game," he said. "We've got to finish that game out and you've got to be able to win that football game. But we didn't do it."

A positive for the Panthers was the play of Josh Young. The senior running back finished with 250 yards on the ground. He had two touchdowns, including a 56-yard scamper.

Young has amassed 563 yards rushing and six touchdowns in two games this season.

Murphy struggled gaining much momentum rushing up the middle. But running to the outside and breaking down the Panthers' man-to-man pass defense proved effective.

Murphy coach David Gentry said Murphy's game plan was to spread out the Franklin defense.

"We couldn't run on them real good and had to run outside for any yards we got," Gentry said. "...They put nine people in the box so you've got to pass and run outside.

"They were playing man (pass defense). If you beat that one man you've got him."

Junior quarterback Luke Charles passed for 275 yards and four touchdowns.

Aside from Young, the Panthers didn't much productivity on offense. Vose completed two passes on seven attempts for 12 yards and Collins and Tyler Watson combined for 22 yards on nine carries.

Young scored both of his touchdowns in the first half. A 1-yard quarterback sneak by Vose gave the Panthers a 21-13 at halftime. An Andrew Raby 35-yard field goal midway through the third quarter put the margin at 24-13, which remained the same until the final three minutes of the game.

The loss was the first in the Panther Pit since 2005, as Franklin went 6-0 at home last year.

It also snapped a five-game winning streak for the Panthers against Murphy.

"It was good to get back and win one against Franklin," Gentry said. "They've been a real nemesis to us."

Franklin hadn't suffered a loss this early in the season in recent years. The Panthers started 8-0 in 2005 and 9-0 in 2006.

Brooks said the players will have to pick up the intensity in practice and the coaching staff will have to do a better job.

"I'm looking forward to going back to work," he said. "Again, I've got to do a self-evaluation and those kids do too. And we've got to work a little harder. We've just got to get better."