Panthers bounce back and win

Press photo/Andy Scheidler. Josh Young (No. 36) and Jake Stamey (No. 10) converge near Robbinsville's Blake Anderson during a punt return. Young recovered the fumble on the play.

On the second play from scrimmage, Robbinsville busted a long touchdown run. Rather than hang their heads, the Franklin Panthers responded by outplaying the Black Knights.

The Panthers outscored the Robbinsville 24-7 the rest of the game for a 31-14 victory.

Panthers coach Josh Brooks said the team did a good job responding to allowing the early touchdown.

"We didn't pout. They didn't point fingers," Brooks said. "They got over there (the sideline) and made corrections and played a heck of a game. They held a team that had (571) yards rushing last week way below their average and gave the offense a chance to win the game. And we did that."

Franklin (2-1) looked more focused and played inspired football after suffering its first loss at home a week prior. The squad got a mix of contributions from many players on offense and defense, which was something Brooks was glad to see.

"Last week, coming into Monday's practice we talked about team first," he said. "Big team, little me. Whatever it takes. Quit pointing fingers and uphold your responsibility. It was a team effort - special teams, defense, offense. Nobody running for 250 yards. But the team won the game and that's the most important thing."

Josh Young had another solid game as he ran for 141 yards on 29 carries and scored a touchdown.

Christian Vose threw his first touchdown pass as a senior, connecting on a 35-yard strike to Cody Herman in the back of the end zone with one second remaining before halftime. Vose finished 9-for-16 for 108 yards and also had a 1-yard touchdown plunge.

Vince Collins found the end zone for a second time this season. He had five carries for 74 yards.

Jason Erxleben had seven grabs for 64 yards and produced some yardage returning punts.

Andrew Raby was 4-for-4 on extra points and booted a 37-yard field goal.

Robbinsville (2-1) was held to 213 yards rushing on 38 attempts. The Black Knights scored on the long run at the start of the game and a halfback pass in the fourth quarter.

The win was a good bounce-back effort for Franklin after a difficult loss to Murphy. Brooks said that loss was a wake-up call for the Panthers.

"I think any team through a season is looking for something to hang their hat on," Brooks said. "It's sad that you have to hang your hat on a loss. But I think that woke us up and made us realize some things that we probably wouldn't have realized if we had went on and won that game.

"That's why I'm so proud of this team. They responded to adversity and they just got the job done (Friday) against a team and a place that's got a lot of tradition in football."