Panther football has seen its first live game action of the year.
Scarcely a week after their first official day of practice, on Aug. 9 Panther football traveled to Rabun County for a preseason scrimmage with the Wildcats. Ahead of their first regular-season game Aug. 23, both varsity and JV squads gained valuable experience against the Wildcats.
Rabun received the opening kickoff on their home field, mounting a slow but steady drive into Panther territory. Despite strong tackling from Addix Sutton, Braydon Hervey and Braylon Dezarn, Rabun found the end zone on a second-and-goal run from the 6.
Junior Brock Bradley and sophomore Anderson Terrell rotated at quarterback on Franklin’s first drive, getting a first-down run from Sutton on second-and-7. Terrell targeted senior Braydon Hervey on two deep passes in the second series, but couldn’t convert.
Rabun’s offense kept rolling after the punt, riding back-to-back big runs from midfield to the Panther 2. They found the end zone on first-and-goal to start the second quarter with a 14-0 lead.
Despite a strong throw from Terrell on third-and-8 from the 44, Franklin’s second drive nearly stalled, until a fourth-down personal foul call on Rabun gave the Panthers a fresh set of downs. From there Franklin’s offense seemed to gain a second wind, riding tough runs from Hervey, Dezarn and Garrett Young to the Wildcat goal line. Hervey found the end zone on first-and-goal from the three to cut Franklin’s deficit to 14-7.
Franklin’s defense looked sharp to begin Rabun’s third possession, getting tight coverage from senior defensive back Aiden Sizemore and shedding blockers to force the Wildcat quarterback into a throwaway. Rabun beat a Panther blitz to convert on third-and-10 however, and drove the rest of the way to double their lead to 21-7.
The Wildcats got the ball back again with less than three minutes left in the half, finding the end zone on a 67-yard completion on their first series. They scored again two minutes later on a 58-yard completion to end the half up 35-7.
The Panthers began substituting their JV players into the second half, but left Terrell in at quarterback after he played most of the first half. On third-and-6 from their own 43 Rabun fumbled the snap, where senior Caryll Cook fell on the loose ball to give the Panthers an extra possession.
Taking over at the Rabun 39, the Panthers got another strong run from Young, who converted on third-and-7 to give Franklin a fresh set of downs. The Panthers couldn’t find the end zone however, missing a 42-yard field goal attempt four plays later.
Taking over at their own 25, Rabun had more issues with the snap on their next drive, fumbling on back-to-back plays and recovering near their own goal line. On third and 23 from the 7, Cook continued his big game for the Panther defense, drawing a holding call in the end zone for a safety.
Rabun’s troubles continued on the ensuing kickoff, booting the ball out of bounds to give Franklin possession at midfield. From there junior Zavion Ensley sparked a good-looking drive on the ground, finding paydirt on an 11-yard carry to make it 35-16.
After forcing a Rabun punt, the JV Panthers kept rolling on their next possession, riding dual-threat freshman quarterback Paxton Sutton back into Rabun territory. On third-and-12 from the 16, Sutton found a receiver to his left to cut Rabun’s lead to 35-23.
For their final drive of the night, Franklin took over at Rabun’s 39, driving to the goal line with less than a minute to play. On third-and-goal from the 4, a Panther receiver ran uncovered off the line, catching a wide-open touchdown to end the scrimmage down 35-30.
After battling Rabun, Franklin had two weeks to prepare for their trip to Murphy to open the season Aug. 23.