Before the Panthers’ home opener against Hendersonville March 12, many observers thought Franklin would be no match for the Bearcats. After a stunning come-from-behind Panther victory in last-minute fashion, the prediction became the butt of many jokes by the Franklin faithful.
In the first home game of the spring 2021 season, Franklin opened its conference schedule in front of a raucous crowd eager for the first game at the Panther Pit since November 2019. The game started poorly for the Panthers however, when Hendersonville received the opening kickoff and drove all the way back to the Franklin end zone to go up 7-0. Franklin struck back a few drives later though, when senior Branden Berger recovered a Bearcat fumble on the Hendersonville 15 to give his offense the ball inside the red zone. The Panthers were unable to punch it in however, as two plays later an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Franklin bench created a second-and-20 from the 21. Junior placekicker Erick Munoz converted an impressive 42-yard field goal to put Franklin down 7-3 with 11:09 remaining in the half.
After Munoz’s field goal, both teams traded defensive stops by way of a fourth-and-9 incompletion by Hendersonville from the Franklin 34 and a bold but unsuccessful fake punt by Panthers head coach Josh Brooks. Hendersonville scored on its next two drives however, bringing the score to 17-3 with :19.4 remaining until halftime. Despite the lack of time on the clock, Franklin got another chance when junior Keagan Pollock returned the kickoff 40 yards out past midfield. Quarterback Chris McGuire hit receiver Grant Adams on a huge 28-yard completion to the 15 two plays later, but the clock expired during the play and Franklin came away empty-handed.
Franklin’s bad luck continued in to the third quarter, when after a Franklin turnover on downs the Bearcats drove for a touchdown to go up 24-3 with 4:46 remaining in the third. With their backs against the wall Franklin responded though, when on the subsequent drive from their own 29 McGuire hit junior Kellen Stiles on a big completion to the Franklin 43. The Panthers kept rolling from there, getting an eight-yard completion to Adams and two tough runs from Stiles to set themselves up at the Bearcat 31. On second-and-4 Brooks again rolled the dice, dialing up a deep pass to Pollock in single coverage just inside the numbers. Pollock fought through the Bearcat defensive back to give the Panthers their first touchdown of the game.
After a Hendersonville facemask penalty and a big Gavin Awtrey sack forced the Bearcats to punt on the next possession, Franklin’s offense continued its momentum, authoring a drive all the way to the Bearcat 9. Franklin was unable to complete the drive however, as a fumbled exchange and Bearcat recovery gave Hendersonville the ball with 9:19 remaining.
If the red zone trip felt to fans like Franklin’s last chance to catch up with the Bearcats, the Panther players didn’t get the memo. After stopping Hendersonville on the subsequent drive, Franklin received the punt at their own 45 and began driving back into Bearcat territory. On second-and-seven from the Bearcat 37 and needing a quick score to get back into the game, the Panthers got exactly what they needed when McGuire found Adams behind the Hendersonville defense and hit him in stride to make it 24-16 with 5:28 remaining.
Hendersonville nearly salted the game away on the ensuing drive, chewing up nearly three minutes of game time en route to the Franklin goal line. Facing a Bearcat first-and-goal on their own 10, Franklin’s defense stood firm, getting three critical stops and holding Hendersonville to a field goal from the 4.
When a block in the back penalty on the kickoff backed Franklin up inside their own 10 with 2:23 remaining, the Panthers’ prospects for coming back from the 27-16 deficit looked bleak. McGuire continued his excellent night for the Panthers, combining slippery running ability with crisp passes to receivers to push Franklin toward the 50-yard line. When a Bearcat unsportsmanlike conduct penalty gave Franklin the ball at the Bearcat 38 with 1:34 remaining, the Panthers needed a score as quickly as possible, and Brooks dialed up another deep pass to Pollock. The decision paid off, as Pollock outran the Hendersonville safety and hauled in McGuire’s pass to make it a 22-27 game. McGuire kept the ball on the two-point conversion and made it to the edge to bring Franklin within three at 27-24.
With 1:27 remaining in the game and no time to give the ball back to Hendersonville’s offense, the Panthers needed their biggest play of the night on an onside kick from Munoz. Upon hearing the whistle, Munoz spun a beautiful kick just across the 50 toward the Bearcat ‘hands team’. Although two Bearcats had a chance at the ball, Munoz’s kick spun too quickly to handle, and a crowd of Panthers fell on the ball at the Bearcat 48. When a holding call forced a second-and-20 from the Panthers’ own 40 with 55 seconds remaining though, the Panthers needed a big play to get back into field goal range. On a dump-off screen to senior Evan Klatt Franklin got just that, as the fullback nearly rumbled his way back to the line to gain. With the clock running and no timeouts remaining, McGuire again escaped Bearcat defenders to pick up the first with :24.9 remaining. On first-and-ten from the Bearcat 38, Franklin inserted the dagger, hitting Pollock again on a bold deep pass down the right side to the Bearcat end zone. Bedlam quickly engulfed the Panther Pit as fans celebrated the 21-point come-from-behind victory.
“I saw a group of kids that didn’t quit,” said Brooks after the game. “We were fighting uphill what seemed like all night long after they scored on the opening drive. We missed some opportunities in the first half and made a few mistakes in the second half, but we just kept playing and kept giving ourselves a little bit of hope.”