Will Woolever
sports@thefranklinpress.com
After falling to the Brevard Blue Devils in Brevard the previous week, on March 26 Panther football travelled to East Flat Rock for a clash with the East Henderson Eagles. A few hours and 41 points later, they returned to Franklin with a resounding Mountain Six Conference victory.
Before they got on the board though, the game started poorly for the Panthers, when on the first drive Franklin fumbled the snap and East Henderson at the Franklin 37. From there the Eagles drove all the way to Franklin goal line, eventually facing third-and-goal from the Panther 3. With their heels in their own end zone Franklin stood tall, stuffing two consecutive running plays to force a turnover on downs.
With the ball on their own 4 after the goal line stand, Franklin’s offense got a fresh start but fumbled again a few plays later, giving the Eagles the ball with immaculate field position near the Franklin 13.
Franklin’s defense again came up big on the goal line, when on third-and-6 from the 9 Kellen Stiles stepped in front of an Eagle pass and intercepted it for the defense’s second straight turnover. Thanks to the defense’s play in the red zone, Franklin escaped the quarter with a 0-0 score.
After both teams traded defensive stops to start the second, Franklin fielded a punt with excellent field position at the Eagle 45 with 7:41 left in the half. Facing fourth-and-4 on the 39 a few plays later, head coach Josh Brooks caught the Eagles off-guard with a well-designed deep pass play. At the snap, senior Philo Sequoya lined up at tight end, looking as though he would block for a running play. When quarterback Chris McGuire took the snap however, Sequoya darted off the line and into the Eagle secondary uncovered. Seeing Sequoya running free behind the defense, McGuire hit him near the Eagles’ sideline for a 36-yard gain. McGuire hit Grant Adams for an 8-yard score a few plays later.
On the ensuing Eagles drive, Franklin’s defense came up big again. On third-and-8 from their own 39, the Eagles fumbled a handoff behind the line of scrimmage, leaving the ball in perfect position for McGuire out of the defensive backfield. McGuire recovered the fumble and returned it nearly untouched for a 27-yard defensive score.
Up 14-0, Franklin’s defense wasn’t finished harassing the Eagles. Facing first-and-10 on the ensuing drive at the Eagle 18, Stiles stepped in front of another East Henderson pass for his second interception of the game, returning it untouched to the Eagles’ end zone to give Franklin a 21-0 lead. The Panthers carried the lead into halftime.
After kicking off to East Henderson to begin the second half, Franklin’s defense stymied the Eagles deep in their own territory, forcing a punt that barely made it past the Eagle 30. With prime field position Franklin inched toward the Eagle goal line and eventually punched it in on a run by senior Evan Klatt.
After another Eagle punt on the ensuring drive, Franklin received the ball at their own 20 with 3:23 left in the third and began driving toward Eagle territory. On second-and-10 from his own 49, Brooks again caught the Eagles off-guard with a reverse pass by junior Keagan Pollock, who found junior Grant Adams running free behind the defense and hit him in stride for a long score.
After Pollock’s 51-yard bomb to Adams, both teams traded drives for most of the fourth quarter. With East Henderson driving at the Franklin 44 with 3:53 remaining, Franklin added an exclamation point when sophomore Clayton Guynn recovered a bad pitch in the Eagle backfield and returned it for a 50-yard score. Franklin went on to win 41-0. After the game Brooks said he was happy with his team for playing well in all phases of the game, and noted that the win sets up a big home matchup versus Pisgah April 2.
“The defense played outstanding and scored two touchdowns, one on an interception return by Stiles and another on a fumble return by McGuire,” he said. “The defense also had multiple tackles for loss and sacks led by Gavin Awtrey. After a slow start the offense scored on a number of consective drives including a reverse pass touchdown thrown by Keagan Pollock to Grant Adams. ... [It] sets up a big week versus Pisgah - if Hendersonville beats Brevard and we win, we will be tied for first.”