The 2021 FHS football season is off to a fast start.
When head coach Josh Brooks scheduled Franklin’s first game against last year’s 1A State Champion Murphy Bulldogs, the idea was to give Panther football an early litmus test to start the season. Against a program which has been one of Western NC’s best in recent years, the team kicked off its 2021 regular season with a resounding three-score victory at the Panther Pit.
After receiving the opening kickoff with solid field position at their own 37, the Panthers opened the evening’s action with a good-looking drive highlighted by a 20-yard read-option run to the Murphy 30 by junior tight end/defensive end Ty Handley. Facing fourth-and-3 from the Murphy 10, senior quarterback/defensive back Chris McGuire used his trademark athleticism, evading blitzers on a QB run to his left and diving out of bounds just a yard shy of the end zone. McGuire punched it in on first-and-goal to give Franklin an early 7-0 lead.
After recieving Franklin’s kickoff with roughly 7:00 left in the quarter, Murphy authored a good-looking drive of their own, highlighted by a 19-yard run up the middle to the Franklin 41. Despite a holding call negating a would-be long touchdown run on the the next play, the Bulldogs continued marching toward Franklin’s goalline, getting a questionable pass interference call on junior defensive back Ben Waldroop to give Murphy a first-and-goal from the Franklin 10. The Bulldogs punched it in on fourth-and-goal from the 1 to tie the game with 2:34 left in the quarter.
After two long scoring marches to open the game, both teams traded turnovers on downs on the next two drives to get the game into the second quarter. On the first play of the period, Franklin’s defense stood tall on third-and-3 from the Murphy 16, stopping the Bulldogs short of the line to gain to force a fourth-and-1. On the ensuing play, Franklin caught a break when Murphy’s punter mishit the ball, allowing the Panthers to take over inside Bulldog territory at the 38.
Facing third-and-11 from the 39, McGuire again moved the chains for the Franklin offense, finding junior fullback/linebacker Brayden Watts under heavy pressure for a 13-yard gain. In an encouraging sign for Panther fans, Watts showed few ill effects from the knee injury that sidelined him for most of last season, bulldozing a Murphy defensive back to make his way past the line to gain. After the conversion Franklin continued inching closer to the Murphy end zone, getting a hard-fought three-yard touchdown carry by senior running back/safety Kellen Stiles to put Franklin up 14-7.
After kicking off to Murphy with 7:41 left in the half, Franklin recieved another gift on the very next play when Waldroop stepped in front of a Bulldog deep pass near the Franklin 40 and hauled it in for an interception. The turnover was the second solid play in a row from Waldroop, who had made a nice open-field tackle on Murphy’s kick returner seconds earlier. Just a few plays later, Franklin changed the momentum of the game on one of Brooks’ trademark aggressive playcalls.
Facing third-and-6 from the Panther 49, Brooks cuaght Murphy’s coaching staff by surprise, dialing up a deep pass for senior reciever/linebacker Keagan Pollock. When Murphy’s free safety chose to cover senior reciever/defensive back Grant Adams on an intermediate route near the middle of the field, the rotation left Pollock in single coverage with a Murphy DB just outside the hash marks, allowing the senior to outrun his defender and catch a well-placed McGuire pass uncontested. Pollock rumbled another 15 yards for the score to put Franklin up 21-7 with 5:47 left in the half, and the Panthers carried the 14-point advantage into halftime.
After recieving the second-half kickoff, Murphy began a good-looking drive that pushed the Bulldogs into Panther territory. On third-and-10 from the Franklin 40 however, Pollock burned the Bulldogs again, shooting through Murphy’s offensive line to strip the ball from the quarterback’s hand. Junior defensive lineman Aiden Stewart fell on the loose ball to give Franklin possession at the Murphy 46 with 9:33 left in the quarter.
After Pollock’s strip, Franklin again inched down toward the Murphy goalline, spearheaded by a couple tough runs from Handley. On second-and-5 from the Murphy 7, disaster nearly struck for the Panthers when Handley fumbled a McGuire toss in the backfield, but the tight end quickly gathered the ball to give Franklin a third-and-10 from the 12. On the ensuing play, McGuire rolled to his left past a Murphy defender and found Pollock wide open in the back of the end zone to put Franklin up 28-7 with 5:49 left in the third.
On the ensuing possession, Murphy again drove the ball past midfield into the final three minutes of the quarter. On fourth-and-3 from the Franklin 47 however, the Panthers’ defense again stood tall when Handley shot through the Murphy line and sacked the quarterback for a three-yard loss.
Disaster struck for Franklin’s offense on the next possession, when on second-and-19 from their own 41 a bad snap and a Murphy recovery gave the Bulldogs the football on Franklin’s 10. Murphy scored two plays later and added a two-point conversion to bring the score to 28-15 just before the third quarter expired, giving Panther fans a bit of anxiety after what had been an all-Franklin game.
Following a Franklin punt roughly two minutes into the fourth, Murphy took over at their own 32, but three straight tackles for loss by Pollock and juniors Israel Jackson and Daniel Ensley forced a Murphy punt from deep inside their own half.
After fielding another short punt on the Bulldog 44 with 8:24 remaining, Franklin’s offense faced an all-important possession to keep the ball out of Murphy’s hands. On fourth-and-7 from the Murphy 41, after initially sending out the Panthers’ punt team and calling a timeout to reconsider, Brooks rolled the dice again, trusting McGuire to put the game on ice for Franklin. The decision turned out to be the right one when the senior found Adams for a huge catch-and-run to the Murphy 17. McGuire found junior Davis Anders wide open in the end zone a few plays later to put Franklin up for good 35-15.
After the game, Brooks said his players deserved all the credit after knocking off last year’s 1A State Champions.
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