Panther football has earned another conference victory.
On Friday, Oct. 10, the team traveled to North Henderson, seeking their third straight win in the Mountain Eight. In routing the Knights 42-21, Franklin improved their conference record to 4-1, sitting tied for second place with just two games left to play.
The Panther defense looked sharp early on, forcing a Knight three-and-out on the game’s first drive.
After a 45-yard punt Franklin took over at their own 10-yard line, but quickly gained a foothold with four straight runs by Garrett Young. The sophomore went on to lead a 10-play, 90-yard drive, scoring on second-and-goal from the Knight 2 to make it 7-0.
North responded on the first play of their second drive, completing a 45-yard pass to the Panther 30. A penalty soon backed the Knights up to second-and-20 however, before quarterback hurries by Caiden Berry and Daiveon Hall kept North out of field goal range.
Once again the Knight punt pinned Franklin inside their own 10-yard line, finally coming to rest at the Panther 2. On second-and-7 from the 5 however, Franklin gained some breathing room, clearing the path for an 80-yard scamper around the right edge by Young. The sophomore hit paydirt on first-and-goal from the 3 to double Franklin’s lead in the first quarter’s final minute.
Franklin’s defense held firm again to start the second, forcing another North three-and-out on the Knight 28. This time North’s punter couldn’t kick the ball away however, failing to corral a high snap above his head. He recovered the ball at his own goal line and attempted to kick from there, but a timely hit from Berry knocked the ball loose again. Junior Liam Daniels recovered for Franklin at the Knight 1, before Young scored again on first-and-goal to make it 21-0.
North’s offense finally gained traction on their next drive, marching 28 yards in five plays including a fourth-and-6 conversion. On first-and-10 from the Panther 43 they completed another deep pass to the 2, then scored on a first-and-goal carry to cut Franklin’s lead to 21-7.
The Panthers stayed hot on their next possession, riding more tough runs from Young into Knight territory. On third-and-10 from the 38, quarterback Anderson Terrell found Damion Bowles near the left sideline, who was pushed out of bounds at the 8 to give his team a first-and-goal. From there Young scored to extend Franklin’s lead to 28-7, which they defended through the last two minutes of the half.
Franklin’s offense kept rolling after the break, receiving the second-half kickoff and driving into Knight territory once again. After a 20-yard gain on an end-around by Gabe Harrison to the 26, senior Addix Sutton found space up the middle on the next play, running nearly untouched to the end zone to make it 35-7.
Franklin’s defense forced another three-and-out on North’s next possession, getting more run stops from Berry and Hall and a third-down pass defensed from Lance Parker. Terrell took to the air on Franklin’s next drive, completing three straight passes to Bowles, Brock Bradley and Payton King. On second-and-goal from the 4 Young scored his fifth touchdown of the night, giving Franklin a 42-7 advantage.
With the Panthers up by 35, North started their next drive under the state’s running clock rule, kicking back into gear with six straight runs. On first-and-goal from the 1 they made it seven straight, finding the end zone in the third quarter’s final seconds. The Knights scored again on another run-heavy drive in the fourth, but went on to lose 42-21.
The blowout win improved Franklin’s record to 6-2 overall and 4-1 in the Mountain Eight, where they ended the week tied with Pisgah for second place, just half a game behind 4-0 Brevard. They currently rank as the state’s ninth-best 5A team, just ahead of #15 (5-2) West Henderson. As Brevard plays in the 4A classification, the Panthers will not meet the Blue Devils in the state playoffs.
Franklin will conserve their energy this Friday, before ending their regular season with two more conference games versus Smoky Mountain Oct. 24 (@ Western Carolina University), and at West Oct. 31.