It was a Homecoming to remember for Panther football.
Amid ongoing renovations to the Panther Pit, on Friday, Oct. 3, the team traveled to Western Carolina University for the fourth time this season, hosting a unique Homecoming game in the school’s history. With a Mountain Eight win over Tuscola, they improved their conference record to 3-1.
Both defenses traded stops to start the game, led for Franklin by key tackles from Daiveon Hall and Payton King.
After a booming North punt, Franklin started their second drive on their own 6 yard line, but kicked into gear with runs from Garrett Young and Addix Sutton. From there they marched 79 yards on 12 plays, until Young scored around the right edge on third-and-2 from the Knight 15.
Tuscola answered on their ensuing drive, completing a double pass on first-and-10 from their own 35 and outrunning the Panthers to the end zone. Tied 7-7 with 90 seconds left in the half, Franklin couldn’t respond before the break.
The Panther offense stayed hot in the third however, receiving the second-half kickoff and mounting another strong drive behind six straight runs from Young. On second-and-goal from the 4, he capped a 10-play, 69-yard drive with his second score of the night.
Franklin’s defense held firm on Tuscola’s next possession, getting a key pass defensed by Damion Bowles on third-and-9. The junior caught two passes for 27 yards on Franklin’s next drive, setting up a two-yard touchdown carry from Paxton Sutton.
Franklin’s defense stayed sharp to start the fourth, giving up an initial first down then stopping three straight runs to give the ball back to their offense. From their own 22 the Panthers mounted another strong drive, getting more tough runs from Sutton and Young and key completions to Lance Parker. On second-and-7 from the Mountie 16, quarterback Anderson Terrell rolled to his right and found Parker wide open in the end zone for their third connection of the drive.
Down 28-7, Tuscola attempted an improbable comeback with four minutes left, but were thwarted by three straight tackles including two for loss by Hall. The sophomore’s efforts forced a Mountie three-and-out, before Franklin’s offense ran out the clock.
“The first half, obviously they’re playing without their quarterback, and they had a really good plan of milking the clock,” said head coach Josh Brooks after the game of Mountie quarterback Jett Bartley. “The first drive was on me – I thought we were going to see something different on defense, and we didn’t. We saw something different than what we had practiced and so we had to regroup, but honestly, after that the four drives we had that were normal, we scored on all of them – super-proud of our effort. Second half we came out and dominated, and I saw a team that’s continuing to get better and is hungry to continue to do good things, so excited about our team.”
“I felt like they were expecting hard-run based on the last couple of games, and we decided to pass a little bit and they didn’t expect it,” said Young. “We hit them pretty hard with the short passes. Lance is a hard runner – after contact, he can get a lot of yards.”
With their second straight conference win, Franklin improved their record to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the Mountain Eight, where they ended the week tied with Pisgah for second just behind 3-0 Brevard. They’ll continue their conference schedule at 1-3 North Henderson Oct. 10. Already with 1,002 yards (6.0 yards per carry) and 13 touchdowns on the year, Franklin’s offensive engine deflected credit for his strong campaign.
“I have great blockers, and just running hard,” said Young on his secret to success. “I’ve been working on reading my keys and knowing where to bounce it. You can’t just run hard; you’ve got to have your eyes wide open and hit it hard as you can.”