Panther football has picked up its first conference loss.
After beating East Henderson and Tuscola in their first two Mountain Seven games, on Sept. 29 the team traveled to Pisgah for a battle with the Black Bears. In a 35-0 loss, Franklin fell to 2-1 in the conference ahead of a trip to North Henderson Oct. 6.
Pisgah hit the ground running on their first possession, benefiting from a questionable pass interference call on the first play from scrimmage. Already past midfield following the flag, the Bears drove further into Panther territory, scoring on a first-and-goal run to go up 7-0 midway through the first.
Senior lineman Jacob Gibson threw a wrench into Pisgah’s next drive, blowing up three different run plays including a third-and-8 from his own 44. On the ensuing fourth-and-8, Pisgah faked a punt and seemed to throw incomplete, but another pass interference call gave them a first down on Franklin’s 29. On third-and-2 from the 21 however, Pisgah’s quarterback fumbled the snap, and Panther junior Josh McGaha recovered the loose ball.
Gibson continued his stellar first half on Pisgah’s next drive, again overpowering Bear blockers and leveling the quarterback for an eight-yard sack. The sack brought up a third-and-18 to effectively end Pisgah’s drive.
The Bear offense kicked into gear on their next possession, completing a 39-yard pass on first-and-10 to the Panther 8. They doubled their lead to 14-0 on a second-and-goal run from the 2.
Pisgah’s defense made the play of the game moments later, intercepting a Franklin pass and returning it 41 yards for a touchdown.
Senior Wyatt Cantrell sparked Franklin’s offense after the score, returning the kickoff 35 yards and reeling in a Brock Bradley pass for another 24. On first-and-10 from the 25, senior Gabe Nickerson broke two tackles for a bulldozing 20-yard run to the 5, but Franklin couldn’t find the end zone before halftime.
Junior Braylon Dezarn made Franklin’s play of the game early in the third, intercepting a Pisgah deep pass on his own 31. Pisgah quickly got the ball back however, breaking free for a 51-yard touchdown run to end the quarter up 28-0.
The Bears defense held firm on Franklin’s next drive, keeping them out of field goal range despite more strong runs from Nickerson and Addix Sutton. Upon getting the ball back near midfield, Pisgah’s offense drove 57 yards in nine plays capped by a three-yard touchdown run. They protected their 35-0 lead to the buzzer.
“I think the better team won tonight,” said Panther head coach Josh Brooks afterwards. “My hat’s off to them; they’ve got a very solid team. I wish we could have done a few more things to cap it a little tighter. I felt like if we could have scored before half, getting the ball after halftime [would have given Franklin] a chance to close that margin up, but we didn’t get a chance to do that.”
In falling to 2-1 in the conference, Franklin dropped into third place behind 3-0 West Henderson and 2-0 Pisgah. Just below them in the standings sat 1-2 North Henderson, whom Brooks says Franklin can’t afford to underestimate Oct. 6.
“First and foremost, we’ve got to learn from tonight and focus on North Henderson,” he said. “I know that North Henderson’s got a much-improved team. It’ll definitely be a struggle and a fight to go over there and beat them.”