Panther football nearly outlasted one of the best teams in the mountains.
Ahead of their game with conference rival Brevard Sept. 18, head coach Josh Brooks said Franklin would need to play their best in the Mountain Eight clash. In a 34-28 overtime loss, the Panthers took the Blue Devils’ best shot and nearly prevailed.
“Hurry up and wait” was the operative phrase early Thursday night, when lighting just before gametime delayed kickoff by more than two hours. Those who waited out the rain saw a defensive struggle early on, with both teams trading stops on the first three drives. Brevard finally broke through with three minutes left in the first, completing a tackle-breaking 47-yard catch-and-run for the game’s first score.
Franklin’s offense kicked into gear on their next drive, driving 61 yards on 11 straight runs to the Blue Devil 9. On first-and-goal Anderson Terrell faked another handoff to Garrett Young, then rolled to his right and found Brock Bradley for an easy score.
Brevard stayed hot on their last possession of the half, driving 59 yards in 13 plays to the Panther 3. On second-and-goal the Blue Devils scored on a run up the middle, and defended their 14-7 lead until the half.
Franklin attempted a surprise onside kick to start the second half, but Brevard recovered at their own 44. On their first play from scrimmage however, Franklin’s defense made the play of the game, when Daiveon Hall tipped a Blue Devil pass to Paxton Sutton for an interception.
From there the Panthers took advantage of their strong field position, driving 34 yards on six straight runs including one on fourth-and-2 by Terrell. On second-and-10 from the 11, blockers cleared a wide lane for Young, who ran nearly untouched to the end zone to tie the game.
Franklin attempted another onside kick moments later, but again couldn’t recover and turned the ball over at their own 45. On first-and-10 from the 21 the Devils carried up the middle, and outran defenders to the end zone to take the lead. Two straight false start penalties moved the extra point try back to the 13, where Brevard’s kicker missed to keep the score at 20-14.
Both defenses traded stops on the next two drives, until a short Devil punt gave Franklin the ball at Brevard’s 37. Once again the Panthers took advantage of their field position, driving 36 yards on six straight runs including five from Young. On first-and-goal from the 1 Young hit paydirt on a run up the middle, and Juan Olvera nailed the extra point to take the lead 21-20.
Franklin’s defense held firm on Brevard’s next drive, forcing a turnover on downs at the Panther 38. On third-and-2 from the Devil 39, blockers cleared another wide lane for Young, who cruised untouched to the end zone for his third score of the night.
Down 28-20, Brevard took over at their own 34 with just three minutes to play, driving 31 yards in six plays. On fourth-and-3 from Franklin’s 35 the Devils carried up the middle, and outran defenders to the end zone for a score. Still down 28-26, Brevard attempted a two-point conversion, wherein their quarterback faked a handoff and ran to the left to tie the game. The Devils held Franklin scoreless through the last two minutes of regulation.
Franklin possessed the ball first in overtime, taking over with a first-and-goal from the 10 but failing to score. Brevard broke through on their first play from scrimmage however, completing a pass to the end zone to win the game 34-28.
The loss dropped Franklin’s record to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the Mountain Eight, where they ended the week in fourth ahead of another tough conference game at Pisgah Sept. 26. The game was the Panthers’ first-ever Mountain Eight contest with the Blue Devils, who were added to the former Mountain Seven in a N.C. High School Athletic Association realignment earlier this year.
“I told them I was proud of them. I told them that I love the effort that they gave tonight,” said Brooks of his postgame message to the team just before midnight. “We challenged them long before we ever kicked off about fighting that team, not playing [not] to lose and just playing to win, because they’re winners – those kids are winners. … We played good enough to win, and if we show up next week and play like that we’re going to have another chance to win. We fought the best team in the mountains and had a chance to beat them.”