Panther football’s first regular season game is nigh.
On the week of Aug. 7, Josh Brooks’ team geared up for a final week of preseason work, hosting scrimmages with Hayesville and Andrews at the Panther Pit. After locking horns with the two Smoky Mountain Conference foes, Franklin made their final preparations for a Week 1 home matchup with Murphy Aug. 18.
After hosting Hayesville Wednesday morning, on Aug. 11 the team returned to the Panther Pit for a Friday night scrimmage with Andrews. There, both offenses started the action with 10 plays apiece from their opponents’ 20-yard line.
For the first drive, Franklin’s offense lined up against the Wildcat defense, with sophomore quarterback Brock Bradley taking snaps from junior center Maverick Waldroop. The Panthers moved the ball well for the first few plays, headlined by strong runs from junior tailback Braydon Hervey and completions to senior receiver Wyatt Cantrell.
On a play from the Panther 37, Cantrell left his defender in the dust on a well-executed double move, reeling in a well-placed deep pass from Bradley for 41 yards to the Wildcat 22. Andrews didn’t let Franklin reach the end zone however, intercepting a pass near the goal line a few plays later.
On the next series, senior lineman Jacob Gibson made an early impact for the Panthers, beating his blocker to the edge of the formation and tripping up Andrews’ tailback for minimal gain. After a 22-yard run to the Franklin 30 on fourth-and-inches, Waldroop stopped the Wildcats in their tracks, shedding his blocker for a drive-ending sack-fumble moments later.
Following the play by Waldroop, who looked sharp on both sides of the line throughout, the teams kicked off a “live” portion of the scrimmage featuring regular downs and distances from their opponents’ 20. On the first drive, Franklin flexed its muscles on the ground, getting strong runs from Hervey and junior Eli Brown and excellent blocks from Gibson at left tackle. After a fourth-and-1 completion from Bradley to Addix Sutton however, Hervey seemed to injure his right knee and did not return.
Franklin’s defensive line continued to flash on the next drive, getting an impressive bull rush and sack from Gibson and a tackle for loss on a Wildcat run by senior Gabe Nickerson. Regardless, Andrews senior Samuel Preston kept the chains moving with an impressive one-handed catch on third-and-16 to the Panther 10. The Wildcats scored the game’s first touchdown on a first-and-goal run moments later.
Neither team found the end zone on the next two drives, which were headlined by a big third-and-3 completion from Bradley to junior tight end Caryll Cook for 41 yards to the Andrews 31.
After forcing a fourth-and-7 incompletion on the next drive, Franklin’s defense gave the ball back to their offense for a final drive. Following a 13-yard Bradley completion to midfield to Cantrell, Brown put the Panther offense on his back, punishing Andrews with several bulldozing runs to the end zone and tying the score at 6. Junior Daniel Riddle booted the extra point to put his team up one.
Andrews answered on their final offensive drive, gaining 32 yards on a first-down completion to the Panther 34. On third-and-5 from the 29 two plays later, the Wildcats completed a deep pass down the left sideline to end the scrimmage up 12-7.
As the goal of Friday’s scrimmage was not to win, but rather to get the team ready for the regular season, the meeting served as valuable experience for Franklin ahead of Week 1. For a squad with young and inexperienced players throughout the roster, the Panthers matched the 2022 1A State Quarterfinalists nearly blow for blow, led by an efficient offense and a stout defensive line. While only so much can be learned before their 7:30 p.m. kickoff with Murphy this Friday, the scrimmage provided a jumping-off point for the young team’s improvement throughout the season.
Editor’s Note: Panther Cheer and Dance invites fans to wear orange to Friday night’s game, in honor of local resident Chuck Mallonee’s fight with Leukemia.