Panther football is in the win column.
After a tough first three games of the season, on Sept. 15 Franklin returned to the Panther Pit for a Homecoming matchup with East Henderson. In outplaying the Eagles in all three phases, Josh Brooks’ team opened their Mountain Seven schedule with a 24-8 conference win.
Fans didn’t wait long for the game’s first action, when on the second play from scrimmage East’s quarterback was forced to chase a bad snap near his own 20. After an incomplete pass on third-and-10, junior Avery Carpenter made the play of the game on special teams, blocking the Eagle punt near the 10.
Senior Ashton Shope recovered the loose ball at the 4, where sophomore Addix Sutton found the end zone on first-and-goal. Junior Daniel Riddle tacked on the extra point to put Franklin up 7-0 less than two minutes in.
After East’s offense went three-and-out on their next possession, the Panthers took over with a full head of steam, riding tough runs from Sutton and senior Gabe Nickerson into Eagle territory. On fourth-and-11 from the 34, they caught East flat-footed, feigning a run to the left with Sutton then handing off again to Shope on a reverse. With East’s safeties still defending the run, senior Wyatt Cantrell ran free to the end zone, where Shope delivered a perfect pass in-stride for a touchdown.
Down 14-0, the Eagles responded on their next possession, breaking a tackle for a 47-yard completion to the Panther 23. On fourth-and-14 from the 27, Cantrell shadowed his receiver for a would-be interception, but was called for defensive holding near the goal line for a 10-yard penalty. On fourth-and-4 from the 17, East took another shot to the end zone, but couldn’t reel in the pass and turned the ball over on downs.
The game entered a holding pattern for the next several minutes, with neither team affecting Franklin’s 14-0 lead. With seven minutes left in the half, East’s special teams unit flipped the script, blocking a Panther punt and returning the loose ball nine yards for a touchdown. Bad luck struck Franklin again on the extra point attempt, as East’s kicker handled a bad snap but found a receiver for an improvised two-point conversion.
Franklin answered right back on the ensuing kickoff, paving the way for a 37-yard Cantrell return across midfield. From there Sutton led the Panthers deep into enemy territory, gaining 32 yards on three straight runs to the Eagle 14. A 29-yard field goal from Riddle put Franklin up 17-8 four minutes before halftime.
With less than a minute left, East’s defense gave their offense one more shot, forcing and recovering a fumble at the Panther 28. Franklin’s defense stood tall until the half however, getting a last-second shoestring tackle from Shope to stop East a yard shy of the goal line.
Franklin’s offense looked sharp to start the third, receiving the second-half kickoff and driving steadily into Eagle territory. On second-and-3 from the 19 however, East forced and recovered another Panther fumble.
The Panthers didn’t get the ball back until the end of the quarter, when Sutton led them on another good-looking drive on the ground. This time Franklin marched all the way to the end zone, where a first-and-goal run from Nickerson put Franklin up 24-8.
Down 16 with four minutes left, the Eagles deployed their hurry-up offense, driving rapidly through the air to midfield. On third-and-four, East threw a backwards pass for a screen, but the receiver dropped the ball and Carpenter recovered it for a game-winning turnover.
“That one feels good, for sure,” said Brooks of the mood in the locker room postgame. “I said it before, the work’s no different whether you’re winning or losing, but it sure is good to come out ahead and see some smiles on faces. I felt like we played a more complete game – we put together a good half against Robbinsville and a good half against Swain, but just didn’t finish them. … We made some runs and made some blocks tonight that I don’t think we were making, and I’m just really proud of the kids being resilient, being willing to continue to show up to practice, have a good attitude and work hard.”
With the big win over East Henderson, Franklin kicked off their Mountain Seven Conference schedule 1-0. They’ll try to make it 2-0 this Friday at the Panther Pit against Tuscola, where Brooks said they’ll have their work cut out for them.
“You’re gonna see a lot of what we saw tonight – they’re gonna spread us out and throw the ball a lot,” he explained. “The quarterback [Jed West] is obviously really, really good; the one association ranked him as the No. 1 dual-threat quarterback in the state. … It’ll be a big challenge for us.”