Panther football’s flag will fly over Cowee Mountain once again.
On Oct. 24, the team traveled to Western Carolina University to play their last “home” game of the regular season, facing rival Smoky Mountain in a Mountain Eight clash. With their fourth straight conference win they improved their record to 7-2, ahead of their season finale at West Henderson on Halloween.
Franklin’s offense came out firing on Senior Night, receiving the opening kickoff and mounting a good-looking drive on the ground. In 15 plays starting at their own 19, Garrett Young and Addix Sutton drove all the way to the Mustang 6, where quarterback Anderson Terrell found Sutton near the right sideline for a score.
Smoky’s offense answered on their first possession, gaining 46 yards with a quarterback run on their second play from scrimmage. On first-and-10 from the Panther 15 however, Sutton ripped the ball out from the hands of Smoky’s tailback, which Aiden Pitts recovered at the 7 for a massive swing.
From there the Panthers mounted another inexorable drive, clearing more wide running lanes for Young into Mustang territory. In 16 plays they drove 84 yards to the Smoky 9, where the sophomore scored on a carry to the right. Franklin missed the extra point to keep the score at 13-0.
With just three minutes left in the half Smoky attempted two deep passes, but ran into tight coverage from Gabe Harrison and a sack from Caiden Berry. On second-and-22 Berry once again pressured Smoky’s quarterback, who was forced to his right and attempted a short pass near the sideline. There Harrison made a beautiful diving interception, giving his team the ball at the Mustang 40. From there Terrell completed passes to Pitts and Lance Parker, setting up a 34-yard field goal from Juan Olvera as the half expired.
Down 16-0, Smoky responded after the break, receiving the second-half kickoff and driving 60 yards to the Panther 10. Franklin’s defense held firm on goal-to-go however, getting tackles for no gain/loss from Blake Garber and Paxton Sutton. On third-and-goal from the 14 Smoky attempted a pass to the end zone, but Harrison stepped in front of the throw for his second interception of the night.
From there Franklin’s offense went on the march again, gaining 74 yards on 11 plays to the Mustang 6. There they couldn’t reach the line to gain on third-and-2, but Olvera nailed his second field goal of the night from 24 yards.
Franklin’s defense stood tall again on the subsequent drive, forcing a Smoky three-and-out on the Mustang 18. The Panthers took over at their own 48 following the punt, and took advantage of their strong field position. Despite two false start penalties, they drove 49 yards in seven plays to the Mustang 3, where Preston Douglas scored on a toss to the left to make it 26-0. With just two minutes to play, Franklin began deploying backups on defense, allowing a meaningless touchdown as time expired to win 26-8.
“It feels real good, I ain’t gonna lie. [Smoky] is the first team to actually make me bleed, so it was really exhilarating to me – I loved it,” said Caiden Berry after the game. Ahead of Franklin’s season finale at West Henderson on Halloween, he said there’s been no secret formula to his breakout senior campaign. “What’s been the key? Trying the hardest I can to be the best. … With this team, with this lineup, I feel like we can beat them – I feel like we can beat anyone.”
With their fourth straight conference win, Franklin improved their Mountain Eight record to 5-1, ending the week tied with Pisgah for second place behind 6-0 Brevard. They also ended the week as the state’s eighth-ranked 5A team, which would give them one of 16 first-round byes in the state playoffs.
After the game, head coach Josh Brooks credited his team for meeting their six main preseason goals, including snapping a four-year losing streak in the Battle of Cowee Mountain.
“Tonight was a big win, because a couple of the goals we had were to beat Pisgah, beat Smoky, win at least seven games, host a playoff game – I’m pretty sure that will do that for us tonight, too – finish in the top two in our conference, have a winning season. So, tonight was a big deal to break the streak against Smoky – they had won a number of games in a row against us – recognize your seniors, and they get the chance to beat them on Senior Night. It’s a big deal, so this one felt good.”