Panther football has been dealt their first loss of the season.
In a Homecoming game matchup with new Mountain Seven Conference rival Tuscola Sept. 24, the 4-0 Panthers welcomed the Mountaineers to the Panther Pit for the teams’ first meeting as M7C foes. After both teams remained neck-and-neck throughout the game, Franklin couldn’t hold off a late Tuscola rally and fell narrowly 21-17.
Franklin kicked off to Tuscola to start the game, and the Mountaineers put together a good-looking opening drive until a big would-be third-down conversion was called back by a holding penalty near midfield. Upon receiving the punt, Franklin built its own drive behind big runs by tailbacks Brayden Watts and Ty Handley and quarterback Chris McGuire. Facing third-and-12 from the Tuscola 48, McGuire found fellow senior Grant Adams with a big completion down to the 16, and Watts and Handley bulldozed the rest of the way to set up a Watts 2-yard touchdown.
Both teams traded scoreless drives for the next several minutes, until Franklin forced a Tuscola punt from the Mountaineer 24 with 7:46 left in the half. When a short kick gave Franklin the ball inside Tuscola territory at the 48, the Panthers looked to be in a good position but were quickly dealt a big setback. On the first play of the drive, Watts found some running room up the middle and followed his blockers for first-down yardage, but took a hard hit to the knee and collapsed at Tuscola’s 35. The junior would need to be helped off the field and did not return.
In an uneasy mood following Watts’ injury, after the break Panther fans were quickly reenergized by an electric 18-yard run by McGuire, in which the senior made two defenders miss and dragged three more to the Tuscola 32. From there the Panthers rode Handley and senior tailback Kellen Stiles toward the Mountaineer goal line, but were unable to punch it in and settled for a field goal to go up 10-0.
On the ensuing kickoff, disaster struck again for the Panthers when Tuscola returned the kick 98 yards for a touchdown, cutting Franklin’s lead to 10-7 in the span of a few seconds. Franklin was unable to score before the break and entered the locker room up 3.
After a halftime Homecoming ceremony, Franklin received the second-half kickoff but was forced to punt without earning a first down. From there Tuscola put together a good-looking drive, advancing deep into Franklin territory near the 10. On second-and-1 on their own 11 however, Franklin got a massive play from its defense when senior receiver/linebacker Keagan Pollock laid a big hit on the ball carrier, forcing a fumble recovered by junior Davis Anders at the 6.
From there the Panthers drove back toward the Panther Pit’s east end zone, getting a tackle-breaking catch and run by Pollock to the Franklin 32. On fourth-and-3 from the Mountaineer 45, McGuire found Pollock again for a big first down to the 35. On fourth-and-2 inside the red zone from the 17, Panther head coach Josh Brooks again elected to try for the first down, and the gamble paid off when Stiles barreled through the line for an 8-yard gain to the 9. The senior evaded multiple defenders for a touchdown on the next play.
Up 17-7, Franklin kicked off with 11:53 remaining, but found their two-score lead to be short lived when Tuscola returned their second kick for a touchdown. The Panthers again watched a 10-point advantage turn into a 3-point dead heat.
Franklin was unable to get much going on the ensuing drive, giving Tuscola the ball at the Panther 25 after a bad snap prevented punter Erick Muñoz from getting his kick away. Franklin’s defense stood tall after the turnover however, forcing a three-and-out to bring the Mountaineer kicking team onto the field. Luckily, Tuscola’s placekicker missed wide left to keep Franklin ahead 17-14.
Tuscola’s defense again stopped Franklin on the next drive, forcing a punt with just over 5 minutes left in regulation. Despite a good punt this time from Muñoz, on their first play from scrimmage Tuscola completed a 62-yard touchdown to go up 21-17.