After falling to Smoky Mountain at home Oct. 15, on Oct. 22 Panther football travelled to West Henderson for their second-to-last game of the regular season. In a 40-34 shootout with the Mountain 7 Conference-rival Falcons, Franklin came just one score short to fall to 5-4 on the season.
Franklin received the opening kickoff and got a good start on their first possession, getting a tough 21-yard rumble from tailback Ty Handley to the Falcon 46 on their first play from scrimmage. On a first-and-10 play from the Falcon 21, senior quarterback Chris McGuire found his favorite target and fellow senior Keagan Pollock on a screen pass to his right, and Pollock carried all the way to the end zone for an early 7-0 lead.
West Henderson didn’t take long to respond, finding a receiver on a third-and-12 play from their own 39 for a 61-yard touchdown to level the score at 7-7.
Franklin continued its ground-based attack on the following drive, getting more tough runs from Handley, McGuire, and senior Kellen Stiles into the Falcon red zone. On a second-and-5 play from the 11, McGuire rolled to his left and found junior Daniel Ensley to put Franklin up 14-7 with seven minutes remaining in the first.
After both teams traded defensive stops on the next two series, Franklin caught a break when West’s punt returner bobbled an Erick Munoz kick, allowing Anders to recover the live ball with excellent field position at the Falcon 37. The Panthers couldn’t come away with points however, missing a field goal attempt in the opening minutes of the second quarter.
West Henderson put together a steady drive after the miss, marching 80 yards in 11 plays capped off by a 29-yard passing touchdown to tie the game at 14-14.
After West’s defense forced a Panther three-and-out on the next possession, disaster nearly struck when a low snap passed through Munoz’s hands, but the senior was able to pick the ball up off the ground and boot a 52-yard punt to the Falcon 30.
Franklin’s defense forced a three-and-out of its own on the next drive, giving the Panther offense the ball at its own 45 after a bad Falcon punt. On the drive’s first play Stiles rumbled for a first down to the Falcon 40; on the next play McGuire found Pollock for a 40-yard touchdown up the middle of the field. Munoz added the extra point to put Franklin up 21-14 with 5:39 left in the second. Both defenses held firm until halftime.
Upon receiving the second-half kickoff, West’s offense looked sharp until junior Daniel Ensley intercepted a Falcon pass over the middle, returning it 35 yards to give his offense excellent field position at the West 24. Munoz converted a 32-yard field goal a few plays later to give Franklin a 24-14 advantage.
West’s offense limited its mistakes on the next drive, marching 78 yards on 15 plays to cut their deficit to 24-21 with four minutes left in the third.
Franklin continued its punishing rushing attack after the score, gaining big yardage behind tough runs by Handley and Stiles. Scarcely a minute after West’s touchdown, Stiles found the end zone on a 31-yard jaunt up the middle to put Franklin up 31-21 with three minutes left in the third.
West’s offense responded again on the next drive, getting a 49-yard completion to the Franklin 6 to set up a short passing touchdown moments later. The Falcons’ kicker missed the extra point however, keeping Franklin’s lead at 31-27.
The Panthers answered with a big play moments later, getting a 42-yard run by Handley to the West 22 on their first play from scrimmage. Munoz converted a 36-yard field goal minutes later to push Franklin’s lead to 7 at 34-27 with 10:15 to play.
The Panther defense stood tall on the next possession, getting pressure from Ensley, sophomore Gabe Nickerson and senior Nicholas Sanders on the Falcons’ quarterback to deny four straight pass attempts and force a turnover on downs at the West 33.
Franklin put together a good-looking drive after the turnover, riding more tough runs by Handley and Ensley into the Falcon half. West’s defense made a stand of their own however, batting away a fourth-and-5 McGuire pass for senior Grant Adams to take possession at their own 33.
From there West continued their strong aerial attack, finding multiple big completions including a 7-yard touchdown to knot the game at 34-34 with just three minutes remaining. Both defenses stood tall in the final minutes to force the game into overtime.
After winning the coin toss and receiving the overtime kickoff, Franklin looked sharp en route to the Falcon goal line. On a handoff to the left from West’s 7-yard line however, Falcon defenders forced a fumble and recovered the ball at their 2. After the turnover West marched all the way back to the Franklin end zone, getting a 5-yard quarterback touchdown run to win the game 40-34.
The loss dropped Franklin to 2-4 in the Mountain 7 Conference, placing them in sixth ahead of their final regular-season game against T.C. Roberson Oct. 29. Several Panthers padded their statistics in the shootout: McGuire completed 8 of 12 passes for 112 yards and 3 TDs, Stiles posted 106 yards and 1 TD on 12 carries, Handley gained 180 yards on 19 carries and Pollock recorded 94 yards and 2 TDs on 5 receptions. Cameron Cody recorded 3 sacks on defense, while Daylon Henry posted 11 tackles including one for loss.