Franklin vs. King’s Mountain 11/5/21

By Randall Koenig

On a cold but clear night, with the temperature 42 degrees, the players were ready for their match at John Gamble Stadium.  Franklin won the coin toss and defered to the second half. After a short opening drive by the Mountaineers, they were forced to punt the ball back to the waiting Franklin Panthers.  Franklin started their first drive at their own 20-yard line, but unfortunately after an 11-play drive, they Panthers were unable to covert on a 4th and 2 and turned the ball over on downs.. On the ensuing drive, the Mountaineers strike first with a 17-yard touchdown pass. Extra point was good making the score Franklin 0 – King’s Mountain 7 with 5:25 left in the first quarter.  The Mountaineers kick the ball back to Franklin who starts at their own 16-yard line.  Franklin goes on an 11-play drive, once again goes for a 4th and 5, McGuire’s pass is incomplete giving the ball back to the Mountaineers at their own 34-yard line, with :34 seconds left in the 1st quarter.  End of the first quarter the score remains Franklin 0 King’s Mountain 7.

A good defensive stance by the Franklin Panthers forces the Mountaineers to punt the ball back to the Panthers who take over at their 28-yard line.  Franklin goes on another drive with a good mix of pass and run, drives the ball back to the 36-yard line of the Mountaineers where they attempt a 4th and 1, and get stuffed.  Mountaineers take over the ball on their 36-yard line with 5:34 left in the first half. Franklin forces a quick 3 and out and receives the punt at their own 34-yard line with 3:49 left in the first half.  Franklin drives the ball down on 7 plays and scores a touchdown by McGuire on a quarterback keeper.  Extra point was good tying the score at 7-7 at 2:04 left in the 2nd quarter.  The half ends with the score Franklin Panthers 7 King’s Mountain 7.

To start the 3rd quarter the Franklin Panthers receive the punt, as they deferred to the second half on the coin toss that started the game.  Franklin takes over on their 25-yard line.  Franklin goes 3 and out and punts the ball back to the Mountaineers who start their 1st possession at their own 34-yard line with 9:32 left in the quarter.  Mountaineers goes 3 and out forcing a punt back to the Franklin Panthers, Pollock receives the punt and returns it to mid-field where Franklin starts their drive at their own 49-yard line. Two powerful runs by Henley moving the ball back to the 30-yard line, on the very next play McGuire hooks up with Pollock for a 30-yard touchdown.  Extra point is good putting Franklin in the lead for the first time with the score Franklin 14 King’s Mountain 7 with 8:30 left in the third quarter.  

Franklin kicks the ball back to King’s Mountain who take over 1st and 10 and their own 33-yard line. King’s Mountain throws 3 straight incompletions and must punt the ball back to Franklin who take the ball over at their own 37-yard line with 7:55 left in the quarter.  Franklin goes on a drive of 6 plays, and then punts the ball back to King’s Mountain who take over at their own 41-yard line.  King’s Mountain, on some good running and pass plays drives the ball down to the Franklin 5-yard line with 12:5 seconds left in the 3rd quarter. Mountaineer quarterback throws a quick slant of 5-yards for a touchdown.  Extra point is good making the score tied at 14-14 with :05 seconds left in the 3rd quarter. After the Mountaineer touchdown, they kick the ball back to the Franklin squad who take over at their 24-yard line. This ends the 3rd quarter with the score tied at 14-14.

Franklin goes on a drive, driving the ball to the 21-yard line of the Mountaineers on 4th and 3 the Panthers bring on kicker Munoz who converts on a 38-yard field goal, giving Franklin a 17-14 lead with 7:01 left in the 4th quarter.  On the ensuing kickoff from Franklin to the Mountaineers, the Mountaineers fumble and Franklin recovers on the Mountaineer 34-yard line, with 6:56 left in the 4th quarter.  Franklin drives from the Mountaineer 34-yard line all the way to the 2-yard line with great clock management comes to a critical 4th and 2 with 2:12 left and Franklin calls time-out. Franklin tries a quarterback keeper which the Mountaineers were ready for, and Chris McGuire gets hit for a 2-yard loss.  Mountaineers take over at the 4-yard line with 2:08 left in the game. Mountaineers throw 2 complete passes putting the ball at the Franklin 48-yard line with 1:15 left in the ball game.  Mountaineers run a jet sweep down to the Franklin 21-yard line with :21 left in the game. On the next play, the Mountaineer quarterback throws to his wide receiver for the game winning 21-yard touchdown with :17 seconds left in the game. Mountaineers kick the ball back to Franklin for one more opportunity and Franklin fumbles the ball.  Mountaineers recover the football putting the final stamp on the game.  Final score King’s Mountaineers 21 and Franklin Panthers 17. 

A well fought game by both teams but Franklin comes up short and will end the season at 6-5, and the Mountaineers move to 9-2 and on to the next round of the playoffs. Thank you to all the Seniors for all their dedication and hard work, as we the fans have enjoyed watching you over the past 4 years. Thank you also to Coach Brooks and his coaching staff for a great season. 

By Randall Koenig

An early start in Skyland, NC saw the TC Roberson Rams play host to the Franklin Panthers.  A cold rainy night in the 40’s, miserable conditions greeted the players and fans in Western North Carolina.

Franklin won the toss and deferred to the second half. Franklin kicked the ball to the Rams who start on their own 35-yard line.  After a short drive TC Roberson punts the ball to Franklin.  Franklin marches the ball down to the Rams 23-yard line and decides to try a 40-yard field goal. Munoz puts the kick up, but it goes left, and the field goal is unsuccessful.  The Rams take the ball over at the 23-yard line and march to the Franklin 48-yard line, where they stall and punt the ball back to Franklin.  Franklin proceeds to go 3 and out, and punts the ball back to Roberson, who start their drive on their own 37-yard line. A fast-moving quarter ends with the score 0-0.

The Rams drive the ball down to the Franklin 44-yard line and stalls out once again by excellent tackling by the Panthers to stop a 4th Down conversion.  With 9:21 left in the second quarter, Franklin marches the ball into Rams territory. Franklin once again stalls out on the Rams 48-yard line, and Munoz punts the ball back to the Rams, who start on their own 18-yard line with 6:38 left of the first half.  Still no score.  First play from the Rams 18-yard line, Cam White takes a screen pass and takes the ball 82-yards, extra point good, Rams lead 7-0. 

Rams kick the ball back to the waiting Panthers, who start at their own 36-yard line. Franklin takes over with 6:26 left in the 1st Half. On a 3rd & 9, Chris McGuire throws a 64-yard touchdown pass to Pollock.  Extra point is good, making the score 7-7 with 5:25 left in the 1st Half.  Franklin kicks the ball back to the Rams who start on their 29-yard line with 5:25 left in the half. After a couple of holding penalties, the Rams move the ball to the Franklin 48-yard line but were assessed 2 straight holding penalties which moved the ball to the Rams 28-yard line setting up a 3rd and 39.  Roberson runs the ball for 21-yards and runs the clock to 0:00.  The half time score is TC Roberson 7 and Franklin Panthers 7.

The 3rd quarter kick off from the Rams to the Panthers, Stiles takes the ball back to the Rams 37-yard where the Panthers take over 1st & 10.  Franklin runs three running plays and McGuire tries a quarterback draw to pick up the 1st down which fails.  TC Roberson takes over at their own 29-yard line at 10:59 left in the 3rd Quarter.  TC Roberson goes on a 17-play drive down to the Franklin 21-yard line and tries a 38-yard field goal from Buckner.  The kick was short and right, the score remains 7-7 at 2:51 left in the 3rd Quarter, Franklin takes over at their own 21-yard line. Franklin goes 3 and out, and Munoz punts the ball back to TC Roberson, where they start on their own 28-yard line, with :51 left in the 3rd Quarter.  TC Roberson runs 2 plays which ends the 3rd Quarter, with neither team being able to put up any additional points.  The score remains 7-7 at the end of 3 Quarters. 

On the first play of the 4th Quarter, the Rams throw an interception which is picked off by Chris McGuire at the Rams 48-yard line. However, after the interception Franklin was assessed a holding penalty on the return which backed the Franklin Panthers up to their own 38-yard line. With 11:54 left in the 4th Quarter, Franklin takes over at their own 38-yard line. After the interception and penalty, Franklin runs the ball on 3 consecutive plays, culminated by a highlight 39-yard line run from Hendley, which moves the ball down to the TC 11-yard line. Franklin continues to run the ball and Hendley takes the handoff from McGuire and runs it in from 7-yards out.  Extra point is good, Franklin takes their first lead 14-7 with 10:01 left in the game. Franklin kicks the ball back to the Rams, who run it back to their own 30-yard line, but they are assessed a holding penalty which backs the ball up to the Rams 20-yard line, where they will take over 1st and 10 with 9:54 left in the game. 

TC Roberson moves the ball to the 42-yard line, and on a 4th and 5 in punt formation, the Rams try a fake punt, and the Franklin Panthers are ready, and stop them at their 39-yard line, where Franklin will take over at that point. First play of the drive from the 39-yard line, McGuire hands the ball to Hendley who runs it in from 39-yards out, extra point is good increasing the Franklin lead 21-7 with 6:08 left in the quarter.  Franklin kicks the ball back to the Rams who run it back to their own 37-yard line with 6:07 left in the game.  TC moves the ball and throws another interception. Franklin takes over the ball inside the Rams territory at the 48-yard line with 4:08 left in the game.  Franklin runs several plays picking up several critical first downs and runs out the clock.  Franklin wins 21-7 over TC Roberson. 

Player of the game is Ty Handley who runs the ball 19 times for 138-yards and 2 touchdowns.  In a sloppy game, Franklin loses the total yardage stat, but wins on the scoreboard.  Franklin showed excellent patience and was able to cause 2 critical turnovers in the 2nd Half, which lead to 14-points by the Panthers and a great win to keep our Playoff hopes alive.  Franklin Panthers move to 6-4, and TC Roberson drops to 2-8 on the season.  Franklin Panthers will wait and see if the victory was enough to give them a playoff berth. 

Tuscola Spoils Franklin Homecoming with a 21-17 Win

By Randall Koenig

It was a beautiful night 60-degree weather for Homecoming of the Franklin Panthers.  The stands were full of eager fans, some celebrating a Class Reunion of 1986. Following a tribute to the First Responders the game got underway.

Franklin won the coin toss and deferred to the 2nd half. Tuscola received the opening kick-off and was forced into a 3 and out.  Franklin then took the punt and set up shop at the 36-yard line. Franklin went on a 13-play drive, culminating in a touchdown run of 2-yards by Brayden Watts, and Franklin takes the lead after a successful extra point leading 7-0 in the first quarter.  After a quick 3 and out the Mountaineers punted the ball back to Franklin, which ended the first quarter.  The score at the end of the 1st quarter was 7-0.

In the second quarter Franklin took a short punt to the 23rd yard line of Tuscola where they attempted a 38-yard field goal which was wide left, the score remains 7-0.  After some excellent defense from the Panthers, Tuscola Mountaineers was forced to punt.  On the ensuing drive, the Panthers sustained a serious leg injury to Brayden Watts at 7:35 left in the second quarter.  Watts sustained a serious leg or knee injury which halted the game for several minutes, until he could be carried off the field. 

Franklin continued the drive to the Tuscola 21-yard line, where they were forced to attempt a field goal of 37 yards.  Munoz, the kicker for Franklin was successful, and Franklin took a 10-0 lead.  On the ensuing kick-off Tuscola #5 Lunsford promptly returned the kick-off 95 yards for a Mountaineer touchdown. The extra point was good, Franklin leads 10-7.  Franklin received the kick-off, and after a short 3 and out by both teams the half time score remained Franklin 10 – Tuscola 7. 

At Halftime the Homecoming Ceremony began with Gracie Cochran being crowned the 2021 Homecoming Queen.  Second half began with Franklin receiving the ball at the 25-yard line.  Franklin was unable to move the ball on offense, and they were forced to punt.  After a short punt, Tuscola receives the ball on Franklin’s 45-yard line.  Tuscola moved the ball to the 11-yard line and Franklin caused a fumble which was recovered by Anders.  Franklin went on a drive, as the drive progressed Franklin was able to convert two 4th downs.

Seven seconds into the 4th Quarter Stiles ran the ball in for a touchdown from the 7-yard line making the score 17-7. After the touchdown, Franklin then kicked the ball off to #2 Benson from Tuscola who promptly returned it down the left side-line for a 94-yard touchdown.  The score is now 17-14.  Tuscola then kicked the ball back to Franklin which started the drive at their own 20-yard line.  After 3 plays Franklin was unable to pick up a first down and was forced to punt.  On the 4th down, Franklin tried a trick play to pick up the 2 yards which was unsuccessful, and Tuscola took over at their own 25-yard line.  The Special Teams for Franklin would end up costing them their undefeated season.  Tuscola was forced to try a 33-yard field goal which was missed wide-right, Franklin took the ball over at the Tuscola 17-yard line. 

Franklin goes 3 and out and was forced to punt.  Tuscola started the drive at their own 47-yard line.  After a couple of Tuscola first downs, they threw a 34-yard touchdown pass over a tired Franklin defense. Tuscola 21 to Franklin 17.  Franklin received the kick-off and started at their own 36-yard line.  Franklin tried to mount a final comeback win and drove the ball down to their own 28-yard line where they had to use their final timeout. After unsuccessful runs and pass completions the clock expired, giving Tuscola the 21-17 win. 

The Franklin demise of a missed field goal, a botched punt play, and 2 kick-off returns from Tuscola ended the undefeated season of the Franklin Panthers.  Franklin Panthers move 4-1, Tuscola Mountaineers move to 3-2.