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Franklin crushes Mustangs behind passing of Holland
Smoky Mountain put on a dazzling fireworks display at halftime Friday, but Franklin provided the fireworks during the game as the Panthers rolled to a 45-8 win over the Mustangs at Carr Hooper Stadium/Babe Howell Field.
“We just got our tails handed to us,” Coach Tim Hawkins said. “We got physically manhandled on both sides of the ball. We didn’t handle their multiple defense fronts very well.”
Chase Holland completed 11 of 16 passes for 291 yards and two touchdowns. All but one of the completions went for more than 10 yards.
Smoky Mountain’s Nick Zoda picked up 55 yards in 10 carries during Friday’s 45-8 loss to Franklin. – Photo by Mark Haskett
Preston Sanders had five receptions for 161 yards.
Alex Croteau keyed the Franklin ground game with 119 yards and three TDs in 20 carries Derek Church added 70 yards in six tries.
“We started out early playing the run real well, then they opened us up a little bit with the passing game,” the coach said. “Sanders is an outstanding receiver, and the fullback (Church) hurt us in the flats.”
SM’s Nick Zoda carried 10 times for 55 yards, all in the second half. Cory Siler finished with 54 yards in 10 attempts.
“Zoda runs real well, and he hits the holes quick,” Hawkins said.
The Mustangs (1-4) did not complete a pass until late in the fourth quarter when reserve quarterback Jared Jones hit on a pair.
The Panthers set the tone for the night by driving 84 yards in eight plays on their first possession. Holland completed a 39-yard pass to Kyle Ward on third-and-9 then hit Sanders, who broke several tackles on the way to a 42-yard gain to the 1. After a penalty, Croteau scored on a 6-yard run. Chase Henry’s PAT made it 7-0 with 5:41 to go in the first quarter.
The Panthers recovered an onside kick, but after a series of penalties, Jordan Panther intercepted Holland’s pass and returned the ball 22 yards to the Franklin 33.
The Mustangs failed to take advantage of the break and turned the ball over on downs after netting just two yards.
Franklin drove to the SM 31 before yielding possession on downs.
The Panthers marched 64 yards in seven plays following a punt. Highlights included 19-yard passes from Holland to Sanders and Church and an 11-yard gain by Croteau, who scored from the 4 making it 13-0 with 6:23 to play in the half.
Franklin needed just four plays to go 51 yards after another punt. Holland found Sanders for 11 yards, Croteau ripped off a 31-yard run, and Jesse Buchanan caught a 13-yard TD pass from Holland. A conversion pass failed keeping the margin 19-0 with three minutes on the clock.
The Panthers appeared content to run out the clock after Chris Lequire picked off Tyson Crawford’s pass at the 8 late in the half. The strategy changed when Croteau and Church ran for 13 and 38 yards on successive plays. Holland passed 22 yards to Church, and Croteau gained 13 yards before Croteau scored form a yard out. He added the conversion run upping the lead to 27-0 with 23.2 seconds remaining.
“Early in the game, we confused them a little bit with some of the things we were doing defensively,” Hawkins said. “Once they honed in on us, they played real well.”
Two plays after the second-half kickoff, Holland unloaded a 75-yard TD pass to Sanders. Croteau again ran for the conversion and a 35-0 margin with 11:15 to go in the third period.
Buchanan scooped up Siler’s fumble moments later and had a 36-yard return for a TD. Henry’s point after extended the lead to 42-0 with 9:04 left in the third stanza.
The Panthers scoring ended after Henry’s 29-yard field goal made it 45-0 with 4:03 to play in the third quarter.
The Mustangs averted the shutout on an 11-yard pass from Jared Jones to Josh Jones with 14.7 seconds on the clock. After a problem with the snap, Dillon Dunford ran for the conversion. Highlights of the 85-yard drive that took 14 plays included runs of 16 yards by Zoda and 17 yards by Jared Jones along with his 22-yard pass to Dunford.
The only problem the Panthers had in the game was penalties as they were flagged 16 times for 138 yards.
“In the first quarter we played real hard and came to compete,” Hawkins said. “The way our backups finished the game was positive.”
He noted Josh Jones continues to catch and block well from his tight end position.
Matt Hawkins left the game with a shoulder injury but is expected to be OK.
The Mustangs have an open date Friday and will return to action Sept. 30 at Tuscola. SM took Monday off before practicing Tuesday, Wednesday and today (Thursday). Friday will be an off day with preparation for the Mountaineers starting Monday.
Franklin SM
14 First Downs 13
35-199 Rushes-Yds. 43-161
11-18-1 Passing 2-15-1
291 Passing Yds. 33
3-29.3 Punts-Avg. 5-30.6
2-2 Fumbles-Lost 3-3
16-138 Penalties-Yds. 5-47
Franklin 7 20 18 0 45
SM 0 0 0 8 8
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