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Franklin crushes SM as Clark runs for 233 yards
Blaine Clark rushed for 233 yards in 32 carries and scored two touchdowns Friday leading Franklin to a 55-0 rout of Smoky Mountain in non-conference football action at the Panther Pit.
Clark did most of his damage in the first half when he had 208 yards. He also caught two passes for 51 yards.
Franklin’s Austin Bishop completed 10 of 17 passes for 129 yards. Tyler Watson had four catches for 39 yards.
The Panthers compiled 442 yards of total offense.
The Mustangs (1-4) were limited to 126 yards, including just 10 yards on the ground. They had only one first down in the opening half and finished with five.
Smoky Mountain’s Jesse Walker returns a kickoff for 38 yards in Friday’s 55-0 loss at Franklin. – Herald photo by Carey Phillips
Smoky Mountain’s Elliot Hooper catches a 31-yard pass from Logan Buchanan in the third quarter of Friday’s 55-0 loss at Franklin. – Photo by Mark Haskett
“There’s nothing I can say to explain it or comfort it,” Coach Dale Galloway said. “I wish I could, but I can’t.”
SM’s Colton Hunt completed four of 14 passes for 49 yards. He caught two passes for 36 yards.
Logan Buchanan connected on three of 12 passes for 67 yards. He had two receptions for 27 yards.
Franklin set the tone for the night by driving 76 yards in 10 plays following the opening kickoff. Bishop completed passes of 15 yards to Clark and 23 yards to Watson, and Clark had a 12-yard run. On fourth-and-goal from the 4, Ryan Evers scored on a reverse. Billy Olvera, who was seven of eight on extra points, made it 7-0 with 6:44 to go in the first quarter.
The Panthers needed just two plays to score following a punt early in the second period. Bishop completed a 14-yard pass to Watson before Clark took a pitch to the right and raced 42 yards to paydirt for a 14-0 advantage with 10:50 on the clock.
Jacob Young recovered an onside kick at the SM 48. Penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct and pass interference moved the ball to the 18. Bishop hit Cody Brabson on a 13-yard TD pass making it 21-0 with nine minutes on the clock.
The Panthers extended the margin to 28-0 at the 2:48 mark on Clark’s 46-yard run around the left side. The drive covered 82 yards in eight plays.
The Mustangs’ initial first down came on an 18-yard pass from Hunt to Michael Morgan at the Franklin 27. They turned the ball over on downs at the 20.
Olvera missed a 45-yard field goal before Buchanan’s pass was intercepted by DeWayne Isaacs on the final play of the half for the first of five SM turnovers.
The Panthers picked up where they left off by driving 66 yards in 11 plays on their first possession of the second half. Bishop scrambled for 37 yards, and converted a fourth-and-1 with a quarterback sneak. Their second fourth-down TD of the game was a 9-yard pass from Bishop to Brabson making it 35-0 with 5:37 to play in the third stanza.
The Mustangs’ next three possessions ended on interceptions. Donald Courtney and Cody Hervey picked off Buchanan passes, but Franklin was unable to cash in either time.
That wasn’t the case the next time as Hervey intercepted Hunt’s pass and took it back 30 yards for a 42-0 lead with 7:04 to go in the game.
Evan Spence scooped up Hunt’s fumble and took it back 23 yards extending the lead to 48-0 at the 6:10 mark after Olvera missed the PAT.
SM turned the ball over on downs at its 33 leading to the game’s final TD, a 15-yard run by Aaron Wallace, with 3:36 on the clock.
Hunt was in on 12 tackles, including 11 solos, while 10 of Buchanan’s 11 tackles were solos. Chad Harper was involved in 10 tackles with Ronnie Mau in on nine.
The Mustangs have an open date this week before returning to action Oct. 3 for the homecoming game against Tuscola.
SM practiced Monday through Wednesday and will take off today (Thursday) and Friday.
“I’ve had open dates in the beginning, the middle and the end of the season,” Galloway said. “I don’t know that there’s ever a good time. Sometimes I’d rather play 11 weeks at a time.”
SM Franklin
5 First Downs 21
22-10 Rushes-Yds. 44-313
7-26-4 Passing 10-17-1
116 Passing Yds. 129
4-31.0 Punts-Avg. 3-36.7
3-1 Fumbles-Lost 0-0
11-102 Penalties-Yds. 9-75
SM 0 0 0 0 0
Franklin 7 21 7 20 55
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