While the excitement of an undefeated regular football season in Franklin’s new stadium had Macon County abuzz, they weren’t the only Panthers to dominate this fall.
This season, Franklin made its mark as football and soccer took conference crowns, while volleyball enjoyed a spectacular season and a second place conference finish to ultimately earn coach and player of the year awards.
New stadium, conference dominance
But for a challenge from Tuscola in a 42-33 battle and a thrilling 42-35 fourth-quarter comeback win against Smoky Mountain, the Panthers drive to win the Mountain 8 Conference championship would have been a total cakewalk.
The season finale against West Henderson played out like the majority of the season, the beat down of the Falcons 42-6 rightly illustrated the Panthers dominance all season.
The Panthers outscored all opponents 364-108.
If someone told a Franklin fan that junior fullback Garrett Young (below) would lead the team in rushing yards by averaging 138.4 yards per game combined with a total 20 touchdowns (18 rushing) for the season, they’d be hard pressed to see any team challenging the Panthers.
Add to that senior quarterback Anderson Terrell (below) throwing for 15 TDs, rushing for seven, and ending the season with a QB rating of 127.2 and completion rate of 68%, the offensive dominance is easily explained.
Clearly, by holding the vast majority of opponents to one score, defense didn’t slack either. Junior Daiveon Hall led the team with nine sacks and 14 QB Hurries.
In the end, the 10-0 overall record and the 7-0 conference record make the Panthers conference champs with a first round playoff bye. With the regular season over, one key takeaway Coach Josh Brooks can take into the playoffs is that when challenged the Panthers will respond.
Franklin’s playoff game is scheduled for Nov. 13. The location and opponent is still to be announced.
Volleyball dominates, but ends in heartbreak
Not only did the Lady Panthers dominate most of their Mountain 8 conference opponents, coach Bekah Brooks earned Coach of the Year honors and Bristol Brooks won Player of the Year.
The girls ended the regular season as the conference’s second place finisher though tied statistically with champion West Henderson. In conference play, they finished 13-1 and overall 27-3.
The season ended with many players making All Conference: Shelby Adams, Emma Hatch, Emmy Moffitt, Finley Moffitt, Aubrey Newsome and Ella Raby.
Junior Raby led the team with 310 digs and 313 kills. Junior Finley Moffitt led with 71 blocks, while her freshman sister led with a .348 hitting percentage.
Player of the Year Brooks finished with 45 serving aces and 885 assists.
In the playoffs, they beat the Concord Spiders 3-0 and then the Oak Grove Grizzlies 3-0, only to lose to West Henderson.
Despite that heartbreak, with so many team leaders returning next year, prospects for a repeat winning season looks good.
Men’s Soccer
Another conference champion was the Franklin men’s varsity soccer team.
Completing the season 16-4-2 overall and a 13-1 conference record, the Mountain 8 4A/5A champs hope to be peaking at the right time. Though they had a slow start to the year, they outscored their last four opponents – Tuscola, North Henderson, Smoky Mountain and West Henderson – by a blistering 26-1.
They won eight of their last nine games on the road.
Overall team leaders were senior Kevin Torres with 18 goals, junior Anthony Mora Martinez with 11 assists, and freshman goalie Christian Garcia with 43 saves and 3 shutout.
They face Jay M. Robinson for a playoff match on Nov. 5.
All photos courtesy of Ronnie Vanhook.
