By: Amber Pennycuff
Franklin Road Academy certainly has a tough game ahead to start off the year. The Panthers will take on Christian Academy of Knoxville (CAK) on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at home to kick off the 2013 football season.
Head coach Bill Whittemore is now in his second season at FRA. In his first season with the Panthers, Whittemore increased the overall season record. In 2011, Franklin Road Academy ended the year with 4-7 record. Last year, Whittemore ended his year with a 6-5 record. Also, FRA snagged a couple of wins in the previous season from teams, such as Hillsboro, Donelson Christian Academy, and Holy Cross, who defeated the Panthers in 2011. The team is looking to establish its football program and put more W’s in for the record books this year.
Whittemore was ‘Mr. Football’ back in 1998 at Brentwood High. He went on to play at Kansas, spent some time in the National Football League and in the Arena League. His background has given him insights not only as a coach, but on the sidelines as a player.
Class of 2014’s Joe Irby has made big headlines this past summer with football offers from several different colleges such as Memphis, MTSU, and Georgia State. Recently, Irby was seen attending the Kentucky Wildcats camp in early July. He will be a very influential player on the field this year.
With FRA’s program building up, it will have a couple of new match-ups this year. Brand new to the line-up will be Battle Ground Academy and Friendship Christian. Friendship Christian finished its season with an overall 13-1 record last year to top off as Class 2A State Football Champions.
CAK won back-to-back state titles in 2011 and 2012 as Class 3A, and even had four players sign to play college football. Tennessee commits Charlie High, Brett Kendrick, and Josh Smith are on the roster and gearing up for this year’s football season. Also, Davis Howell will be at Chattanooga. Losing several starters, CAK will bring a new mix into its football line-up this year.
On game nights, keep up with the game at the game or at williamsonsource.com. We will have all of your live scoring updates to keep you in-touch with how your team is playing throughout the night. Check our website for more high school football coverage throughout this 2013 football season.
