Late Touchdowns Lift Franklin over Ravenwood

Franklin v Ravenwood

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By SAM McGAW               Photos by STEVE WHEELER

Franklin’s inability to get out of its own way nearly cost it a win against the Ravenwood Raptors Friday.

After giving up 13 points on turnovers in the first half, Franklin needed two unanswered touchdowns in the fourth quarter to secure a 21-13 road victory.

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“We survived and got out of here,” Franklin head coach Donnie Webb stated. “Hats off to Ravenwood. Real great job defensively by them. It was a defensive battle.”

Franklin recorded six sacks and held the Raptors to 118 passing yards and one rushing yard.

Defensive end Conner Palk and cornerback Matthew Burns registered two sacks apiece.

“We felt like we would be able to stop the run,” Webb said. “We had a lot of pressure packages to use. Their offensive line did a good job, though. We were not able to pressure them as much as we wanted to.”

The win is the Rebels’ fourth consecutive, and it puts them at 2-0 in Region 3-Class 6A. It’s also their first win over their inner-county rival since 2011. Ravenwood is now 2-3 overall and 1-1 in region play.

Franklin jumped out to a 14-13 lead on a 5-yard touchdown run by Mitch Rossi with 10:13 to go in the fourth quarter.

After forcing a Ravenwood punt in the ensuing drive, the Rebels churned out an 11-play, 50-yard march that was capped off with a 4-yard touchdown run by quarterback Wes Patterson with 2:58 to go.

“Pounding the rock was the game plan and we stuck with it,” said Rossi, who finished with 100 rushing yards and two touchdowns. “We came out of halftime with the right mindset. We knew we had to fight for this one.”

Patterson closed with 90 rushing yards and 57 passing yards.

Franklin’s offense held the ball for nearly 22 more minutes than the Raptors, but managed just 266 total yards.

“Our offense is still the best part of our team and we’re going to be fine,” Webb said. “We just have to hang on to the football and get out of Franklin’s way.”

A botched snap on an attempted punt by Franklin led to a recovery in the end zone by defensive end Tahj Williams to give the Raptors a 6-0 lead with 3:18 left in the first quarter.

The Rebels responded two minutes later with a 4-yard touchdown run by Rossi.

A fumble by FHS quarterback Carter Hendry led to a 1-yard touchdown run by Carter Nelson to give the Raptors a 13-7 advantage four minutes into the second frame.

“There’s a lot of character and a lot of fight in these kids,” Ravenwood head coach Richie Wessman said.”They gave everything they had, but we didn’t execute well enough to win the game.”

Linebacker Zach Polisky picked off Ravenwood quarterback McCain Marrow at the FHS 33-yard line to seal the win with a minute left.

Sam McGaw is sports editor of Home Page Media Group. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @SamMcGawSports.

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