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It was a back and forth game Friday night when Franklin visited Independence.
The Franklin Rebels (1-4), in the end, made more mistakes than the Independence Eagles (3-2), and lost 34-24. Quarterback Carter Hendry for Franklin threw four picks but ran for two scores, and Nathan Cisco threw two picks and two touchdowns for Indy. Also, for Indy, running back Troy Henderson ran for more than 200 yards and for three touchdowns.
Franklin scored first. Indy quarterback Nathan Cisco threw an interception deep in Eagles territory on the second possession of the game. That set up the Rebels for a first and goal. Franklin quarterback Carter Hendry then ran it in from the four, to put Franklin up 7-0.
Indy came right back, though, when Cisco found Isaiah Collier on a slant, breaking 47 yards up the middle for a touchdown. However, Indy missed the extra point, and still trailed 7-6.
In the second quarter, Franklin built on its lead turning a miscue into a touchdown.
Setting up a field goal attempt, a bad snap, holder John Critchlow scrambled and found John Taylor, giving the Rebels six instead of three, and the extra point made it a 14-6 game in the second quarter.
The third quarter opened up with more mistakes. Hendry threw a pick; Indy took over and immediately threw a pick. But the Rebels ended up punting.
At this point, Indy coach Scot Blade put in JT Reames at quarterback. But it didn’t matter who was behind center, because Troy Henderson, who had close to 300 yards rushing on the night, burst through for a 79-yard touchdown. The Eagles looked like they would go for two, but a penalty pushed them back, and they settled for making it a 14-13 game.
Franklin responded with a long kick return, and set up a 27-yard Christopher Miller-Hill field goal, to push it to a 17-13 Rebel lead in the third.
Blade switched quarterbacks again, trotting out sophomore Kobe Kreid. It seemed like a good decision, as Kreid kept it for 60 yards and a score, giving Independence its first lead of the night, 20-17, with 41 seconds left in the third quarter.
But the lead did not last long. With heavy doses of running back Matt Gaca, the Rebels triple-option offense drove down the field. Set up with a first-and-goal, Hendry faked right and ran left, scoring from five yards out with 8:18 left in the game, putting the Rebels back on top, 24-20.
The teams traded drives, and Indy took over with less than three minutes left, looking to retake the lead. Blade put Cisco back in. He made two quick first-down throws, the second to Collier taking the Eagles inside the Rebel 30. Then Henderson took it on a handoff down to the 7-yard line for a first-and-goal with 2:13 left.
Cisco found redemption, and Kendrell Scurry, on a quick pass that gave the Eagles the lead for the second time of the night. The Weston Landry extra point made it a 27-24 game with two minutes to go.
Franklin now had one last chance, with 80-yards to go and 1:30 left.
But Hendry made the last mistake of the night, when Jevon Robertson picked him off, to give the Eagles the ball back. A first down by Indy would end it. Instead, Henderson broke free and added one last score, making it 34-24.
