Franklin-Simpson 12 Madisonville-North Hopkins 10

Final

I mentioned it in the next prediction thread, but Franklin had not won when scoring 12 or less since 1993. They had in fact lost 45 in a row when they failed to score more than 13 points. They escaped this one.

What a game! Great one to watch! Franklin definitely survived this one. Both defenses' came to play.

Regional finals should be like this. The Madisonville kids played all out every second of every play. What an effort.

I severely underestimated Madisonville. I looked at how close their game with Logan County was and assumed FS would roll them. Their defense was outstanding. They had just enough passing game to complement the running game and move the ball. Their game plan was almost flawless.

I won’t take credit away from Madisonville by saying the Wildcats came out flat. FS ran what they normally do but it just wasn’t working and Madisonville was the cause of that. When they finally mixed in a few passes in the second half the offense got going. They had 3 first half possessions reach the 20 without scoring. The Wildcat defense showed up, though, as they have all season. Madisonville gave it all they had but wore down a little in the second half. If they had a roster as big as FS, they may well have won.

Hopefully this nail biter experience will help FS as they go forward.

Many championship teams have a game where they really struggle, which is why Survive and Advance is such a true motto in the playoffs.

Good luck next week Franklin!

For Madisonville, this game was about their will to win because they were the clear underdog in this matchup. Besides the games that won them the district, this game means more than all the others to me, as it shows this is a team showed up on the road and was prepared to defeat the defending champs. They haven't done that before I don't think. Great Season Maroons!

I severely underestimated Madisonville. I looked at how close their game with Logan County was and assumed FS would roll them. Their defense was outstanding. They had just enough passing game to complement the running game and move the ball. Their game plan was almost flawless.

 

I won’t take credit away from Madisonville by saying the Wildcats came out flat. FS ran what they normally do but it just wasn’t working and Madisonville was the cause of that. When they finally mixed in a few passes in the second half the offense got going. They had 3 first half possessions reach the 20 without scoring. The Wildcat defense showed up, though, as they have all season. Madisonville gave it all they had but wore down a little in the second half. If they had a roster as big as FS, they may well have won.

 

Hopefully this nail biter experience will help FS as they go forward.

It's nice to see a score like this mixed in amongst all the 50, 60, and 70 point outbursts we've seen the past couple of weeks. I can appreciate an old fashioned, cold weather defensive battle in November.

It was a slobber knocker.

For Madisonville, this game was about their will to win because they were the clear underdog in this matchup. Besides the games that won them the district, this game means more than all the others to me, as it shows this is a team showed up on the road and was prepared to defeat the defending champs. They haven't done that before I don't think. Great Season Maroons!

In 1982 Christian County won the state 4-A title; in '83, Madisonville beat the Colonels in the last regular-season game to take the district title and keep C.C. out of the playoffs. Not quite the same thing as this year, but close.

I was really impressed to see how well the Maroons did...especially considering the evidence that they would be tremendous underdogs at Franklin-Simpson. Saw the halftime score: 10-0, Madisonville...and thought it must be a mis-print.

Congrats and best wishes to F-S: they're tough!