Frankfort up 64-0 at half , with running clock in the 1st quarter. Played 8 minute running clock the 2nd half. Frankfort moves to 2-0 in the district.

Cliff-hanger.

Frankfort News Paper Article about the game

 

There has been little suspense in Frankfort High’s first two district football games.

The Panthers defeated Bracken County 78-0 Friday at Sower Field, their second straight shutout in district play. In its two district games FHS has outscored its opponents 137-0.

Knowing what they’d be facing hasn’t caused the Panthers to lose their edge.

“Our focus is there,” FHS senior McKinley Stonewall said. “Our coaches have been telling us every team has its own swag. We’re a team. Every day in practice you see us work hard, and when you see us out here it’s the same thing.”

Frankfort (6-2, 2-0) put up 36 points in the first quarter — 21 coming in the first 3½ minutes — and the rout was on.

“We knew coming in, and it’s bad to say this, but we knew they wouldn’t give us much of a fight,” FHS coach Craig Foley said. “We tried to challenge the kids not to take anything for granted, to knock it out early and develop that killer attitude.”

That’s just what the Panthers did. Their first touchdown came 40 seconds into the game on a 50-yard pass play from Anthony Robinson to Jalen Washington, and it came after a score had been nullified by a pass interference call.

Bailey Spade connected on the extra point kick, and FHS was ahead 7-0 with 11:19 remaining in the first quarter. Spade was 10-for-10 on point-after kicks.

Less than 30 seconds later FHS’ Isaiah Jackson recovered a fumble and returned it 23 yards for a score. Washington hit Robinson with a pass on the conversion attempt, and the Panthers were up 15-0 with 10:30 on the clock.

Jackson recovered another fumble on the Polar Bears’ next possession, and on the next play Robinson threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Dre Scott.

FHS led 22-0 with 8:46 remaining, and before the quarter was over the Panthers scored two more touchdowns – on a 3-yard run by Stonewall and an 80-yard punt return by Washington.

It was the first touchdown Stonewall, a lineman, had scored in his high school career.

“I was real excited,” he said. “This whole year me and Foley have been going back and forth. I’ve been saying ‘When are you going to let me run the ball? When are you going to let me score?’

“This week at practice coach (Shane) Smith, our offensive coordinator, out of the blue put me at fullback. I’m excited and grateful they let me score today.”

The Panthers led 36-0 at the end of the first quarter and added 28 more points in the second.

J.J. Jones had a 70-yard touchdown run on the second play of the second quarter, Washington returned a punt 80 yards, and Rontez Mitchell scored twice on fumble returns of around 20 yards.

“I was really pleased with our intensity,” Foley said. “I was really pleased we didn’t stop; we just kept playing.

“Opportunities were there to score, so kids are going to play hard, but I was pleased they didn’t let up from the first play until the final whistle.”

The game went to a running clock midway through the second quarter, and the second half sailed by. The game ended in less than 1½ hours.

Frankfort’s second-half touchdowns were both scored by backup quarterback DeShawn Newton. He had a 9-yard touchdown run on the last play of the third quarter and hit paydirt again with a 23-yard run in the fourth.

“We’ve played with focus,” Stonewall said. “It’s been eight years since Frankfort has lost a district game and we don’t want to be the team to lose.”

Friday’s game was senior night for the Panthers, who close out the regular season with two road games — this week at Eminence and Nov. 1 at Danville.

FHS honored its seniors in a ceremony prior to the game. They are Jones, Scott, Stonewall, Nathan Cox, Jackson O’Daniel, Anthony Walle and Tre Winkfield.

Frankfort will play for the district championship Friday at Eminence. Paris defeated Eminence 42-12, and both teams have a 1-1 record in the district.

Love the killers mentality, good work Panthers!