Franklin County 41 North Oldham 7

[jvdfc]

Final.

[jvdfc]

Moorman with a huge 1st half for the Flyers.  Flyer D was strong. 

[theguru]

 

[ColonelMike]

Kaden Moorman with (unofficially) 77 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns in the first half as Franklin County raced out to a 34-0 halftime lead.

Sophomore Gavin Hurst was an efficient 9 of 13 passing for 109 yards and a score.   Franklin largely focused on short routes that challenged the NO linebackers, choosing to mostly stay away from the state's top interception artist, Liam Hutson, who came into the contest with a Class 4A - best 7 interceptions and 3 pick-sixes.

And the Flyers got a last-second score before the first half ended, with 18.6 seconds left, on a 42 yard pass from WR (and backup QB) Mattison to Tracy.

North, which has a very good defense, never could quite contain Moorman, who ran past, through, and over defenders, and almost always got big-time yards after the first contact.   He showed a remarkable penchant for stepping out of tackles, twisting away from defenders, and even bowling over defenders when necessary.    His backup, freshman Christian Moore, might be less powerful, but may be faster; he rushed (unofficially) for 76 yards.

The Franklin defense pitched a shutout until 4:13 remained in the game, and made sure the North running game never got started.   The Mustangs finished, unofficially, with -11 yards rushing on 18 carries.   

North Oldham's ball-hawking defense won the turnover battle, 2-1, with Mack Pyle getting an interception and Tyler Vance - who is third in class 4A in sacks - getting a fumble recovery.   Vance added to his sack total with a sack in the second half of the game.

North quarterback Nick Freeland - starting his fourth game since taking over for starter Jace Bullock, out for the season with a broken collarbone - connected on 14 of 23 passes for 148 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT.    Freeland's 10 yard pass to Charles Bradley with 4:13 to play kept the Mustangs from being shut out.     Ben Becerra caught 7 passes for North for 75 yards.

North was forced to go almost exclusively to the air in the second half, throwing 20 times while only running four times in the third and fourth quarters, after managing just 3 total offensive yards in the first half.    North had 134 yards of offense in the second half.

Franklin improves to 4-3 on the season and 2-0 in district play.   North falls to 3-4 and 1-1 in district play.

North suffered more than a defeat; two of the best players on the NOHS defense went out of the game with injuries and did not return.   Bryce Grady, the team's #2 tackler, went out with a leg injury, and linebacker Michael Davis - who came into the game as the leading tackler in Class 4A with 72 total tackles - left what appeared to be a minor leg injury, but did not return.  

OBSERVATIONS:

Weep no more, my dear lady, for the "poor" Franklin County Flyers.    The running game is alive and well with Moorman and Moore, and sophomore QB Gavin Hurst shows remarkable poise and accuracy.    This isn't your grandfather's passing attack at FCHS, but nine different receivers caught at least one pass in the ballgame, as the passing attack perfectly complimented the ground assault.   Downfield blocking on running plays looked good, but the Flyer runners excelled in YAC.

Defensively, the Flyers are aggressive, and the lines took care of business against a smaller North Oldham front.

North Oldham, rebuilding under first-year coach Jamie Brown, is showing definitive improvement, and appears headed back to the playoffs.    Although the Mustangs gave up 41 points - they had surrendered just 41 points total, in the last four games - this is a legitimate defensive unit with great individual talents and team cohesiveness.   The offense still has steps to take, particularly in the ground game.    Despite the loss, North will likely go into next week's district matchup with Shelby County as the favorites, though if Grady and Davis remain out of the lineup, that becomes a much more "up in the air" affair.