Franklin gets revenge

Published 12:00 am Friday, September 14, 2007

FRANKLIN—Donzell Shearin rushed for 100 yards and scored three touchdowns to lead Franklin to a 31-13 win over Southampton in a non-district football game Friday night.

Southampton (0-2), which beat Franklin a year ago in Courtland, struggled with turnovers. The Indians committed five miscues, each of which either led to Franklin scores or gave the Broncos control of the field.

Southampton set the tone for the game on the opening drive. Indian quarterback Sidney Rawls fumbled and Franklin’s Antonio Smith recovered on the Southampton 46-yard line. Four plays later, Shearin squeezed through the line on a play it looked like he was stopped on — and raced 37 yards for a touchdown with 8:15 to play in the quarter. James Jervey missed the extra point, and the Franklin lead held at 6-0.

Southampton capitalized on a Franklin turnover to score its first touchdown. Andre Rawls picked off a Shearin pass and gave Southampton the ball at the Franklin 30. After losing yardage on a delay-of-game penalty, quarterback Sidney Rawls threw a 35-yard touchdown strike to Taylor Revelle at the 1:57 mark of the first quarter. Marcus Inman’s extra point boot gave Southampton the lead at 7-6.

Then, the floodgates opened for the Broncos.

Southampton’s Al Young fumbled and Franklin got the ball on the Southampton 40. Although the Broncos were called for a personal foul and holding penalty, Shearin tossed a 30-yard bomb to Emmett Artis down to the Southampton 9. Three plays later, Shearin made a spin move and ran nine yards for the touchdown. The extra point run failed, but Franklin led for good at 12-7.

The Indians were moving the ball on their next series, but Rawls was intercepted by Shearin, who ran the ball to midfield. On the next play, Shearin tossed a bomb to Josh Willis, who moved the ball to the Southampton 12. Two plays later, Shearin rolled three yards for a touchdown and an 18-7 lead with 10 seconds to play in the half.

With the rain getting heavier, Franklin put the ball on the ground and did not throw a pass the entire second half. The Broncos played power football to open the third quarter and rolled 61 yards on 13 plays for another score when Antonio Smith broke through from two yards out. Jervey booted the extra point for the 25-7 lead.

Again, Southampton moved the ball well on its next series, but was shocked when Rawls fumbled after a six-yard gain and Isaiah Hudson scooped up the ball and raced 85 yards for a touchdown for a 31-7 lead.

Despite the large crowd, both head coaches played down the rivalry when it came to wins and losses.

&uot;I hate to lose any game,&uot; said Littleton Parker, Southampton head coach. &uot;We are just going to have to go out and work hard next week. We’ve got to execute better and continue to work on that. I thought we had a good week of practice. We knew what they were going to do, and they knew what we were going to do. We just didn’t execute.&uot;

&uot;We beat a good team tonight despite what anyone says,&uot; said Darren Parker, Franklin head coach. &uot;It’s always a rivalry, but we need to get fired up for every game.&uot;

Southampton plays at York next week. &uot;We’re going to scout them tomorrow (Saturday), look at film and break down what they do and try to play better next week,&uot; Littleton Parker said.

Darren Parker

said the Broncos are looking beyond the one victory.

&uot;We want to execute and run plays to perfection. As long as we do those two things, we will be fine,&uot; he said. &uot;This is a ‘W.’ We’ve got more games. We’re going to enjoy this weekend and look at next week. We have to stay humble, execute and play hard and we will be fine.&uot;

Holemon led the Southampton rushing attack with 74 yards on 10 carries. The Indians had just 62 yards offense in the first half.

Franklin hosts King and Queen Friday at 7 p.m.