Franklin's Breakdown Against Murphy

By now you have seen that Franklin fell to Murphy on Friday to move to 1-1 on the football season. The game was nothing short of a heartbreaker. Franklin held an 11 point lead in the 4th with about 4 minutes left and let it slip away. Murphy took home the win 27-24. It was a tough one to watch.

That said, I was thinkning last night and I wondered, "can a loss be a good thing?". What do you think? Post you thoughts on the comments section.

The reality as of Friday night is that our passing game and pass defense is struggling. But, both of those, especially the passing game, can improve quickly. This loss could end up being a great thing for this team. Talk about motivation and wanting some redemption the next 2 weeks against other Smoky Mountain Conference teams (Robbinsville and Swain County). Knowing Coach Brooks, he won't let this ruin the season. The boys played their hearts out and now know the things they must take care of to hold on to leads and win games in the 4th quarter.

One other note: How impressive is our O-Line and RB Josh Young? WOW! The kid runs for 300 plus the first week against Hayesville. Murphy comes in and you know they are going to try and shut him down and he still gets 250 yards! Amazing running by Young and even more credit to another wonderfully organized O-line for the Panthers.

We will see what Friday holds against Robbinsville at Big Oak Stadium for our Panthers. If the Panthers hold a lead in the 4th, I don't think you'll see it slip away this week.

Go Panthers!

Panther Country Is Alive And Well

The first week of high school football in the mountains has been electric. Week one was a "W" for our Panthers as they downed hayesville 35-16 at the Panther Pit.

RB Josh Young had an amazing game. He was just 10 yards short of breaking the single game rushing record for Franklin. I am sure if Coach Josh had known he would have let Young stay in to break the record. Iit would have been nice to be there and witness it.

The offensive line looked pretty strong on Friday. I guess that is evident from Young's 313 yards rushing. The passing game needs some work, but it was slow out the gate last year. After a few games I'm sure QB Vose will have no trouble connecting with his recievers.

Panther Country is alive and well. The community is excited about another fun season and the coaching staff is as good as ever. We are lucky to have such a deep and committed staff for the program.

Keep checking out the Panther Country site at www.fhspanthers.com. We will keep the stories, audio and videos coming.

Go Panthers.

FHS Football vs Cherokee (scrimmage) Tonight

The Panthers get to put on the pads and hit someone tonight as they scrimmage 1A Cherokee. It is going to very hot tonight as it is currently 88 degrees in Franklin and rising. This will give Coach Josh Brooks a good look to see where his boys stand after preseason workouts.

The first game is just 7 days away! The Panthers matchup against Hayesville at home on August 17th. Be sure to check back at Panther Country for full stories, audio, video and more online at www.fhspanthers.com

As always, you can also listen to the game live on 96.7 WNCC in Franklin next Friday night or online at their website www.967wncc.com The Streaming audio is only good live during the game.

Go Panthers!