IS USUALLY DIFFICULT TO DEFEND.
WILDCATS’ MAX CHANEY: COMEBACK IN LEWISPORT ‘GIVES KIDS SOME CONFIDENCE IN EACH OTHER’
FRANKLIN, Kentucky — There was a purpose in their step as the sun started to set at James “Shadetree” Matthews Stadium on the Franklin-Simpson campus on Monday.
The Franklin-Simpson Wildcats had started postseason defeat square in the face and lived to tell about it. They erased a 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter to stun Hancock County, 37-36, last week in Lewisport, on the banks of the Ohio River. The tradition-rich Wildcats would be moving on, in their final season in the KHSAA’s Class 3A, before returning to the 4A ranks for the 2025-26 academic school year.
They overcame the odds, they made it happen.
And now, Franklin-Simpson has bigger fish to fry.
The Wildcats (6-5 overall) make the 90-minute trip up Interstate 65 to tangle with the unbeaten Hart County Raiders (11-0) on Friday night in Munfordville. Franklin-Simpson made that same journey in the final weekend of October, dropping a 28-7 decision to the Raiders in a KHSAA, Class 3A, 2nd District showdown. Franklin-Simpson would finish regular-season play the next week, falling to Dane Parsley and Warren East, 50-37, on the smurf turf near Louisville Road.
The Wildcats would take a three-game losing streak into the playoffs.
But they promptly turned the page, and they found a way to advance, and get another shot at Hart County.
Hart County crushed Hopkins County Central, 57-0, in its postseason debut last week, and the Raiders seem poised to match their memorable run to the KHSAA Class 3A championship game. Bell County would slip past Hart County, 30-28, as the Raiders finished 13-1 overall. That win total included a hard-fought, 21-18 victory over Franklin-Simpson on the Wildcats’ home turf.
Fifth-year Franklin-Simpson head coach Max Chaney knows the grit of his team, which often plays six or seven full-time starters on both sides of the line of scrimmage. He’s seen the Wildcats pull off their share of comeback victories, but what happened at Hancock County might have seemed a little otherwordly.
“We scored the winning points with 12.8 seconds left,” Chaney said in a matter-of-fact tone during a brief break in the Wildcats’ practice.
IS FLANKED BY F-S TEAMMATES BRADY DELK (LEFT)
AND COLIN ANDERSON AT MONDAY’s PRACTICE.
A THREE-GAME LOSING STREAK
WITH THE VICTORY AT HANCOCK COUNTY.
WITH UNBEATEN HART COUNTY ON FRIDAY NIGHT.
It all came down to the Wildcats’ execution, and the ballhandling brilliance of junior F-S quarterback Brady Delk, the young man who makes the Franklin-Simpson Wing-T attack so formidable.
“A game like (Hancock County) makes you hungry, for another opportunity,” Delk said after Monday’s practice.
And the Wildcats will get just that.
They made it happen against unusual odds at Hancock County, with the Wildcats’ Colin Anderson coming up with a late interception to set up the winning touchdown.
Delk fired a 13-yard touchdown pass to F-S teammate Cason Groves in the back of the end zone, and there never was any doubt about whether Max Chaney would play for the win, instead of overtime, in going for a two-point conversion.
Franklin-Simpson used an unbalanced line to get the defensive look they were hoping to face, and Delk quickly took the snap from center and got the ball to Layne Alford, the Wildcats’ senior fullback/middle linebacker. Alford slammed into the line, behind the block of F-S teammate Zeke Eberhart, and found the end zone to send the Wildcats to their dramatic victory.
GETS IN SOME WORK WITH HIS OFFENSIVE LINE.
TO CLASS 4A NEXT SEASON.
FOR THE WILDCATS IN THEIR WING-T OFFENSE.
KHSAA 3A, 2nd DISTRICT RIVAL HART COUNTY
FOR THE SECOND TIME IN FOUR WEEKS.
“There really wasn’t any panic on our side,” Chaney said. “They only ran 14 offensive plays in the second half … The leaders on our team, they came out and really took charge for us.
“It gives your team some confidence, and it gives your kids some confidence in each other.”
Alford led the Wildcats with 14 carries for 112 yards and a touchdown, while adding 13 tackles — two for losses — on defense. Franklin-Simpson throws the ball sparingly, with Delk guiding the Wildcats’ deceptive Wing-T offense to control the ball, the clock, and in some cases, the score.
“I’d say the second half of (the Hancock County game) was the best we’ve played all season,” Alford said.
Alford leads the team with 822 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns, but teammates such as Colin Anderson (766 yards, three TDs), Blake McPherson (483 yards, three TDs) and Ayden Jones (330 yards, 10 TDs) aren’t far behind. Franklin-Simpson has gone 5-5 in postseason play since its last state championship, when former coach Doug Preston guided the Wildcats to a gritty 14-12 victory over Johnson Central to take the KHSAA Class 4A state championship in 2019.
Brady Delk said the Wildcats have learned to simplify things when the stakes get higher in the postseason.
“When you get to the playoffs, everybody’s starting over,” Delk said. “You’re 0-0. The regular season doesn’t count … There’s no reason for us to dwell on what we did in September, or October.”
All the more reason to embrace Friday night’s opportunity in Munfordville.
TO PRESSURE IN THE POSTSEASON.
GOOD WHEN I TAKE HER ON THE ROAD …