WILDCATS’ OFFENSIVE LINE TAKES CONTROL AGAINST RAIDERS
FRANKLIN — They looked for one another, in the mass of humanity, after Franklin-Simpson High School’s football team obliterated the visiting Warren East Raiders.
It was the Wildcats’ offensive line that allowed Franklin-Simpson to throw it into overdrive, and Warren East had no answers on Friday night at Mathews Stadium.
Franklin-Simpson 41, Warren East 14.
Now there’s a three-way tie atop the KHSAA’s Class 4A, 2nd District standings. Franklin-Simpson, Warren East and Allen County-Scottsville are all sporting 3-1 league records, which means the KHSAA’s RPI formula will be used to determine playoff seeding come November.
It was the kind of game that left Franklin-Simpson coach Max Chaney sporting a wide smile when it was over, anxious to see where the Wildcats (4-5 overall) can go from here. Franklin-Simpson travels to play Class 3A powerhouse Glasgow next Friday, while Warren East (6-3 overall) closes regular-season play on the road against Daviess County.
“I’d say that’s as good as we’ve played all year, as far as playing a complete game,” Chaney said.
Warren East coach Jeff Griffith pulled no punches on his way out of the stadium.
“We just got run over by a truck,” Griffith said.
Franklin-Simpson quarterback Luke Richardson kept the Raiders guessing while almost flawlessly running the Wildcats’ wing-T offense. Franklin-Simpson was effective running the ball as well as throwing it, and Richardson opened the scoring on a 6-yard touchdown run on a quarterback sneak in the opening moments of the second quarter.
It was the Wildcats’ offensive line that paved Richardson’s path to the end zone, and they’d do it for several more of their teammates before the night was over.
“Our line … they played amazing,” Richardson said. “This was a huge win for us, gives us a chance to get a home playoff game in a couple weeks. I think we really showed our potential tonight.”
Griffith was in no position to disagree, but the Raiders did miss junior outside linebacker Simon Ghee, who was scheduled to take an official visit to Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, on Saturday.
Franklin-Simpson was so confident in its offensive line that the Wildcats converted a fourth-and-1 situation from its end of the field early in the second quarter. Junior running back Landon Graves burned the Raiders’ defense on an inside reverse that covered 25 yards, and a few plays later, Richardson lofted a beautiful 36-yard touchdown pass to Graves, who caught the ball in stride.
“They had us on our heels, pretty much from the get-go,” Griffith said. “They were the aggressive team. By the time we figured out was going wrong, it was too late to do much about it.”
The next time the Wildcats got their hands on the ball, Omar Harrison scored on a nifty 33-yard touchdown run, finding a seam on the left sideline on his way to the end zone.
The second half was more of the same. Mathias Dickerson scored on a pulsating 65-yard touchdown run, Harrison again found the end zone, this time from 15 yards out, and the Wildcats’ offensive line continued pushing the Raiders all over the place.
The Franklin-Simpson offensive line includes tackles Jacob Mitchell and Diego Saldavar, guards Dakyrus Burr and Emilio Vasquez, center Harley Alford and injured starter Jakota Warfield.
The guys who made sure the Wildcats would continue their dominance of Warren East. The Raiders haven’t defeated Franklin-Simpson since the 2012 season, something that seemed to weigh on Griffith’s players as they fell hopelessly behind on Friday night.
“For sure, it’s a mental thing,” East quarterback Dane Parsley said. “We struggled on the offensive line. We weren’t making plays in the passing game. Malik Summers got injured early in the game, and that definitely hurt us. We’re gonna have to get back to work in practice.”
Chaney’s offensive linemen, meanwhile, took control of the game and grabbed the bull by the horns, only to throw the bull out on the street with their bare hands.
“We just came out and put it on ’em,” Franklin-Simpson guard Dakyrus Burr said. “We’ve picked it up, late in the season, running the football. It’s the hard work we’ve put in, it’s starting to pay off.”
Max Chaney said the Wildcats’ improvement has been a gradual process. With Richardson, a four-year starter at quarterback, operating behind an experienced offensive line, Franklin-Simpson figures to be a tough opponent in the KHSAA Class 4A playoffs come November.
“It’s been building, you could see it building,” Chaney said. “We’ll see what we can do with this, going into the Glasgow game.”
