OL key for Franklin to claim MAC Championship (10/26/06)

The Rodney Dangerfield of football, an offensive lineman just can’t get any respect.  They know the scenario, when everything is going good no one recognizes you, but as soon as things start to go wrong you’re the first ones they point to.  Pick up a local/regional newspaper and you’ll read about the quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers, but very rarely is there a mention of the “big uglies” in the trenches.  But talk to any coach on any level and they’ll tell you an offense’s success starts with the linemen.

When Franklin travels to Asheville this Friday (October 27^th) to determine the Mountain Athletic Conference championship, the eight men listed below will have as much to say about the outcome as anyone on the field:  

LT #71 pre-season all-state senior Josh Stewart (6’4” 255)

LG #52 junior LG Ross Spence (6’1” 220)

C #64 senior C Will Davis (5’5” 215) and #66 junior Chris Bell (5’7” 220)

RG #56 junior RG Justin Smith (6’1” 230)

RT #65 senior Jared Gates (6’2” 250)

TE #88 freshman Ethan Elliott (6’1” 195) and #11 junior Robert Mullins (5’10” 160).

Offensive line coach Jay Brooks has the big fellas up front leading the way for the 9-0 Panthers with an average of 306.11 total yards (201.89 rushing, 104.22 passing) and 33.00 points-per-game.  You can count on one hand the number of times a Franklin opponent has sacked or even touched junior QB Christian Vose and have opened the holes for Franklin’s RB trio of Robert Browning, Chris Lequire and Josh Young to combine for 1,645 yards and 22 touchdowns.  But after rushing for 1,262 yards on 246 carries (5.13ypc, 210.33ypg) thru their first six games, the Panther rushing attack hit the skids the next two weeks against Erwin and Tuscola.  Against the Warriors, Franklin’s running game managed 102 yards and averaged 2.68 yards-per-carry.  The next week against Tuscola, Franklin managed to up that total to 125 on 33 carries (3.79ypc), but take away a 39-yard scoring run from Robert Browning and that total looked worse at 86 yards in 32 carries (2.69ypc).  Although the wins continued, many spectators were left to wonder what happened to their beloved running game.

No worries, an off week and home date against North Buncombe got the Panther running game back on track with a season-high 328 yards on 51 carries (6.43ypc) and four touchdowns, two each from Browning and Lequire, as the Panthers rolled up 454 yards of total offense.

Facing a team that gave up 320 (191 rushing, 129 passing), 334 (304, 30) and 353 (288, 65) total yards in their three losses to A.C. Reynolds, Brevard and T.C. Roberson, respectively, you can bet the Panther offensive line was the center of focus for the Cougars defense and pre-season all-state DT Quinn Kickland.  Limit the ball control offense that Franklin likes to utilize and Asheville’s chances against the #1 team in the state improve.