Rain’s supposed to be the great equalizer, but it wasn’t for Franklin on Friday night.
Visiting Decatur Central ran and passed at will, taking an easy 42-15 win and spoiling the Grizzly Cubs’ senior night in the process.
While the rain didn’t affect the Hawks, it seemed to stall Franklin — although Decatur Central had a lot to do with that too.
By winning, the Hawks earned at least a share of the Mid-State Conference championship for the third straight year. Only a three-point loss to Martinsville on Sept. 7 prevented Decatur Central from an outright conference hat trick.
The rain and wet surface usually stop high-powered offenses like Decatur Central’s, but not this time. The Hawks totaled 482 yards, 352 in the first half alone.
It was just one of those nights where the Cubs play matched the weather.
Franklin did have its moments, holding the Hawks to seven points in the first quarter, but the second quarter proved fatal as the Grizzly Cubs gave up 28 points while failing to score themselves.
Quarterback Drew Byerly was the victim of several dropped passes, many of which could have been attributed to the rain.
Things got better in the second half, as Byerly threw for 124 yards and two touchdowns, one a nice 47-yard touchdown toss to Christian McClure in the third quarter.
Cory Richards caught the other touchdown pass for Franklin.
Decatur Central quarterback Parker Harrington threw for 201 yards and two touchdowns, one a 67-yard strike to Jackson Allen Jr.
On the ground, the Hawks had two runners with more than 70 yards each — Kenny Tracy (90 yards, including a 50-yard run in the second quarter) and Bill Gibson (73 yards and a touchdown).
Defensively, the Hawks held the Cubs to 36 yards on the ground.
Franklin did add a late safety to its tally.
The Class 5A playoffs are next for Franklin (2-7) and it’s a good news, bad news scenario for them. On the plus side, it’s a new season and the Cubs can begin at 0-0. The bad news is they play at Whiteland, which whipped the Cubs 44-20 back in September.
That game is set for next Friday at 7 p.m.
