Franklin’s Brayden Isley (22) tries to tackle Plainfield’s Luke Starnes during Friday’s game.
Rob Baker | For the Daily Journal
PLAINFIELD
In a wild, topsy-turvy Mid-State Conference football race that’s been nearly impossible to predict, another outcome that few could have foreseen played itself out Friday at Plainfield.
The host Quakers, ranked eighth in Class 5A, and Franklin entered play with identical 3-1 Mid-State records and shared the conference lead. Plainfield took control early and never looked back, building a 38-3 lead by early in the third quarter. That precipitated a running clock and held up as the final score.
The shock wasn’t that Plainfield won; the Quakers entered play 5-1 and were playing on their home field. The surprise was that was the final score was so lopsided. Franklin entered play 4-2 overall, and the teams were each 2-0 against their common opponents (Perry Meridian and Mooresville). Plainfield was coming off its lone loss of the season, a 26-23 setback Sept. 22 at Decatur Central.
“We didn’t play our best, and when you play a team like that, and you’re not close to your best, that’s what happens,” Franklin coach Chris Coll said. “We needed to compete better, we needed to coach better just to compete with a team like that.”
Any hopes the Grizzly Cubs (4-3, 3-2) had of winning Friday ended one play after their first offensive possession. Plainfield (6-1, 4-1 Mid-State) scored a touchdown on its first possession, after a 45-yard game-opening kickoff return set the stage for a seven-play, 50-yard scoring drive. Franklin marched 34 yards on nine plays to the Quakers’ 31 before fumbling a snap that Plainfield recovered.
On the Quakers’ next play from scrimmage, Hunter Newell found Jamir Bouie for a 66-yard touchdown to give Plainfield a 14-0 led with 3:46 remaining in the first quarter. Franklin never threatened after that.
The Cubs’ lone score came on a J.D. Sever 39-yard field goal just before halftime. Even that was aided by 25 yards’ worth of Plainfield penalties.
“We’ve got some players who play pretty well most of the time, but we’re nowhere near where we want to be,” Coll said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do. We knew that. We want to compete for the top of the conference. This was disappointing, it was frustrating, but we don’t have time to feel sorry for ourselves. We’ve got two (regular-season) games remaining, and they’re both going to be tough.”
Alex Leugers led Franklin with 60 rushing yards on 15 carries. He also caught three passes for 31 yards to finish with 91 all-purpose yards.
Franklin hosts Greenwood next Friday.
