Franklin football beaten by Martinsville

<p>Franklin’s Mid-State Conference football game against visiting Martinsville would have made a great episode of &quot;Lost.&quot;</p><p>As in lost opportunities, chances and touchdowns.</p><p>The second-ranked Artesians used the arm of senior quarterback Travis Griffey and the legs of senior tailback Isaac Osborne to power past the Grizzly Cubs.</p><p>Griffey threw for 227 yards and Osborne rushed for 128 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Artesians past Franklin, 30-7.</p><p>“We found out a little about ourselves,” said Franklin coach Chris Coll. “That’s a good team, and for the better part of the night we had a chance.”</p><p>Martinsville, known for airing it out, used the ground for its two first-half scores, with Griffey and Osborne doing the honors from 2 and 4 yards out.</p><p>Franklin (2-3, 1-2 Mid-State) briefly tied the game at 7-7 when junior quarterback Drew Byerly ran it in from the 3 in the second quarter.</p><p>Franklin was its own worst enemy in this game, dropping a first-quarter pass in the end zone, and getting inopportune penalties — like a 15-yard personal foul after Byerly rambled for a 46-yard run to the Martinsville 34 line in the second quarter.</p><p>Mistakes notwithstanding, Franklin was in this game at the half, down only 14-7. Unfortunately for the Cubs, the mistakes weren’t limited to the first half.</p><p>“Our defense played well, but when we didn’t score, it got harder to keep them from scoring,” Coll said. “I’m proud of the guys. They fought hard.”</p><p>Griffey scored again from the 2 to give Martinsville some space at 21-7, and Franklin continued to hurt itself with miscues.</p><p>More dropped passes when wide open, a bad snap on a punt that led to a a safety, missed tackles and a questionable pass interference penalty all helped the Artesians.</p><p>Osborne then ran in for another score from the 28 for the final tally.</p><p>It won’t get any easier for the Grizzly Cubs next week, as they travel to Class 4A No 10 Mooresville.</p>