SHELBYVILLE
Franklin’s football team is off to a 2-0 start for the first time in five years, but the way the Grizzly Cubs got there might satisfy Coach Chris Coll even more.
Friday, the Cubs took full advantage of an inexperienced and undersized Shelbyville team, building a 48-0 halftime lead. That led to a second-half running clock, but that didn’t keep Franklin from adding to the lead. It scored three more rushing touchdowns en route to a 69-0 road win.
“I don’t think we had a lot of mistakes,” said Coll, whose team committed just three penalties, never fumbled and didn’t turn the ball over. “We played pretty smart, and didn’t make many unforced errors.”
They also executed all game long. Behind a strong offensive line and a more balanced offensive attack than in years past, the Cubs scored at will. Drew Byerly completed 10 of 15 passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns, all in the first half. He sat out the second half.
Meanwhile, Jalen Ward rushed for 135 yards and four touchdowns on just 13 carries, and he sat out the fourth quarter. Kaleb Samuels added 81 rushing yards on 10 carries with two touchdowns.
Christian McClure was Byerly’s favorite target. He caught five passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns. Byerly completed passes to six different receivers.
“Our offensive line is doing great things,” Byerly said. “All of our guys are awesome up front, and Jalen does a great job, and Kaleb as well. It’s definitely a good thing to be balanced.”
Defensively, Franklin forced Shelbyville into seven punts and forced three turnovers (a fumble recovery and two interceptions). Derrick Sich and Brodie Rinehold each intercepted passes for the Cubs.
Shelbyville’s offense managed just two first downs all night and went 0 for 10 on third-down conversions. The Golden Bears rushed for exactly zero yards on 25 carries, and totaled only 24 yards of net offense.
The Bears played several freshmen significant minutes, and they started a backup quarterback (Ethan Bohman).
Meanwhile, Franklin rolled up 479 offensive yards and 19 first downs. The Cubs were only 1 of 3 on third-down plays in the first three quarters, mainly because they rarely had to snap the ball on third down, but they also converted a pair of fourth-quarter tries.
Franklin scored touchdowns on its first seven possessions, and that streak only ended because the Cubs took a knee to end the first half. They also scored on their first second-half possession, and didn’t punt all night.
Now that Franklin has started 2-0, the Grizzly Cubs enter Mid-State Conference play next Friday. They’ll kick off league play at Perry Meridian.
“It’s good to be 2-0, but we’ve got some higher aspirations and we want to keep building,” Coll said. “It’s only Week 2.”
“We thought we could do this at the beginning of the season, but to go out and do it is something different,” Byerly said.
