By Cameron Baker
For the Daily Journal
MOORESVILLE
Playing a day late due to inclement weather, Franklin took on Mooresville in another wet affair and came away with a heartbreaking 26-21 loss.
It was the fourth consecutive defeat for the Grizzly Cubs (2-4, 0-4 Mid-State).
Neither team got much going in a scoreless first quarter. Franklin did look to establish the running game early, with senior Alex Leugers rushing for 40 yards in the first half.
On the flip side, Mooresville (2-4, 1-3) looked to advance the ball with a mix of runs, quick checkdowns, and a couple of wildcat plays that the Grizzly Cubs seemed powerless to stop early on. The Pioneers scored on the first play of the second quarter after Connor Cruz found Brody Beasley in the end zone for a 21-yard TD pass.
But when the ball was in the red zone, the Grizzly Cub defense continued to step up big time, including when Collin Owens intercepted Cruz off a fade route and returned the ball about 20 yards. However, on the very next play, Franklin quarterback Greyson Betts threw the ball straight back to Mooresville.
Short runs and quick passes once again got the Pioneers to the 1-yard line, but after a high snap, an alert Isaiah Stultz scooped up the ball and returned it 99 yards for the Grizzly Cubs’ first score of the game.
Another long drive for Mooresville ended in a second touchdown pass from Cruz, this time to Ty Montgomery from 1 yard out, but Franklin blocked the point after to leave the game at 13-7 going into halftime.
The beginning of the second half saw Cruz find Beasley for a 32-yard touchdown off a flea flicker, stretching the Pioneer lead to 20-7. But the Grizzly Cubs weren’t done fighting yet.
A screen pass from Betts to Leugers went 75 yards after three broken tackles left the sideline empty for Leugers to make the house call.
The Grizzly Cubs used the momentum from the previous drive to force a turnover on downs, and Leugers’ big game continued after he took a rush 56 yards to the end zone to give the visitors their first lead of the game late in the third quarter.
“When you know that he’s one touch away from scoring, it keeps confidence,” Franklin coach Chris Coll said of Leugers. “He’s a hell of a weapon to have in the offense.”
After allowing a touchdown to Mooresville at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Grizzly Cubs continued to feed Leugers as the rain started to come down harder. Franklin worked its way down to the red zone, but two untimely penalties forced them back to a first and 35 situation that yielded no points.
The Franklin defense was able to force Mooresville to punt with two and a half minutes left, and Betts started the drive by completing two short passes to put his team in field goal range. Another throw, however, was intercepted by Mooresville’s Trey Bennett in the final seconds.
“I think we did some good things on both sides of the ball,” Coll said. “We just made too many mistakes and shot ourselves in the foot. Some of them were unforced, and that really cost us. We played hard, gave good effort, and I didn’t have any problem with that.”
