COLUMBUS
Columbus East had no answer for Franklin running back Alex Leugers on Friday night.
Leugers powered and outran his way through the Olympian defense to rush for 327 yards and four touchdowns, giving the Grizzly Cubs a 42-17 victory.
“He’s powerful, he’s fast, he’s explosive and he’s tough,” Franklin coach Chris Coll said of his senior tailback. “He’d be the first one to tell you that if the guys up front gave him a crease, and he’s going to make you pay. They got him started. Once you get him started, he’s tough to deal with.”
The Olympians (6-4) got the first score of the game when a good punt return put the ball at the Franklin 9-yard line. A couple of plays later, quarterback Kyson Villarreal scored on a 1-yard sneak to put East ahead 7-0 with 6:44 left in the first.
All it took was one play and 17 seconds for the Grizzly Cubs (4-6) to tie the score. Blown coverage by the Olympian secondary let quarterback Greyson Betts find Cade Petty for a 65-yard pass to tie it 7-7.
Leugers scored the next two touchdowns for Franklin, one from 66 yards and the other from 57 to put the visitors ahead 21-14 with 8:06 left in the second quarter. Sandwiched inbetween the touchdowns was a 1-yard TD run by Villarreal.
The Olympians threatened towards the end of the first half when Villarreal found Keaton Lawson for the 36-yard pass to put it inside the 20-yard line with less than a minute left. After East burned two timeouts trying to run the ball, Villarreal found Brooks for the first and goal at the 2-yard line. After East spiked the ball, a Skylar Bailey 19-yard chip shot field goal made it 21-17 at the half.
The Grizzly Cubs kept the rhythm going in the second half as they scored on their first three possessions. On the first, Franklin drove down the field to get it to the 1-yard line. When it looked like Leugers was going to get the direct snap, it instead went to Corbin Black, a defensive tackle in for short-yardage help, and his touchdown made it 28-17 with 6:38 left in the third.
Leugers converted two more touchdowns, one 7 yards and another 35, to seal the game.
“We operated a lot more effectively tonight,” Coll said. “The kids worked hard the last two weeks with the bye week and with our preparation. Both sides of the ball and special teams, this was the most consistent all-around game we played.
“The mistakes were down. The defensive front played very physical. Our coverage was tight. That was a pretty good offense; we defended them really well. The overall team effort and contributions was by far the best one we had this year.”