Football Preview: Tuscola Mountaineers vs. Franklin Panthers
Tuscola and Franklin are an even 3-3 against one another since November of 2014, but not for long. The Tuscola Mountaineers will host the Franklin Panthers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Tuscola sitting on three straight victories and Franklin on four.
Tuscola is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They simply couldn't be stopped two weeks ago as they easily beat Swain County 42-8 on the road. The team's explosion on offense also rewarded the Mountaineers with their most commanding win of the season.
Jett Bartley was the offensive standout of the matchup as he threw for 173 yards and three touchdowns.
Tuscola's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Elijah Pruitt.
While Franklin didn't have the best season last year (they finished 2-8), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They blew past East Henderson, posting a 48-8 win on the road. Fans of the Panthers have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season has ended in a blowout of 20+ points.
Tuscola's victory bumped their record up to 3-1. As for Franklin, their win bumped their record up to 4-0.
Tuscola ended up a good deal behind Franklin when the teams last played back in September of 2023, losing 31-14. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Franklin's Addix Sutton, who rushed for 186 yards and a touchdown, and also picked up 64 receiving yards and a touchdown. Now that Tuscola knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
