Football Preview: Franklin Panthers vs. Smoky Mountain Mustangs
Franklin and Smoky Mountain are an even 5-5 against one another since October of 2015, but not for long. The Franklin Panthers will challenge the Smoky Mountain Mustangs at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Franklin is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 33.4 points per game this season.
Franklin is headed into Friday's matchup hungry for a win as their strong season has now been derailed by two straight losses. They took a 24-7 bruising from Pisgah on Friday. The contest marked the Panthers' lowest-scoring match so far this season.
Meanwhile, Smoky Mountain waltzed into their game on Friday with three straight wins... but they left with four. They took down the Falcons 47-28.
Smoky Mountain had a senior duo take command as Jarek Jones rushed for 253 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 14.9 yards per carry and Ayden Johnson rushed for 260 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 10.0 yards per carry. With that strong performance, Jones is now averaging an impressive 108.5 rushing yards per game.
Franklin's defeat dropped their record down to 6-2. As for Smoky Mountain, they pushed their record up to 6-3 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road.
Franklin and Smoky Mountain were neck-and-neck in their previous meeting back in October of 2023, but Franklin came up empty-handed after a 20-19 loss. Can Franklin avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
