Football Game Preview: Franklin Regional Panthers vs. Armstrong River Hawks

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Previous 4 Games

10/25/24 - Home	29-26 W
09/22/17 - Home	26-23 W
09/23/16 - Away	24-20 W
10/02/15 - Away	35-26 W

Franklin Regional has gone a perfect 4-0 against Armstrong recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Panthers will head out to take on the River Hawks at 7:00 p.m. Neither Franklin Regional nor Armstrong posted many points in their last games, so it might be the defenses that decide this one.

Franklin Regional is headed into the contest out to prove that what happened against Woodland Hills on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. The Panthers were beaten by the Wolverines 55-7. The Panthers were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 21-0.

Special teams was responsible for all of the team's points. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Jaymeir Austin, who ran a kickoff back for a touchdown.

Meanwhile, Armstrong was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They had to suffer through a 42-7 loss at the hands of Penn-Trafford. While losing is never fun, the River Hawks can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania football rankings (they are ranked 187th, while the Warriors are ranked 21st).

Franklin Regional will have to keep a close watch on Quinton Olsen and Jaydon Oliver, a pair of players who had a big impact on Armstrong's prior game. Olsen picked up 87 receiving yards and one TD, while Oliver threw for 146 yards and one touchdown.

Armstrong's defeat dropped their record down to 3-6. As for Franklin Regional, their loss dropped their record down to 1-8.

Franklin Regional came out on top in a nail-biter against Armstrong in their previous meeting back in October of 2024, sneaking past 29-26. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Oliver, who rushed for 133 yards and a pair of scores on only 11 carries, and also threw for 278 yards and one touchdown while completing 72% of his passes. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will the Panthers still be able to contain Oliver? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.