Murphy Bulldogs travel to Franklin Friday – – Both teams present new and young players

 

By Brandon Stephens

 

(Franklin) – – It will be a hot August night, as it always is, when the Murphy Bulldogs and Franklin Panthers play football, regardless of the location.  This game has been playing for at least 25 years and the Panthers have the advantage in the series.  Last year’s 24-to-7 loss was not a good game for the Murphy Bulldogs.  Franklin posted a highly efficient offense and the defense cashed in on Murphy’s mistakes and miscues.  This may not be the case for Friday night’s game as the Franklin football team comes to its season home opener with a lot of new players in starting positions and a lack of experience.  The same can be said for Murphy.  That’s where we lead in with the question from the Charlie Daniels prose, Granny does your dawg(s) bite?  For Murphy, the hope is the response is not, “No child no.”

A new day with new and younger players for Franklin.  There are 11 new starters for offense, which means the whole crew may be getting some first time playing time at the varsity level, which includes a sophomore quarterback, Brock Bradley.  Franklin’s Tailback is junior Eli Brown.  They will also start junior Caryl Cook at Tight End, who has good blocking ability and a solid set of hands to catch a screen pass.  The Panthers will have seniors in other ball-handling position including Ashton Shope at Wide Receiver and Gabe Nickerson at Fullback, which may be one of the best players on the team.  The Panthers will probably show a Power-I formation, which will hand off to Nickerson most of the time

Franklin’s defense will be physical and switch its sets from a four to six-man front.  Younger Linebackers, including Addix Sutton (sophomore), Avery Carpenter (junior), Caryl Cook or Ashton Shope will step in as a Rover to possibly make the appearance of a three-man Linebacker look.  Franklin is bigger in size up front.  The defense had some difficulty stopping the Andrews Wildcats in its preseason scrimmage and the offense did not score.

Franklin Head Josh Brooks says his Panthers are inexperienced.  To make change and build a strong team, he likes playing the Murphy Bulldogs.

Some other notes about the Franklin Panthers include the fact Josh Brooks is one of the longest tenured head coaches at a single school next to Mountain Heritage’s Joey Robinson.  Brooks has been the Panther Head Coach for 18 years succeeding Fred Goldsmith, formerly at Duke and Western Carolina University before leading Franklin.  Brooks has been a coach for 25 years at Franklin and does not seem to be slowing down or chatting about retiring.  There is a shortage of labor has the coaches also playing iron-man football.  The varsity coaches call the shots and run practices for the junior varsity as well, which has put double duty on the staff.

There has not been a play-off win for the Panthers since 2017.  2018 was a loss to Bandys; no appearances in 2019; or the shorted 2020/2021 spring season; and there was a loss to Kings Mountain in the Fall of 2021.  Last year Franklin finished 6-and-4 and lost to West Rowan in the first round of the state playoffs.

Youth and inexperience are also themes in the Murphy Bulldogs camp.  The offense will be led by sophomore Quarterback Brady Grant.  Grant has displayed solid passing and decision making in the 7-on-7 and preseason scrimmage games.  There are some new faces that are young and seniors with limited varsity playing time.  Junior Will Shore, sophomore Ryan Payne, and senior Zach Skogen will line up in significant positions including Wide Receiver and Wingback.  Shore will probably rotate with senior Trenton Russell.  Skogen has built some good upper body strength and has quickly honed his skills as a Receiver.  However, all eyes will probably follow #28 Hunter Stalcup, the Rhinestone Cowboy who is the prolific running back that carried the Bulldogs many times into touchdown town.  Standing next to Stalcup will be junior #25 Jonah Hedden.  Brady Grant says the Bulldogs need some more work and will always work to improve each week, but they are ready to face Franklin.

Scoring touchdowns is key in a game.  With equal importance, stopping the opponent from scoring is a big concern.  Both offense and defensive front lines will be good size with people like 300-pounder Ricky Queen, stocky Kadence Leatherwood, and power-lineman Brody Orton.  The corners will be guarded by veteran players like Brayden Killian.  Ricky Queen says the Bulldog defense will be gritty and tough this year.

Overall, the Murphy Bulldogs have worked diligently this summer.  Head Coach Joseph Watson believes in continuing improvement.  Coach Watson also believes the Bulldogs are ready to face Franklin.

Youth and inexperience.  We will see how both teams square off and overcome those stigmas or show us they have what it takes.  Or is this where I, along with many other sportswriters and broadcasters, quote Isaiah 11:6 … and a child shall lead them.  The Murphy Bulldogs and Franklin Panthers will kick the game off on Friday night (August 18, 2023) at 7:30 in the Franklin Panther Pit.    Look for updates on this game at the Team FYN Sports Facebook page.  We will see if the Bulldogs bite.

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