Sports
Offensive Struggles Costly for Franklin (Video)
Panthers couldn't find rhythm on offense and take first loss of the season against Roosevelt.
Kevin Avila put an end to what could have been a game winning drive for football team.
Roosevelt’s junior defensive back intercepted a pass from Franklin quarterback Joshua Taylor at the five yard line with 16.8 ticks left on the game clock, sealing the Rough Riders 19-14 win over the visiting Panthers.
“It’s a tough loss you know. We came out with toughness, we just had to wrap on tackles and complete the passes. You seen the incompletes, we had it,” Taylor said.
Find out what's happening in Highland Park-Mount Washingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Franklin’s last possession started out on their own 14 yard line and the Panthers slowly, but surely made their way up field with a combination of short runs and passes, over the course of four minutes.
Facing a fourth and 20 situation on the Roosevelt 30 yard line, Taylor attempted to connect with wide receiver James Turner near the end zone. RHS (2-1) was flagged for pass interference, giving FHS a new set of downs and another chance to win the game, but came up short when Taylor turned the ball over.
Find out what's happening in Highland Park-Mount Washingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“We didn’t improve on the offensive side, moving the ball, and we weren’t able to run successfully,” Franklin head coach Eric Jaimes said. “On offense, even though we weren’t able to run successfully, we had a lot of chances to throw the ball, but we didn’t come up with the catches.”
FHS (2-1) had three opportunities to score before halftime—all end zone passes—that its receivers couldn’t hang on to for a score.
Defensively, the Panthers did a solid job of containing Roosevelt quarterback Andony Flores, however Jaimes said his team fell short on missing tackles.
Jaimes said, “We were hitting the kids, they just weren’t grabbing. If we were wrapping, taking out their legs, the outcome could have been different.”
Senior running back Willy Davis and Taylor each scored a touchdown in the loss for the Panthers.
