Interception seals coach’s first victory
Published 12:00 am Monday, September 5, 2005
MEADVILLE &045; Franklin County coach Grady McCluskey earned a signature win in his first game.
The Bulldogs (1-0) beat defending MHSAA Class 4A champion Brookhaven 6-0 on Friday night.
Franklin won the coin toss, and the first-year head coach elected to defer, saying he wanted to put his defense on the field to set the tempo.
That’s exactly what happened as the Franklin County defense controlled the game from the opening snap.
&uot;We went to the jamboree, and we had some doubters about our defense so we said, ‘We’re going to put them on the field right off the bat and see what they can do,’&uot; McCluskey said. &uot;I have a lot of confidence in our defense. We have some of our better players over there.&uot;
Brookhaven went three-and-out and a Bulldog player got a piece of the punt, setting them up on the Panther 44-yard line.
Franklin County moved methodically downfield, and on fourth down at the 11, quarterback Jonte Marshall drew the defense offsidew on a hard count for a first down.
Fullback D.J. Shaw then dragged several defenders 6 yards into the end zone for the game’s only touchdown.
Shaw shared time with Preston Wilson and Gary Rogers in the backfield.
Franklin County’s defense &045; led by blue-chip prospect Marcus Tillman at defensive end &045; did the rest. Brookhaven finished with just 162 yards, and Franklin County intercepted two passes.
The two teams swapped punts for much of the game, as the ball remained between the 20s.
Running mostly out of the power-I, the Bulldogs gained almost all of its 154 yards up the middle. The only time they went backwards was when they strayed outside the tackles. McCluskey watched a few sweeps and option plays go for losses and changed tactics.
&uot;It was hard running right between the tackles. We don’t have a lot of speed but we do have good size,&uot; he said. &uot;We were trying to pull, but they were catching us, so we stopped pulling and started pounding and kicking.&uot;
Franklin County had a chance to put the game out of reach early in the fourth quarter, but a missed field goal left the score 6-0.
Brookhaven then marched 76 yards in 12 plays. Then, on play No. 13 of the drive, quarterback Charles Rancifer’s pass was intercepted by Mike Hunt in the end zone.
&uot;They were killing us on sweeps, that’s why I was surprised they threw the ball on the goal line,&uot; McCluskey said.
&uot;I thought they would run the toss sweep, but they elected to throw the ball and he just sort of flooped it up there. I was holding my breath. I think everyone was.&uot;