The Franklinton Demons pulled off a dramatic come-from-behind victory Thursday night at Demon Stadium, scoring twice on their final two possessions to rally from a 16-7 fourth-quarter deficit and defeat the Covington Lions 20-16.
Quarterback Kerston Diddon delivered the game-winning touchdown with one second remaining, finding a leaping Jayden Burkhalter for an eight-yard score. The extra point was good, giving the Demons their first lead since the second quarter.
The victory came after Franklinton faced a nine-point deficit with less than six minutes remaining.
The Demons struck first on defense when Taylor McCray intercepted a pass on the Lions' opening possession. However, Franklinton surrendered a safety to fall behind 2-0.
Franklinton answered in the second quarter when Diddon connected with Burkhalter on a 38-yard touchdown pass. The extra point put the Demons ahead 7-2, and that score held through halftime.
The Lions regained the lead in the third quarter, scoring on a 26-yard run at the 8:34 mark to go ahead 10-7.
Franklinton had a chance to answer but came up empty after driving to the Lions' 8-yard line before turning the ball over on downs.
The Lions then extended their advantage late in the quarter when their quarterback broke loose for a 76-yard touchdown run with just 27 seconds remaining, putting the Lions ahead 16-7 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Demons, however, refused to go away.
With 5:15 remaining, Diddon connected with Chakyn McClain on a 58-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 16-13. The extra point was unsuccessful, leaving the Demons needing another touchdown to take the lead.
Franklinton's defense then forced a Lions punt, giving the Demons one final opportunity.
The offense quickly moved down the field and reached the Lions' goal line. On second down, Diddon found Burkhalter, who made a leaping catch in the end zone for the eight-yard touchdown with one second left on the clock.
The successful extra point put Franklinton ahead 20-16.
The Lions had one final chance on the ensuing kickoff, attempting several laterals to keep the return alive. The Demons stayed disciplined, tackling the runner and ending the game.
Diddon finished the night 15-of-22 passing for 205 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed seven times for 37 yards.
Burkhalter led the receiving corps with eight catches for 54 yards and two touchdowns. McClain added five receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown. Rhett Anderson had one catch for 19 yards, while Preston Venables and Devin Harris each caught one pass for 12 yards.
Ricardo Burris led the Demons' rushing attack with 18 carries for 60 yards. Stephen Tate added 10 yards on three carries, while McClain had one rushing attempt.
The comeback was especially meaningful for a Franklinton team looking to bounce back from the previous week's loss to Amite.
Coach Nick Saltaformaggio said his team responded to the adversity."We had to do a lot of soul searching last week. Our kids knew that shouldn't have happened. With all due respect to Amite, that was embarrassing. It embarrassed them, it embarrassed me, the high school and the Franklinton community, so those guys got beat to death by me all week," Saltaformaggio said.
"I told them before the game, great teams respond. Muhammad Ali was the champion three times because he got knocked down three times. So now we just have to keep working until we are where we need to be."
Diddon said the offense remained composed during the decisive final drive, even after coming up short on a play near the goal line before the game-winning touchdown.
"The entire offense did a great job keeping their composure and executing," Diddon said. "The play before the touchdown to Jayden, when we were so close to scoring and didn't, it would have been easy for us to let emotions take over there and lose sight of the next play. But everyone kept their focus and we were able to move on to the next play and score to win."
The Demons will look to build on the comeback this week when they travel to face the Pine Raiders.
