The Franklinton Demons football team lost to the Salmen Spartans last Friday night 39-14 in Demon Stad’ium. The loss drops the Demons’ overall record to 3-6 and their district record to 0-2. The Demons will travel to play the Rebels of Pearl River this Friday. The game with the Rebels will have major playoff implications for both teams.
The Demons and the Rebels battled to a scoreless tie after the end of the first quarter. The Spartans had a promising drive but the Demons Billy Gross intercepted a pass to end the drive. Another Spartan drive was ground to a halt at the Demons 15 by the Demons defense. With the inability of the Demons offense to stay on the field the defense eventually allowed a score with 5:16 left in the second period and again with :42 left before halftime as the Spartans went up 13-0.
The Demons special teams put them on the scoreboard when Kelly Daniels returned the kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown. Cole Colletti hit the extra point to cut the lead to 13-7 which would be the halftime score.
In the second half the Spartans would score in their first three drives pushing the score to 33-7 before the Demons quarterback Zion Anders hit Daniels on a 67 yard bomb for a touchdown at the 5:19 mark of the fourth quarter and a 33-14 lead.
The Demons recovered an onsides kick and moved to the Salmen 36 yard line but turned the ball over on downs there. The Spartans drove and scored just before the end of the game to make the final 39-14 as the two point conversion was stopped.
Coach Jonathon Barber broke the game down after it was over. "We knew going in it was going to be a dog fight, they are a very good defensive team. We had a big special teams play that kept us in it at the end of the first half. We didn't get critical third down stops early in the third quarter and that allowed them to pull away from us. There were some opportunities for us to make some plays on offense, but we just didn't make the plays. It's disappointing for our seniors, because I know how bad they wanted this one. We have another tough test this week as we will look to rebound quickly and improve our playoff positioning."
Zion Anders was 3 of 19 passing for 99 yards and one touchdown. Kelly Daniels caught one pass for 69 yards and a touchdown. Daniel Bryant caught two for 30 yards. Senqualon Conerly rushed seven times for 48 yards.
