Time and opportunities were beginning to dwindle Thursday for Franklinton to respond and avoid stumbling to a third straight loss and a sub-.500 record on the season.
Visiting Abbeville (2-5) had scored before halftime and then again to open the third, grinding more than half that quarter off the clock on its way to a four-point lead.
And the Demons (4-3) hadn’t scored in their past three possessions when senior quarterback Jacob Crain, still gritting his way through an injured right thumb, and the offense took the field again with 8:21 left to work.
Crain and company needed just six plays and two minutes to find their answer, converting a third-and-16 into a 30-yard catch-and-run by junior Jayden Burkhalter that two defensive stops would preserve for a 33-30 bounce-back victory.
“It took a lot of focus,” Crain said. “We can’t control what the other team’s doing, the defense is doing, so we just have to go out there and do our thing. That’s what I was telling the offense and the coaches were telling the offense the whole time: Let’s just calm down and go do what we do, and that’s ball out.”
Franklinton came out the gates with touchdowns on its first two possessions and four of its first five to open up a 26-16 lead late in the first half.
Senior running back Rayden Rayborn capped the opening drive with short touchdown run.
And each time Abbeville countered — with a first-quarter run by Justin Montgomery and second-quarter pass from Dazavien Maze to Cameron Samuels — the Demons had an answer of their own with first-half touchdown passes from Crain to Burkhalter, tight end Dalton Freeman and receiver DaMikies McClain.
“I’m hoping we can figure it out a little bit and they can look back and say, ‘When we’re playing really well, we’re pretty good,” Franklinton coach Nick Saltaformaggio said. “We had a couple of guys that usually have big nights for us struggle a little bit, but we finally got some run game going. We blocked the run game fairly well. And, look, hats off to Abbeville. They’re very much improved from last year, and they’ve got some weapons.”
Successful two-point runs by Chayson Gray helped keep the Wildcats right on their hosts’ heels.
And Maze and his talented cast of weapons reclaimed the advantage with a pair of methodical drives just before and after halftime for a diving fourth-down touchdown catch by Braylon Himel just before the break and then a well-called and -executed red-zone look to a wide-open Jacolby Campbell in the back corner of the end zone midway through the third quarter.
“That team right there is battle-tested, last year competing for the state championship in New Orleans,” Abbeville interim coach Trevor Eaton said. “So for us to come out here after the season we had last year and give these guys the game that we gave, our guys have no reason to hang their head, no reason whatsoever. Very proud of these kids, and the rest of our schedule needs to look out.”
Diving and leaping Abbeville interceptions by Andrew Payton III, Samuels and Campbell began taking away Franklinton possessions and seemingly slowly mounting momentum for the road team.
The combination of the Demons’ defensive response — highlighted by a big tackle game by linebacker Rajon Covington and a pair of second-half sacks by defensive end Samuel Braddy — and the Wildcats’ own untimely penalties kept the door open, though.
“We really just started realizing their game plan and seeing what they were doing, realizing what they were doing and what they weren’t doing and capitalizing on it,” Covington said. “But it works vice-versa. If the offense can’t get nothing to work, the defense is gonna make it work. If the defense can’t get nothing to work, the offense is gonna get something to work. So it’s really just we’ve got each other’s back and we’re just gonna make something happen regardless.”
Crain and the offense finally ended their nearly two-quarter drought and broke back through with the go-ahead drive midway through the fourth with Burkhalter converting a pair of third downs: a ____________ and the touchdown from his senior quarterback.
“(Crain) is a tremendous competitor and an even better winner,” Saltaformaggio said. “And you saw that tonight when we struggled early on with a couple of throws, a couple missed balls, but when we needed it, he was there delivering it. You know, the strike to JB at the end, Jayden Burkhalter, who I think is a phenomenal player — glad he’s coming back. That was a big-time throw, catch and run.”
Franklinton returns to District 7-4A action with games against Pearl River, Loranger and Archbishop Hannan to close the regular season.
The Demons are No. 7 in the Division-II Non-Select power rankings following the win, keeping them in the hunt for a potential bye or at least first-round home game.
“We’ve got more work to do — we’ve got to see what else we can do at practices, we’ve got to stay at practice and follow through with what the coaches are saying,” said Braddy, who sees championship-contending potential from the team again: “We’re all ready. All of us that went to the Dome, we know how that turf feels, and we’re ready to get back out there.”
Abbeville has rebounded from an 0-4 start to be squarely on the postseason bubble at No. 26 in the bracket picture with confidence heading in a small, but competitive District 5-3A schedule against Kaplan, St. Martinville and Erath.
“That’s a testament of these kids and their will to just fight,” Eaton said. “They could just be laying down right now, but for them to buy into what these coaches are preaching and to come out here and compete at the level that they’re competing, I can’t say enough about, man. Every last one of them, these guys are gonna be great young men. And that showed today in their fight to the very end.”
SCORING SUMMARY
FIRST QUARTER
6:53 — FHS — Rayden Rayborn 3-yard run (run failed) — FHS 6-0
5:00 — AHS — Justin Montgomery 46-yard run (Chayson Gray run) — AHS 8-0
2:36 — FHS — Jayden Burkhalter 14-yard pass from Jacob Crain (Christopher Gonzalez kick) — FHS 13-8
SECOND QUARTER
10:32 — AHS — Cameron Samuels 7-yard pass from Dazavien Maze (Chayson Gray run) — AHS 16-13
8:59 — FHS — Dalton Freeman 25-yard pass from Jacob Crain (pass failed) — FHS 19-16
4:22 — FHS — DaMikies McClain 38-yard pass from Jacob Crain (Christopher Gonzalez kick) — FHS 26-16
0:22 — AHS — Braylon Himel 27-yard pass from Dazavien Maze (pass failed) — FHS 26-22
THIRD QUARTER
5:28 — AHS — Jacolby Campbell 10-yard pass from Dazavien Maze (Chayson Gray) — AHS 30-26
FOURTH QUARTER
6:12 — FHS — Jayden Burkhalter 30-yard pass from Jacob Crain (Christopher Gonzalez kick) — FHS 33-30