Franklinton ran for 393 yards on 58 carries (6.7 per attempt), the defense came up big in the third quarter and the Demons advanced to the quarterfinals of the Class 4A playoffs with a 35-14 win over Northwood of Shreveport Friday night.

Running back Renaz Wilson and quarterback Ron Robinson combined for 384 rushing yards.

Wilson ran for 194 yards on 30 carries with three touchdowns and a 2-point conversion.

Wilson ran hard all game, starting with his first carry. Wilson appeared to be stopped for a minimal gain but pushed the pile forward for 5 yards.

“It was tough, but I knew I had to keep my feet moving like my coach taught me,” said Wilson, who had seven rushes of 10 yards or more. “Just keep continuing to run my feet, put my pad level down and keep trucking.”

FHS coach Shane Smith said the Demons’ offensive line took control of the contest and credited Wilson with his running.

“Early when there weren’t those very big openings, Renaz was running,” Smith said. “I don’t know how many yards early in the game he got after contact, but he got a lot of yards after contact early in the game.”

Robinson also ran hard and turned in a big night, going for 190 yards on 22 attempts.

He also threw for 76 yards, which included a 39-yard touchdown strike to Azende T. Magee.

As a team, seventh-seeded Franklinton (10-2) had six negative plays. Two of those were fumbles, and one was a kneel down, which ended the game.

One of the game’s biggest drives occurred late in the third quarter.

Franklinton saw its 29-7 halftime lead trimmed to 29-14, and 10th-seeded Northwood (10-2) was threating to cut it to a one possession game. The Falcons had driven to the Demons 26 and had a first down, but Franklinton’s defense was up to the task. Franklinton came up with two consecutive sacks by Kobe Crain, which put Northwood at third and 19. The defense then forced two straight incompletions to force a turnover on downs.

“I thought it was huge,” Smith said. “If it’s 29-21, the way they throw the ball, you never know what can happen. That was a huge stand by our defense, and for our offensive line to come out and do what they did a couple series later (TD drive 71 yards, all runs), was big as well.”

Freshman Markus Conerly was one of many defensive players who stepped up for the unit. Conerly came up with two interceptions.

His second pick occurred just 10 seconds into the fourth quarter with FHS up 29-14 and Northwood once again attempting to get the game to one possession.

“All I had to do was play deep and my teammates did the rest, made him (Jerrick Peterson) throw the ball under pressure,” Conerly said.

Both teams had scoring opportunities on the first offensive drives. FHS took the ball to the 15 but fumbled, and Northwood’s Slade Baker recovered.

The Falcons moved the ball to the Demons’ 10 and had a touchdown pass on fourth and 5, but a holding penalty on Northwood took the points off of the board. Then a false start, followed by a combined sack between Shunti Conerly and Enrique Garrett, forced a turnover on downs. Conerly got there first and made contact, and Garrett finished off the sack.

From there, FHS drove 64 yards and ended the drive with Robinson finding Magee for a 39-yard touchdown. Alvero Ocampo’s extra point was good for a 7-0 lead.

After Conerly’s first interception the Demons went 71 yards and tallied on Renaz Wilson’s 2-yard run, which was an untimed down that ended the period. He then converted the 2-point try after Northwood jumped offsides, and it was 15-0.

Jonathan Crain recovered a fumble, which was forced by Shunti Conerly when he sacked Peterson and forced the loose ball.

FHS was back on the board seven plays later with Renaz Wilson going 4 yards. Ocampo’s PAT made it 22-0 at the 8:34 mark.

Northwood came back when Peterson found Martavious Washington for an 18-yard TD strike. Dylan Oliver’s point after made it 22-7 with 6:54 left in the first half.

FHS responded with another score with Renaz Wilson going in from the 3. Ocampo was good once again for a 29-7 lead.

It stayed that way until the third quarter when Peterson hit Washington again on an 8-yard TD pass. Oliver’s PAT was true, and it was 29-14.

Jamireo Wilson scored the final touchdown for Franklinton, but the 2-point conversion failed after the Falcons committed an encroachment penalty.

The Demons forced a punt about midway through the fourth and ran out the final 6:34 for the victory.

For Northwood, Peterson threw for 202 yards with two touchdowns and two picks.

The victory puts the Demons into the quarterfinal round. Up next is second-seeded and Class 4A defending state champion Edna Karr.