Demons look to continue stellar play
Published 2:35 pm Friday, October 24, 2014
Franklinton continues its season tonight, hoping to continue its great play, as the Demons host Lakeshore in a District 8-4A contest.
The Demons (6-1, 2-0), who begin tonight fifth in power points for Class 4A, enter the contest riding a four-game winning streak during a time when they’ve absolutely dominated the competition.
During the past four games, Franklinton, which is ranked sixth in Class 4A by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, has outscored its opponents 205-29.
“We’ve played pretty good,” Demons coach Shane Smith said. “Our coaches and players know there’s still room for improvement. That’s been the focus. What areas do we need to get better at in moving forward? We’re starting to get more healthy and continuing to improve.”
Last week, Franklinton defeated Salmen, 44-10, after leading, 22-10, at the half. FHS’ special teams made it a 20-point margin to begin the second half. Azende T. Magee returned the second-half kickoff 85 yards for a score, and the Demons were successful on the 2-point conversion, with Chandler Davis hitting Ryché Jenkins after a low snap.
Quarterback Michael Wilson has completed 58 of his 112 passes (51.8 percent) for 917 yards, with six touchdowns and three picks.
Magee is the Demons’ leading rusher with 737 yards on 80 carries (9.2 yards per attempt) and nine scores. He has also caught 13 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown.
Davis tops the receiving group at 19 receptions for 373 yards, and he’s tied with DeAndre Allen at three scores. Allen enters with 15 catches for 329 yards and three TDs.
Defensively, the Demons have been stout during the winning streak. The most any team has scored on FHS in the last month has been Amite, which put 13.
Defensive lineman Kobe Crain is tied with Justin Alford for third on the team in tackles with 37, and Crain has also added four sacks and four tackles for lost yardage.
“He doesn’t take plays off, he doesn’t take days off, and he doesn’t take reps off,” Smith said. “In the weight room last week, I was actually telling him to tone it down because I thought he had too much weight on the bar. He’s grown as a person and a player.”
Martavius James leads the club with 50 total tackles with 36 of them being individual stops, and he’s intercepted two passes.
Relik Wilson is next at 42 tackles and a team leading eight hurries.
Franklinton won last year’s match up, 55-17, but don’t let that fool you. These teams have played some close games in the three meetings.
Lakeshore opened in 2009. The Titans played a junior varsity schedule in 2009, and weren’t eligible for playoff contention until 2011.
Lakeshore defeated Franklinton 28-27 in the first meeting on the final game of the regular season in 2011, forcing a three-way tie for the district title with the two clubs and Salmen. The Demons won the 2012 game 39-36.
Lakeshore, the 27th ranked team in power points, comes in with a 3-4 overall record and 1-1 in district. The Titans defeated Riverdale, 45-42, on a last second field goal by Ryan Miller, who is 4-of-5 this season with a long of 40.
“They’ve got a real good quarterback. He’s played four years against us,” Smith said. “He’s got as much experience as you can have at that position. You can see how good he is on film. He’s got a good arm, he’s athletic, he’s 200 pounds and he’s in total command of what they do out there. Then you throw in they’ve got an LSU commitment at running back (David Ducre). They’re a good football team overall.”
Lakeshore’s wins have come by an average of 5.6 points, while the losses have occurred by an average of 31 points.
Lakeshore quarterback Dylan Fields, who made his first start in the 2011 game against Franklinton, has thrown for 683 yards with two touchdowns and seven interceptions this season. He’s also run 67 times for 273 yards (four yards per carry), and two touchdowns.
Nathan Faciane leads the Titans’ receivers with 22 catches for 357 yards and two touchdowns. Adam Ybarzabal is second at 153 yards on nine catches.
Ducre leads the rushing attack at 734 yards on 130 yards (5.6) and 10 scores.
Points wise this season, the Titans have held just one team below the 20-point mark and that was Chalmette in a 17-14 win. Four Lakeshore’s opponents have eclipsed the 40-point plateau, including the last three.