Franklinton lost a 17-7 lead in the first half by halftime, but scored 22-unanswered points in the second half to defeat Breaux Bridge, 39-17, in the bi-district round of the Class 4A state playoffs at home Friday.
The 10th-seeded Demons led, 17-7, with 2:08 left in the first half after Azende T. Magee, who ran for 158 yards and two touchdowns took a draw play 70 yards for a score. Raif Branch hit the extra point for the 10-point lead, but Breaux Bridge came back.
The 23rd-seeded Tigers ran a fake punt on fourth-and-1 at their 42. Punter Julian Leon, who is also the team’s quarterback, connected with Jude Boudreaux on a 58-yard touchdown pass, to make it, 17-14, after Bailey Thibodaux’s extra point.
FHS fumbled the kickoff and Breaux Bridge recovered, but the Demons defensed for a punt.
The Demons then muffed the punt with 34 seconds left in the first half and Breaux Bridge recovered at the Demons’ 3. It was Franklinton’s third turnover of the second quarter.
The defense held once again and forced Breaux Bridge to attempt a field goal, which Thibodaux hit from 33-yards out to even the contest at, 17-17, by the break.
In the second half, Franklinton’s running game came up huge.
“The coaches picked up a few things at halftime, made a few subtle adjustments, but we thought, really, it was there in the first half too,” Franklinton coach Shane Smith said. “We had to eliminate those errors and we did and when we did, we took control of the game.”
Franklinton, which won the District 8-4A title, took the second half kickoff and drove 55 yards in 10 plays, seven runs, and scored when Renaz Wilson, who posted 84 yards on the ground, tallied his first of two touchdowns. Branch’s extra point was good and the Demons were back on top, 24-17, with 8:18 left in the third quarter.
It remained that way until the fourth. Renaz Wilson extended the lead on a 2-yard run. The extra point snap was high and holder Chandler Davis scrambled around and eventually threw Wyatt Hensley in the back of the end zone for the two-point conversion. It was 32-17 with 6:28 left in the game.
The Demons defense came up with a sack and a fumble recovery on third down at Breaux Bridge’s 3 and scored on the first play with Magee posting the touchdown. Branch hit the extra point to reflect the final score, 39-17.
Quarterback Tahj Magee threw for 118 yards and ran for 68 yards and a touchdown.