Franklinton takes to the road tonight to begin regular season play, as the Demons head to Covington to play the Lions.
The Demons played in the Washington Parish Jamboree and defeated Pine, 23-16, after tallying the winning points with 21 seconds left.
Tahj Magee had a solid night, throwing for 106 yards and two touchdowns to Kian Conerly. He also ran for 71 yards and a touchdown.
Running back TreQuan Charles posted 47 yards on the ground and 8 receiving yards.
Conerly posted 34 yards receiving. Rakerian Conerly recorded 28 receiving yards and Jacob Smith finished with one catch for 4 yards.
Franklinton coach Stephen Burris talked about the importance of getting off to a 1-0 start.
“It’s big on power points and it’s big on confidence,” Burris said. “It’s hard to build confidence if you get your tail kicked.”
Defensively, the team struggled against Pine’s running game, as the Raiders had 206 rushing yards.
One of the keys for Franklinton this week will be stopping the run, as Covington’s running back has chewed up plenty of yards throughout his career.
“If we don’t stop the run, it’s going to be a long night,” Burris said.
Franklinton and Covington met last season, with Covington winning by a score of 49-13.
The Lions come in after a 5-5 regular season and they reached the first round of the Class 5A playoffs before falling to second round team, Hahnville.
Covington lost to John Curtis in the Mandeville Jamboree, 7-0, last week.
The Lions return nine of 11 offensive starters from last year, including four of five offensive linemen.
“They’re talented on offense,” Burris said. “They’ve got a stud at tailback. The offensive line is physical. Their quarterback is a good player. He throws it well and runs it well.  They don’t really have a weakness on offense and their free safety is really good. Last week, our defense didn’t play well. I’m looking for improvement.”
Josh Alfaro begins his third year as the Lions’ starting quarterback.
The Houston Baptist commitment threw for 1,700 yards with 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions last season.
Running back Devin Brumfield returns to the backfield and continues a stellar high school career.
“The main thing he brings is that physical relentless attitude,” Covington coach Greg Salter said. “He plays just as hard when the holes aren’t there. He’s a guy that loves contact and loves to get the ball in key situations. His teammates feed off of it too. He’s a very, very unselfish teammate.”
Brumfield is the school’s record holder in yards (more than 4,200) and carries, and he’s just four away from the school record for touchdowns. Brumfield has run for at least 100 yards in 25 of his 32 career games.
The Lions return three of their leading receivers, but Milton Clark, who had 30 catches for more than 400 yards and four touchdowns last season, is moving to corner.
The two receivers are KeJohn Batiste and Mason Cialona. Batiste had 36 receptions for more than 500 yards and two touchdowns while Cialona posted 25 catches for over 400 yards and five scores.
The top defenders are nose guard Cody Tuner, end Trevor Betts, outside linebacker Ralph Crandell, strong safety Avery Mendheim, cornerback Kris Arrington and linebacker Darren Thompson. Turner is a three-year starter, Betts is a two-year starter, Crandell started last season and Thompson is back after missing the last two seasons with an injury.