Franklinton takes to the road tonight, as the Demons head to Lafayette to play against the defending Division II state champion St. Thomas More with kickoff at 7 p.m.
Franklinton comes in with a 2-2 record after a 19-18 loss to Tylertown, Miss. Franklinton is 2-0 at home and is still seeking its first road win of the season.
Franklinton coach Stephen Burris said the Demons will be facing a good opponent that’s good up front, has good skill players and is well coached.
“It’s a chance for us to clean up the mistakes that we made last week,” Burris said. “It’s a chance to get back on track against a good opponent and a good program. You play a team like that, if you have success, you know the things you’re doing are good. You can’t miss blocks and you miss assignments, because if you do, you’re not going to have success.”
This season, Franklinton quarterback Tahj Magee is 43-of-80 passing for 614 yards with seven touchdowns and five interceptions. He has also run 66 times for 437 yards and five touchdowns.
Not far behind Magee is the rushing department is Trequan Charles, who enters with 85 carries for 401 yards and four touchdowns. Charles has been solid the last two weeks, combining for 313 yards and three scores. Charles also has six catches for 43 yards.
Burris praised Charles.
“Trequan is one of those program kids. He’s not very big, he’s not very fast and he’s not the best athlete in the world, but he does what he’s asked to do. He’s got quick feet, great vision, he runs with great instincts and he’s the type of kid you like seeing have success,” Burris said.
Rakerian Conerly leads the receivers with 14 receptions for 279 yards and four touchdowns, to go with 21 rushing attempts for 127 yards and a score. Lagarian Bell has 13 receptions for 165 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, LaMount Harris leads the Demons with 41 tackles, including 8.5 for a loss. He also has 4.5 sacks.
Franklinton is 25th in the unofficial LHSAA Class 4A power rankings.
St. Thomas More comes into tonight’s game with a 3-1 record, after falling to Catholic of Baton Rouge, 20-0, last week. The Cougars are fifth in the unofficial Division II power rankings. The Cougars are fourth in the Class 4A Louisiana Sports Writers Association poll.
St. Thomas More won the Division II state championship last season after defeating Parkview Baptist, 54-29, in the title game.
St. Thomas More coach Jim Hightower, who is in his 32nd year as the team’s head coach said his team has a lot of respect for Franklinton.
“They’ve got a lot of explosive talent on offense,” Hightower said. “They’ve got a lot of speed. They throw and catch the ball really well. They get people in the open field and you have to make good one-on-one tackles for sure.
“For our offense, we’ll be facing a 3-3 stack for the first time. We have to work on our scheme. We have to make sure we have all of our assignments blocked.”
Caleb Holstein has thrown for 348 yards on 27-of-46 passing, with two touchdowns. Peyton Landry enters tonight’s game with 363 passing yards on 28-of-40 attempts, with three touchdowns and an interception.
Chris Primeaux, Sydney Lindon and William Cryer are the Cougars’ leading rushers. Primeaux has 35 carries for 285 yards and four touchdowns. Lindon has 35 carries for 276 yards and three scores, and Cryer has 24 attempts for 162 yards and four scores.
St. Thomas More’s top three receivers are Mason Pesson, Grant Arceneaux and J.P. Robertson. Pesson has 11 receptions for 186 yards and two touchdowns. Arceneaux enters tonight’s game with 14 catches for 162 yards and a touchdown, and Robertson has six caches for 125 yards and two touchdowns.
St. Thomas’ top defenders include middle linebacker Paul Laborde, tackle Sam Greenwood, safety Cade Broussard, cornerback Jude Joseph and ends Brandon Gannon and Elliot Roundtree. Laborde tops the team in tackles with 37. Gannon and Greenwood have 25 each. Broussard is at 21, Joseph has 19 and Roundtree has 12.