Franklinton got off to a rough start and suffered a 59-22 loss to Lakeshore in the District 8-4A opener at home Thursday.
The teams exchanged punts to begin and then the scoring started.
Jacob Bernard returned Franklinton’s punt 52 yards to the 3. On the drive’s second play, Joshua Hayes took a snap and scored from the 1. Josh Massa, who hit all seven of his extra points and nailed a field goal, was good on the point after to make it a 7-0 game with 9:23 left in the first quarter. Hayes ran for 64 yards and caught two passes for 97 more.
Franklinton responded quickly.
The Demons began at the 20 after a touchback and Tahj Magee, who ran for 162 yards and threw for 111 yards and a touchdown, started left, went right and found the open field. Magee would not be caught and took it the distance for the 80-yard touchdown. Raif Branch, who converted both of his extra point attempts, split the uprights to tie the game at 7-7 at the 9:08 mark.
The Titans then scored the next 28 points.
Bernard scored on a 42-yard run from an option pitch with 7:44 left to give Lakeshore a 14-7 lead after Massa’s extra point.
Franklinton punted on its next possession. Bernard fielded the kick on one bounce and ran it back for a 60-yard touchdown return. Massa’s extra point put Lakeshore up 21-7 with 4:55 left. Bernard finished with 49 yards on the ground and he caught four passes for 112 yards.
It stayed 21-7 until the second quarter, when Chris Penton threw to Willie Foster for a 13-yard touchdown. Massa’s extra point made the score 28-7. Penton threw for 276 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also ran for 58 yards.
Franklinton turned the ball over on downs at Lakeshore’s 41. On the fourth play, Penton connected with Massa for a 20-yard score. Massa also hit the extra point, making it 35-7 with 6:10 to go.
Franklinton punted and then KeAndre Martin intercepted a pass, setting Franklinton up with good field position at Lakeshore’s 18. From there, Tahj Magee hit Rakerian Conerly on third down for a 19-yard score. Branch’s extra point trimmed the deficit to 35-14 with 3:43 left in the first half. Conerly caught five passes for 37 yards. He also intercepted a pass at the end of the first half.
Lakeshore countered with a 41-yard field goal by Massa to make it 38-14 at halftime.
Franklinton got it to a two-possession game with 7:29 left in the third quarter when Conerly ran the ball in from the 2, capping off a 12-play, 80-yard drive to open the second half. Magee converted the two-point conversion and the Demons trailed 38-22 with 7:29 left in the third quarter.
Lakeshore scored the game’s final 21 points.
Jalen Willis scored on a 10-yard run with 3:29 left in the third quarter. Hayes threw a 1-yard jump pass to Tylan Driver on the first play of the fourth quarter and David Brown tallied on a 3-yard run with 4:37 left in the game. Massa hit all three extra points to close out the scoring at 59-22.
“We don’t have answers right now. We’re small up front. We’ve moved people around. We’ve got to slant. We’ve got to blitz. We’re struggling to stop people defensively right now,” Franklinton coach Stephen Burris said. “Offensively, we’re putting a lot of pressure on the team. You’ve got to score every time you’ve got the ball and that’s tough to do. That’s kind of where we stand right now. They’re a good team, but they’re not that good. They’re not 59-22 (better than us). We’re just not stopping anybody. We’re struggling.”
Lagarian Bell had four catches for 44 yards.
Trequan Charles ran for 33 yards and caught two passes for 21 yards.
Franklinton is 2-6 this season. The Demons continue District 8-4A play Friday with a home game against Salmen. It will be the second meeting between the two teams. Salmen won the first meeting, 34-33, but that game did not count toward the district standings.
Lakeshore is 8-0 and will host Pearl River on Friday.