MANDEVILLE — Things did not go well for Franklinton, as the Demons lost to Lakeshore, 52-7, in the teams’ District 8-4A opener Friday night at Lakeshore.
“We struggled to get our footing early I thought offensively,” Franklinton coach Jonathan Barber said. “Defensively, I thought we did some good things, but there was a couple of missed assignments on big plays that really hurt us early in the game. That was kind of disappointing.
“I felt like we lacked a little bit of intensity early on and that’s frustrating, but we did some good things later on the game. We were able to clean up some of the mistakes, but when you come out flat against a quality opponent like this and get down big, it’s tough to make those comebacks.”
Franklinton got off to a rough start, as the Titans scored the game’s first 13 points.
Lakeshore took the opening drive 60 yards and scored when Parker Orvin connected with Spencer Jordan on a 35-yard touchdown pass, as Jordan made a leaping catch in the end zone. It was Orvin’s first of four touchdown passes. The extra point hit the right upright and was no good.
Franklinton punted and Lakeshore went 51 yards and scored when Jacob Bernard tallied on a 2-yard run, his first of three total touchdowns. Jack Gettys made the point after to make it 13-0 with 5:30 left in the first quarter.
The Demons responded quickly.
The kickoff went into the end zone for a touchback.
On the first play from scrimmage, Mike Martin took a handoff, broke into the open field and ran 80 yards to pay dirt. Keaton Catrett split the uprights on the extra point, trimming the lead to 13-7 at the 5:17 mark.
Franklinton struggled after that, as Lakeshore scored the game’s final 39 points.
Lakeshore extended the lead to 15-7 on a sack in the end zone with 2:33 left. It was 15-7 after the first quarter.
Lakeshore was in the middle of the ensuing drive when the second quarter started, and they eventually scored on that possession with Bernard scoring from the 5. Gettys’ extra point made it 22-7 with 10:32 left in the first half.
Franklinton punted and Lakeshore added to its lead with Orvin throwing to Bernard for a 20-yard score and Getty added the extra point for a 29-7 contest with 8:26 to go.
The Titans scored 16 points over the final 2:52 of the first half to make it 45-7 at halftime.
Orvin threw to Jake Smirolodo on an 8-yard touchdown pass. Gettys’ extra point put the score at 36-7.
Franklinton lined up to punt on its next possession with the ball at its 24, but the snap was over the punter’s head. The ball was loose and near the goal line. Several players were near the ball. It appeared that even had the Demons’ punter been able to gain possession, he probably would not have been able to get off a punt or he would have been tackled inside the 10, so he alertly kicked the ball out of the end zone for a safety.
The final tally of the first half was on a 1-yard run by Christian Westcott. Gettys made the extra point with 16.3 second left for the 45-7 halftime score.
Neither team scored in the third quarter and game’s final score was on a 35-yard screen pass from Orvin to Maximus Lowery 18 seconds into the fourth quarter. Gettys made the extra point for the 52-7 final.
Martin tallied 97 yards and the touchdown.
Jasper LaSalle threw for 49 yards.
Shayland Allen caught two passes for 35 yards.
Duke Bell was next with a catch for 16 yards.
Hayden Cotton led the Demons in tackles with six.
Kian Conerly, Jayonne Hart, Grant Thomas and Derek Shows all had five stops.
This was the Demons’ third loss in their last four games. The losses have been against St. Thomas More (7-1), Neville (5-2) and Lakeshore (8-0). All three are ranked in the Class 4A top 10 poll by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.
Lakeshore is second, St. Thomas More is fifth and Neville is ninth.
Neville’s losses are against Ruston (5-3) and West Monroe (8-0). St. Thomas More’s loss is to Catholic of Baton Rouge (7-1).
Franklinton will face Salmen on the road Friday in District 8-4A play. This is the second meeting between the two teams. Franklinton won the first one, 43-29, but that game did not count toward the district standings.
Salmen is coming into the game following a 28-10 loss to Pearl River.
This was Lakeshore’s 20th-straight regular season win, with their last loss coming two years ago, 27-21, to Franklinton.