Franklin County holds off Covington Catholic in Thriller, Advances to 4A State Finals
The No. 6 Franklin County Flyers (13-0) punched a ticket to the 4A state finals with an exciting 14-10 home victory over the No. 7 Covington Catholic Colonels (11-3) on a frigid Black Friday night in Frankfort, KY.
After a Flyer punt for a touchback with only 1:20 remaining in the game, the Colonels drove 74 yards before running out of time. The Flyers came up with a crucial stop inside the 5-yard line when Delano Collins forced a fumble as time expired in the KSR Game of the Week.
First Quarter
Covington Catholic opened with a methodical 10-minute, 18-play drive, but came up just short on 4th-and-five at the Flyer 13-yard line.
The Colonels’ defense forced a 3-and-out to get the ball back at the Flyer 48-yard line.
Second Quarter
Dylan Gaiser opened the quarter with a 36-yard rush inside the Flyer red zone. The Colonels eventually had first-and-goal on the one but lost seven yards on a bad snap. Two plays later, the Flyers came up with another 4th-down stop, courtesy of a big hit from Elesius Robinson.
The Colonels got the ball right back when Tate Kruer recovered a Flyer fumble on the Franklin County 17-yard line. This time they decided to kick on 4th down and cashed in with a 29-yard field goal by Ryan Urti to go up 3-0.
Third Quarter
Franklin County’s offense woke up after halftime.
Knox Barrett completed a 38-yard pass to Robinson. Jack Oldham’s 35-yard run got them on the doorstep and Landon Cottrell capped off the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.
After the teams traded punts, Covington Catholic put together a 15-play scoring drive. Cash Harney converted a 4th-and-short with his legs, added a 29-yard run to the Flyer 5-yard line, and ran it in the end zone two plays later.
Fourth Quarter
Franklin County got good field position on the kickoff and then went to the ground and pound game. LeDarrius Simmons had several wrecking ball plays where he trucked the defense to gain extra yards. Jayquan Crawford ended the drive with a six-yard touchdown run to make it 14-10 Flyers.
Covington Catholic elected to go for it on 4th down in their own territory and converted with a Harney to Kruer completion over the middle.
The Colonels went for it again on 4th down on their own 47 but Jacob Olds tipped the pass attempt to give Franklin County back the ball with 2:47 left.
Covington Catholic forced a punt to get the ball back on their own 20 with 1:20 left. With no timeouts, Harney orchestrated an impressive drive with several completed passes near the sidelines including an incredible 33-yard catch by Kruer at the Flyer 13-yard line. The Flyer defense came up big again, though, to seal the win.
Stats
Harney had 31 carries for 144 yards and added 84 yards through the air. The junior was instrumental in the Colonels’ win over nationally ranked Boyle County last week.
Franklin County relied on a stable of running backs with Oldham leading the way with eight carries for 61 yards. Several backs stepped up after the season-ending injury to star running back Christian Moore in the regular season finale. Luke Toothaker made several crucial tackles for the Flyers.
Franklin County held Covington Catholic to 10 points on five red zone trips.
Next Up
Franklin County advances to the 4A state finals against No. 1 Paducah Tilghman, on Friday, December 6 at 8:00 PM EST at Kroger Field.
The Flyers are in the state finals for the second time in school history. They fell one play short of a championship in 2020 against Boyle County.
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