Tag: Springfield Central
Franklin Falls To Springfield Central In Offensive Showdown
SHREWSBURY, Mass. — Springfield Central’s offense delivered punch after punch all throughout its D1 State Semifinal clash with Franklin.
The Panthers kept getting back up.
The Golden Eagles and its high-flying offense came as advertised, scoring eight touchdowns with over 500 yards of total offense. Central scored on five straight drives in the first half and then three straight in the second half. A lot of teams would have folded, at least at some point.
But not this Franklin team. Not these Panthers.
The top-seeded Panthers had four first half touchdowns of their own and three more in the second, cutting the deficit to just three at 44-41 in the fourth quarter.
There was no denying the Golden Eagles though, who were nearly flawless on the offensive side of the ball. Central junior quarterback William Watson (20-for-23, 398 yards, five touchdowns) needed just four plays to respond, tossing his fourth touchdown of the day less than two minutes later and the Golden Eagles went on to secure a 60-49 win and a spot in the Division 1 State Final.
“That’s a great team,” Franklin head coach Eian Bain said of his opposition. “I’m so proud of our kids, their preparation, and just how much they care. It was a tough game plan that we tried to put in…we had to be as perfect as we could and part of that was putting in a great effort because we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Our kids believe in what we do and they competed for four quarters.
“This is the time of year that you want to be playing. There’s a lot of teams at home that wish they were playing still. Whether you win or lose today, as long as you put your best foot forward and compete your butt off — and I think we did that. That’s what we want, just to play meaningful games in November. We’re one of the last handful teams in the state and that’s something to be proud of.”
Central just had too many weapons for Watson to work with. Even when the Panthers had great coverage, Watson made things happen with his feet, either taking it himself or moving around long enough until someone got open.
Joseph Griffin had nine catches for 186 yards and two touchdowns, Tykarryon Daniels hauled in six passes for 98 yards and a score, and freshman Mattias Barbour grabbed three second half passes for 65 yards and a touchdown.
But anytime it looked like the Eagles might pull away, Franklin responded.
Central had a 30-14 lead midway through the second but the Panthers quickly answered three minutes later. The Golden Eagles made it 38-21 with just 1:59 left in the first half before the Panthers answered 90 seconds later. Even down 44-34 in the second half, faced with a fourth down, Franklin answered the call and made it a one-score game.
“We knew there was a really good chance they would score some points today…we just had to ignore the scoreboard,” Bain said. “It’s hard to say that…it’s always our philosophy, even if you’re up, or it’s tight, or you’re behind, you have to stick with your plan. But we really had to do that today. The game could sway really quick on a mistake but the difference was their offense didn’t really make any mistakes.”
Franklin’s ideal start quickly soured as Central scored less than two minutes into the game. The Panthers’ defense forced a three-and-out on the first series of the game but two plays into their own first drive, senior Cory Coward ripped the ball free and returned it into the red zone. Two plays later, Tariq Thomas (12 carries, 51 yards) got around the edge for a 6-0 lead.
The Panthers responded with a 13-play, 73-yard drive — converting three third downs along the way — as senior quarterback Jared Arone (37-for-50, 315 yards, four touchdowns) sent Shane Kindred (11 catches, 138 yards, touchdown) in motion from left to right before firing it to him for an 8-yard touchdown and a 7-6 lead with 5:40 left in the first quarter.
After a 33-yard pass on second down, Central was back in front after just four plays. Watson fired a 16-yard pass to Daniels while Kymari Latney ran the two-point conversion.
Back-and-forth they went as Franklin answered just five plays later as senior back Mack Gulla (18 carries, 132 yards, two touchdowns) broke free for a 41-yard scamper up the left side to make it 14-14.
Even with less than three minutes later in the quarter, that was enough for Central who scored despite a holding call. The Golden Eagles had a 42-yard touchdown taken off the board because of a hold but on the next play, Watson dropped a 54-yard dime to Griffin for a 22-14 lead after the first quarter.
Franklin had its only three-and-out of the game and its lone punt, a great boot off the foot of Garrett Portesi (5-for-6 on extra points). His punt pinned Central at its own 11-yard line and the Panthers’ defense got two stops including a tackle from Nick Quintina on one play and a combined stop from Cullen Pek and Jack Marino, forcing the Golden Eagles into 3rd and 9, but Watson found Griffin for 45 yards to move the sticks. Seven plays later, Thomas rushed in from four yards out for a 30-14 lead.
The Panthers went with some razzle-dazzle on its next play with receiver Will Tracey (16 catches, 131 yards, three touchdowns) passing it to Arone for 26 yards. Four plays later, the duo connected again with Arone tossing it to Tracey for a 6-yard touchdown to make it 30-21.
There was only 2:57 left in the half but in this game, that was enough time for both teams to score.
Thomas scored from 24 yards out to cap a 3-play, 57-yard drive for the Golden Eagles to go up 38-21 with 1:59 to go.
“I think the biggest thing is what we had to try and maximize every possession we had and we had to try and take one or two away from them on defense, and we were close,” Bain said. “We both only punted once, we knew it was going to be that type of game. We drove down the field multiple times, ran a lot of plays, set a lot of things up. As far as executing the game plan, our offense certainly did for the most part. Defensively, we had our hands full…we knew that going in.
“We needed to get a play or two and have a break go our way. In some ways we were close and in some ways we weren’t very close. We knew it was going to be a dogfight and that we would have to play near perfect. We played pretty well but just shy of perfect.”
The next stretch was key for the Panthers, who somehow got 11 plays off in less than two minutes. Arone hit Kindred for a pair of first downs on the drive as the clock ticked under a minute to go. Even a 15-yard spot holding call that pushed the Panthers back to the 40-yard line couldn’t slow the offense. Arone hit Kindred for 20 yards and then 19 yards, the latter a heck of a catch down to the 1-yard line. From there, Gulla bullied his way in to make it 38-27.
Franklin received the second half kickoff and orchestrated the exact drive it needed. Arone hit Tracey over the middle to move the sticks on fourth down and then hooked up with Arone for 25 yards. Two plays later, Arone floated one to the corner of the end zone and Tracey won the battle for a 20-yard touchdown as the Panthers pulled within four, 38-34, with 8:28 left in the third.
The momentum was short-lived as Central responded seven plays later. On second down, the Panthers stuffed the run for a 2-yard loss with help from Jay Gulla, Emmett Lackey, and Jonathan Martins, to force the Golden Eagles into 3rd and 10 but Watson connected with Barbour over the middle for an 11-yard touchdown.
“They’re always attacking,” Bain said of the Central offense, which faced just five third downs but converted four of them. “They might throw three straight incompletions and it’s fourth and 10 and then they just hit a big one. They have a lot of faith in the guys that they have, as do we…but it doesn’t matter what the situation is, they just go. And that creates issues for sure. Some teams you get into third and long and you’re going to get off the field but today it didn’t matter if it was third and a mile, they’re capable.”
There was no quit in the Panthers, who overcame a 9-yard loss on first down of its next series to score and make it a three-point game. Back-to-back catches from Tracey moved the sticks, and the combo of Arone to Tracey converted a fourth down on the first play of the fourth quarter. Three plays later, Gulla got around the edge on the left side and Portesi drilled the point after — helped by a great hold from Jase Lyons on a high snap — and it was 44-41 with 10:32 to play.
There was a big swing of the next two minutes. First, Watson hit Daniels over the middle for a 33-yard touchdown, plus a two-point rush from Latney. And on Franklin’s second play of the ensuing drive, the ball popped free and the Golden Eagles recovered. One play later, Watson hit Griffin — who made a spectacular catch in the end zone — for a 35-yard touchdown and a 60-41 edge with 8:18 to go.
Franklin answered one final time, marching 75 yards on 10 plays to get into the end zone. Kindred had a pair of first down catches, Gulla broke free for 13 yards and a first, and Arone hit Tracey on third and goal from 5 yards out to make it 60-49 with 4:12 to go.
Central was able to run out the clock the rest of the way.
Franklin football drops to 9-1 on the season but has one more game left as the Panthers will take on rival King Philip for the Kelley-Rex division title on Thanksgiving.
Girls Basketball Photos: Franklin vs. Springfield Central
Franklin Drops Overtime Heartbreaker In State Semis
WORCESTER, Mass. – Springfield Central is headed back to the MIAA D1 State Championship for the third straight year, but it wasn’t without a hell of a fight from the Franklin girls basketball team first.
The Panthers went toe-to-toe with the three-time West sectional champions, forcing overtime with a late bucket before bowing out of the tournament with a 64-57 loss at the hands of the Golden Eagles in the D1 State Semifinals.
“When you’re this close, you’re a game away, they are definitely disappointed,” said Franklin head coach John Leighton. “For the girls, I think in the next 24 hours, the sense of accomplishment will come back, but right now, it stinks. It’s raw because it just happened and was overtime. It’s one thing if you lose by 20, you know the season is done. But not here when you’re battling until the last 12 seconds. It’ll hurt tonight, but it’ll get better.”
For the second straight game, junior Megan O’Connell scored in the final seconds, this time a layup with 6.1 seconds left to tie the game at 48-48 to force overtime.
“We have a lot of faith in her,” Leighton said of O’Connell. “Her confidence has grown so much. It was a similar play to what we ran the other night, just with Ali or Meg with an inside-out option, and the lane was there so I give her credit. The kids have really grown confidence-wise. We’ve been in a lot of close games and come out ahead and I think that gives them a lot of confidence. We celebrated last game and then buried it but I think that confidence at the end helped us.”
Franklin carried that momentum into the extra period as O’Connell (16 points, 17 rebounds) drove to the basket on the opening possession to give the Panthers the lead, and two trips later, senior Shannon Grey drained a corner three for a 53-48 lead with 2:49 left.
But the Golden Eagles refused to go away, answering right away with a triple from Selenya Gonzalez (21 points). Franklin’s Ali Brigham (26 points, 25 rebounds) converted an offensive rebound to give Franklin a four-point cushion and then blocked a shot to give the Panthers possession back with under two minutes to go.
But a missed three resulted in two free throws for Jaliena Sanchez (34 points, eight rebounds) and then a turnover resulted in two free throws for Rosheda Guthrie, knotting the score at 55-55.
Turnovers hurt the Panthers all night, and their 19th and final one of the game led to one of the biggest plays of the game. After two misses, Franklin came down with another offensive rebound but a pass to the paint was picked off by Sanchez and she raced the length of the court and converted while being fouled, hitting the free throw to put Springfield Central up 58-55 with under a minute to play.
“There’s going to be plenty of swings throughout the game,” Leighton said. “I thought they had a couple of good stops, got us to turn it over a couple of times. And Sanchez was just on fire at the end, she couldn’t miss from the foul line. She did a lot of stuff, she finished strong and I thought she was the biggest difference in the game, especially in the second half and in overtime.”
Brigham answered on the other end with a pair of free throws but Sanchez went back to the line, where she finished 17-for-21, and sank another two to push the lead back to three, 60-57. Franklin was unable to convert its chance and Sanchez added four more from the line in the final seconds to ice the game.
It was back-and-forth for the majority of regulation, with neither team grabbing a significant lead at any point. Springfield Central jumped out to a 6-0 lead to start the game but Franklin settled in and took a 13-11 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Buckets from O’Connell and Brigham midway through the second helped the Panthers build a brief five-point lead at 19-14 but a 7-1 swing from the Golden Eagles put Springfield Central ahead. The Panthers got points from Bea Bonhus and Erin Quaile, plus four straight from Brigham to take a 28-26 lead into halftime.
Sanchez worked her way to the line early and often in the third, hitting five free throws but Brigham answered with a three-point play, a rare shooting foul called against the Golden Eagles while defending Brigham.
A four-point play from Sanchez — a made three plus another foul — gave Springfield Central a 37-33 edge and the momentum but the Panthers stole it back with a 10-0 run to end the quarter. Brigham scored the first four then O’Connell scored three straight baskets for a 43-37 edge heading into the fourth.
Franklin was held to just one point — a free throw from freshman Olivia Quinn — for the first six minutes of the fourth. The Panthers finished the game just 2-for-18 from three-point range.
“We’d love to have a couple more of those [threes],” Leighton said. “And the thing is, I thought we took good shots, we weren’t forcing them, they just weren’t falling. Not that we’ve been living off the three all year, but they were urging us to shoot it and we had to take the open shots. “
Quaile sank two free throws with 1:40 left to get Franklin within one before O’Connell’s tying basket late.
“This team is historic,” Leighton said. “They went further than any other Franklin girls team has ever gone. This is a cohesive group, which is really special. I’d love to take credit for it but I have nothing to do with it. These girls love each other.”
Franklin girls basketball finishes the season at 21-4.
Franklin Returning To State Final With Win Over Central
By Joe Clark, HockomockSports.com Student Reporter
WORCESTER, Mass. – When Franklin took on Springfield Central at the DCU Center in Worcester a year ago, Chris Edgehill scored eight points in 20 seconds to tie the game and lead the Panthers to an overtime win to clinch a berth in the state championship.
This year, when the two teams met again on Thursday night, no such heroics were needed.
Franklin played a near-perfect game en route to a 62-43 win over the Golden Eagles, handing Central its first loss of the season.
“This game was a little bit more comfortable than last year, we were watching guys cry as we put ourselves together to come back and win last year, so this game I thought we had a much more complete performance from start to finish, I was pretty confident in what we were doing out there,” said Franklin coach CJ Neely.
Franklin started out the game on a 15-4 run and finished the first quarter up 21-10 behind two threes from Matt Elias (14 points) and a strong start from senior Paul Mahon, who had eight of his ten points in the first frame. Elias hit another just under a minute into the third quarter, putting the Franklin crowd into a frenzy.
“The threes early were great, he’s been big for us all year, and he kind of hit a slump for a couple games and wasn’t spacing the floor the way he has been, and I think that’s what opens things up for Chris [Edgehill], and hitting those early gave him a lot of confidence,” Neely said on the early threes from Elias.
Springfield Central chipped away at the Franklin lead in the second quarter, behind Levi Grady-White (12 points, three rebounds), who came off the bench to give the Golden Eagles a spark with eight points in the second quarter.
With just over three minutes left in the second quarter, Elias, who had already hit three trifectas for Franklin, looked to take an elbow to the head and was removed from the game. He would miss the rest of the quarter, but returned to start the second half. Springfield Central would go on a 7-1 run with Elias out of the game, cutting Franklin’s lead to six at 29-23 heading into the locker room at halftime.
To start the third quarter, Grady-White and Jalen Samuels (13 points, eight rebounds) traded baskets, but after Grady-White cut the lead to four with 5:38 left in the third quarter, Edgehill buried a three from the corner to put Franklin up 34-27.
“The shot looked off honestly, shooter’s bounce is what they call that, but definitely whenever I’m hitting shots I’m always gaining confidence, and my team gains confidence in me,” Edgehill said.
That confidence was on full display, as after being called for a charge, Edgehill (18 points, four rebounds, six assists) had a beautiful spin in the lane and finished with a layup for two points that extended Franklin’s lead to 36-27. A putback by Samuels with just under a minute left in the third quarter put Franklin up 42-30, a lead they held until the fourth quarter.
Springfield Central opened the fourth with a 6-0 run that included a three from Josiah Green (nine points), and a bucket from Anthony Kelley (nine points), who spent most of the game battling foul trouble. With Franklin holding onto a six-point lead, Elias struck again from beyond the arc to put Franklin up 45-36.
The Panthers didn’t look back from there, closing the game on a 17-7 run to finish off a 62-43 win and to clinch a berth to the MIAA Division 1 State Final for the second year in a row.
When they arrive at the MassMutual Center on Saturday night for the state final, it will be a familiar face on the opposite bench, as the Panthers will take on the Mansfield Hornets for the third time this season to renew their rivalry on the biggest stage yet.
“It speaks to the strength of our league, both of us have gone back and forth over the past how many years, splitting games in the regular season, both guys kind of getting things done on some nights and looking much better than the other team, and then going back and having the same thing happen on the other side, so it speaks to the Hockomock and the strength of what we’re bringing to the table every night,” Neely said about playing the Hornets. “It’s kind of like Duke-North Carolina in the National Championship game, you see what you can do, and obviously, we both know each other like the back of our hands, so it will be interesting.”
“It’s a dream come true,” Edgehill said about the state final matchup. “There’s nothing better than in the regular season going then going to that Mansfield gym, and it’s going to be a different atmosphere obviously in that big facility we’re playing in, but it’s the rivalry between Franklin and Mansfield that as a kid you’re just like, ‘I want to be apart of that,’ and it shows how good the Hock is compared to other leagues.”
“That’s going to be a great game, knowing our fans are huge and their fans are huge, it’s going to be a great environment,” Samuels said about facing Mansfield for the third time this season.
Mansfield’s (26-2) road to the state final this year included wins over Newton South, BC High, Newton North, Brockton, and Everett.
Franklin boys basketball (23-3) beat Lincoln-Sudbury, Natick, Algonquin, and Springfield Central on their way to their second straight state final appearance.
Franklin Advances To Title Game Behind Wild Comeback
By Joe Clark, HockomockSports.com Student Reporter
WORCESTER, Mass. – You had to see it to believe it.
After Springfield Central’s Maickel DeJesus made two free throws to put the Eagles up 51-43 with just 20 seconds left in the game, fans started filing out of the DCU Center in Worcester. It’s a move they’ll likely regret.
On the ensuing Franklin possession, freshman Chris Edgehill (12 points) hit a an off balance three from the corner to cut the lead to 51-46, and then DeJesus immediately stepped out of bounds receiving the inbounds pass. Edgehill got fouled before Franklin even inbounded the ball, and hit both shots and then Springfield Central tipped their inbounds pass out of bounds after initially being deflected by Franklin’s Paul Mahon.
Down three with eight seconds left, Franklin went right back to Edgehill, who buried a three from almost the exact same spot as his first one to tie the game at 51 all.
With no timeout called from either side, Springfield Central hurried down the court to try to win it, and after the initial attempt by De Jesus missed, Jashidi Pressley was there for the follow and hit a floater to give Springfield Catholic what appeared to be a 53-51 win, but while the Eagles stormed the court and pig piled on top of Pressley, the referees conferred and waved off the basket, sending the game to overtime.
“We had to hustle the guys in and be like, look we got a game to play, they can be excited but we have to focus the next four minutes if we want to get it done,” Franklin coach CJ Neely said about the crazy finish.
In overtime, Jashidi Pressley (nine points) started out the scoring by hitting two free throws, but from that point on it was pretty much all Franklin, as Jalen Samuels answered back with a three and after a stop on the other end, Connor Peterson’s putback put the Panthers up 56-53 with a minute left to play.
Ahmad Conner then missed two free throws for Springfield, and Hason Ward went one for two at the line to cut the lead to 56-54 with 24 seconds left, but Franklin captain Paul Mahon — in his first game back from a concussion (12 points, seven rebounds off the bench) — iced the game with two free throws and a defensive rebound down the other end.
Peterson hit two free throws with just six seconds left, and those two would be the final points of the game as Franklin went on to win 60-54 to clinch their place in the D1 State Championship game Saturday against Cambridge Rindge and Latin.
“I actually channelled my inner Julian Edelman [at the end of regulation], I said it’s gonna be a hell of a story, and we just kept saying that at every time out, that it’s gonna be a hell of a story,” Neely said.
Heading into the 4th quarter, with both teams tied at 34, Springfield raced out to a 40-35 lead, but Franklin senior Josh Macchi (eight points, seven rebounds) had back to back conventional three point plays, putting Franklin up 41-40.
Springfield Central responded with a 9-0 run to grab 49-41 behind strong play from Maikel DeJesus (18 points, including eight in the fourth quarter) and Justin Feleciano (16 points, five in the fourth). It was a strong defensive effort from both sides as well, as Hason Ward had six blocks for Springfield Central and Franklin held a high scoring Central team (they put up 100 points in a game twice this year) to just 54 points, their season low, an even more impressive feat considering the game went into overtime.
As if Edgehill’s heroics at the end of regulation could get even more impressive, he wasn’t playing at 100%.
“He woke up yesterday with a 102 degree fever, told me, ‘don’t worry, i’ll be good’ and he always seems to make big plays in big moments, he’s a big time player,” Neely said on Edgehill.
The third quarter were a back and forth affair, as Springfield Central’s 6-0 lead to start the game would be the largest either team would hold throughout the first three frames.
DeJesus scored the first bucket of the game on a fast break immediately after SC won the tip, and Jashidi Pressley (nine points) would score on the next Springfield possession, followed up by another DeJesus bucket. Connor Peterson (15 points) then hit two free throws as part of a nine point first quarter for him which kept the Panthers in the game, as they trailed 14-13 after one.
In the second quarter, backup guard Justin Feleciano would be the only source of offense for Springfield Central, as he had eight of his 16 points in the frame, and with Peterson battling foul trouble, other guys had to step up and they did, as four points from Mahon, three from Samuels (ten points), and two from Macchi would bring both teams to a 22-22 deadlock at the half.
The third quarter too would end at a 34-34 stalemate, as Mahon paced Franklin with six in the quarter off of two threes, and DeJesus would drop in six of his own in the 3rd as the two guards battled back and forth for much of the quarter.
For Franklin boys basketball, they now have to look ahead to Cambridge, the defending D1 State Champs. Cambridge went 22-0 in the regular season and beat Lawrence, Lowell, Central Catholic, and Needham to advance to the state finals this year.