Football - Franklin Regional vs Latrobe

September 06, 2019

Second Half Surge Seals Franklin Regional's 42-21 Win over Latrobe

A shaky start by Franklin Regional's kick coverage unit allowed Latrobe to offset two early Panthers' touchdowns, but Franklin Regional settled down and took control of the game, pulling away in the fourth quarter to beat the Wildcats 42-21 on a cloudy night in Murrysville.

After Latrobe took the opening kickoff and went three-and-out, the Panthers drove for the opening touchdown, capped off by a Trevor Brncic to Brandon Zanotto touchdown pass with 6:44 left in the first quarter. Anthony DiFalco, who was 6-for-6 on PAT kicks on the night, booted it through for a 7-0 Panthers lead.

It was a lead that only lasted 14 seconds as Latrobe's Kameron Stevens returned the Franklin Regional kickoff 97 yards to tie the game, following the PAT.

The teams went into the second quarter tied until Zac Gordon ran around right end into the endzone to put the Panthers back on top 14-7. But as before, Kameron Stevens made sure it was a short lead, returning his second kickoff of the night all the way to the endzone, and the teams were knotted at 14 with 10:48 left in the second.

The Panthers broke the tie with 3:52 left in the first half as Justin Johns powered up the middle from 3 yards out to score, and Franklin Regional would take their 21-14 lead into the halftime locker room.

Zac Gordon added his second touchdown run on as he sprinted around right end with 9:14 left in the third quarter, and the Panthers were up 28-14.

The Wildcats closed the gap at 2:35 of the third when Braden Crosby connected with Stevens for a touchdown to make it 28-21. But Latrobe would get no closer as the Panthers stepped up on offense and the defense held the Cats scoreless the rest of the way.

A pair of 4th quarter Franklin Regional TDs, a Colton Johns run at 11:24 in the 4th, and Zac Gordon's 15-yard left - then right - run with 4:31 to play rounded out the scoring for the both teams.

Franklin Regional's record goes to 2-0 in conference, 2-0 overall. They travel to West Mifflin next week for a non-conference game. Latrobe has a 0-1 conference record, 1-2 overall, and they'll host Gateway next week.

Watch this link for a full gallery of action photos available for purchase or sharing the day after the game.

Keywords: boys, football, franklin regional, high school, latrobe, westmoreland county