Football - Franklin Regional vs Bethel Park

September 24, 2021

Franklin Regional Falls to Bethel Park 28-13

Franklin Regional and Bethel Park, each sporting a 1-3 record coming in, lined up in Murrysville with the opportunity for one of the teams to turn their season's misfortunes around in their final non-conference games of he season. When the clock hit zeroes at the end of four quarters, it was the visiting Black Hawks going home with smiles on their faces as they defeated the Panthers 28-13 on Friday, September 24 at Panther Stadium.

Neither team had much success early on as drives ended quickly and punts were exchanged. It was Bethel Park that struck paydirt first when Max Blanc hit Jack Kirchner with a 42-yard touchdown pass with 4:35 left in the 1st quarter. Cody Geddes booted the PAT and the Black Hawks led 7-0.

The Panthers got on the board with 35 seconds left in the first half when Connor Donnelly connected with Maddox Morrison for a 13-yard touchdown pass. The PAT kick failed and the Panthers trailed 7-6 when the half ended.

Bethel Park got the second half kickoff and needed less than 4 minutes to drive for a touchdown, capped by Troy Volpatti's 5 yard run. Geddes added the point after kick and the Blackhawks led 14-6 at the 8:04 mark.

The Black Hawks next score came as Joe Thimons was the recipient of a 7-yard pass from Blanc, with the Geddes kick bumping the score to 21-6 at 3:08 in the third.

The Panthers moved the ball into a first-and-goal situation on their next drive. Three failed attempts brought the Panthers to 4th-and-goal from the 2 yard line. where it looked liked the Panthers had fallen short as the Black Hawks intercepted an errant pass and returned it the length of the field for an apparent touchdown. But the play was called back on a pass interference call in the end zone and the Panthers had new life. On first-and-goal from the 1 yard line, Caden Smith punched it in with a dive for the goal line on a reverse, making the score 21-13 after Joseph Bayne's kick at :33 left in the third.

Volpatti's second touchdown run from the 3 yard line at 9:53 of the fourth, with the Geddes PAT, closed out the scoring. Franklin Regional couldn't get a successful drive going and the Black Hawks were holding the ball when time expired, sending them home victorious.

Franklin Regional falls to 1-4 and opens their conference schedule next week at Connellsville. Bethel Park improves to 2-3 and will host West Allegheny next week in their conference opener.

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Keywords: bethel park, boys, football, franklin regional, high school, westmoreland county