Canadian Pulls Out Magic to Defeat Franklin
-
Updated: December 17, 2020
Class 3A Division II State Championship Game
ARLINGTON - The Canadian Wildcats (14-1) and Franklin Lions (12-2-0) faced off at AT&T Stadium to see who would take home the 3A Division II crown. Canadian is making their 7th appearance in the final game and attempt take home their 5th championship. Franklin is 0-1 in title game appearances looking for their first win.
Game Simulation
To get ready for the real thing, LSG played the game with the board game Friday Night Legends using teams created with their real 2020 statistics. When we used the board game, it was Franklin's ground and pound offense that outlasted Canadian's speedy spread offense in a close one, 27-24.
The Real Game
1Q
The Wildcats took the opening kickoff to their 25 and wasted no time getting Hayze Hufstedler involved in the game. A quick reverse to and a pass to the flat at a frenetic pace seemed to catch Franklin off guard. The defense stiffened and a missed pass over the middle left them at 4th and 7 and their first punt.
Bryson Washington got the Slot-T of Franklin off to a good start and Seth Spiller dove in the middle for the first down. A false start slowed Franklin a bit and several more misdirection runs left them needing to do their first punt.
Canadian started their second possession of the day at their 39. A pass to Twister Kelton and run by Culwell got them going right away. Once again the fast start was nullified by a couple negative plays and forced another Wildcat punt.
With the quarter half over, the defense were the story of the game. Franklin looked to change with the running game. The swarming Wildcat defense again held the Lions and forced a 4th and 3 punt. The Wildcats take to the field for their third drive set on changing their result. A trick play with a halfback toss back to Culwell missed a wide open Gary Anderson. The next play, Culwell's pass to the post route caught Anderson in full stride for 65 yards and the first score of the game. The kick by Edgar Salazar continued to add to his state record most PATs (336.) 7-0 Canadian 4:12
Franklin took their next possession intent on bringing some momentum back their way. But, the Wildcat D just kept swarming all over the Lions and forced a 4th and 10 punt.
The Wildcats looked to build on their advantage and got back to work with the NASCAR high-speed offense. A bobbled screen pass threatened to stop the progress but Culwell scrambled away from the 2nd down pass run and got a first down. Culwell found Hufstedler with a step on the duo of Franklin defenders but the ball fell out of his hands as contact was made. Two defensive penalties left Canadian accepting the pass interference and 15 yards. A quick 18 yard Culwell run and another Hufstedler dive for 10 saw the Wildcats with 1st and goal at the 7. Hayze took it to the 2 before Jake Krehbiel got caught behind the line of scrimmage. A four yard pass to Anderson on the final play of the quarter extended the Canadian lead. 14-0 Canadian 0:00
2Q
Reeling from the lightning attack, Franklin once again looked for ways to break through the powerful Canadian defense. This team that has run for more than 200 yards in every game this year began the drive with a bomb. A 59 yard pass to Malcolm Murphy. 14-7 Canadian 11:43
Twister Kelton returned the kickoff to midfield but a holding call caused them to start at their own 32. A reverse to Anderson was sniffed out by the Lions so a pass to Anderson was the next play. Kelton dropped the next pass leaving Canadian facing 4th and 3 and punting all the way down to the Franklin 11.
The Wildcat defense again swarmed and Hufstedler sacked the QB at the 5. Bryson Washington converted the 3rd and 16 into a big gain and first down. A chop block killed the drive and zapped the recently-gained momentum. Two plays later, Franklin again punted. This one left Canadian starting at their 36.
The Hayze Hufstedler show continued with several decent gains. A penalty against Franklin kept Canadian moving but a false start bumped them back a bit. The rare Canadian penalty was followed by a Bryson Washington tackle in the backfield. Facing 3rd and 15, Culwell scrambled to find an open receiver but almost tossed an interception which was dropped. The Wildcat punt was delayed by another false start but eventually was kicked to Franklin. The ball was downed inside the Franklin 1 yard line!
The first goal was to move the ball out from the goal line and attempted to use a hard count to call the Wildcats offside but the 'cats didn't bite forcing Franklin to call a timeout. Their first play didn't get them much more than a couple yards and second down brought them within 2 yards of a first. Murphy next grabbed 11 yards up the middle and the Lions were on their way. The constant pounding started to take its toll on Canadian as the Lions kept advancing until Colton Cooper caught Spiller in the backfield for no gain. A key 3rd down was spoiled with a false start that left them facing 3rd and 9. A deep pass to a double-covered Washington was knocked incomplete. With just over a minute left in the half, Franklin punted again.
Canadian ran out the clock to end the first half.
3Q
Franklin started with the ball and went about implementing their game plan. A heavy dose of Washington and Spiller opened the drive until a coughed up fumble and a recovery by Kelton handed Canadian another chance in great field position. The Wildcat offense was making progress until Anderson was caught in the backfield on a reverse cost them their gains. Culwell avoided a near sure sack to grab six of the yards back on the next play. A frozen rope thrown over the middle to Kelton was negated with a holding call leaving them facing 3rd and 22. Culwell responded by going back to Kelton for a 34 yard bomb caught at the 2 in full stride for yet another Wildcat touchdown. 21-7 Shiner 8:18
Franklin was down by 14 earlier and came back to make it close so were not panicked. Two plays gave them a first down and the Canadian defense appeared to be on their heels. On Murphy's second carry, he came up limping but Franklin didn't miss a beat as Spiller busted off tackle to the right for a massive 53 yard score. 21-14 Shiner 6:56
Acknowledging that the only sure way to win this thing was to just keep scoring, Canadian went back to work. Hufstedler grabbed a quick first down with two carries and Kelton added another from a Culwell pass. Hufstedler added another with a pass reception for 13 and Culwell landed inside the 20 off a 29 yard run. After a Hufstedler run to the 3, a false start backed up the Wildcats to the 8. Hayze again ran it to the 3 and then came up short of the 1st. On 4th and 1 at the 2, he appeared to have the first but offsetting penalties caused the play to reset. Once again Hufstedler got the call and this time was stopped short turning the ball over to the Lions on their 2.
Franklin again attacked the center of the Canadian defense and gained yardage in chunks. Two plays for a first down was followed by 3 plays for a first down. The quarter ended as the Lions continued to push back the Wildcats.
4Q
The 4th started as the 3rd had ended, more yards on the ground for Franklin. The Wildcats stiffened for a couple plays and Franklin again faced 3rd and long (10.) Once again the converted the long 3rd down but this time illegal shift cost them the gain and 5 more yards. The QB pulled up for the first Franklin pass of the half and caught Murphy for a huge 46 yard gain to the 17. Back to the running game Spiller carried them to first and goal at the 3. Another Spiller run against the winded Canadian defense finished in the end zone. With 8:10 to go in the game Franklin tied it up. 21-21 Tied 8:10
Reeling after the comeback, Canadian committed their third kickoff return penalty in a row and thus started from their own 18. Four solid runs earned them two quick first downs and they weren't finished. The attack continued as Hayze Hufstedler broke free up the middle untouched for 47 yards and a Canadian touchdown. Salazar continued to build on this PAT career record. 28-21 Canadian 6:22
Down again and running low on time, Franklin's kick return to midfield certainly helped their cause. The Lions stuck with their methodical game plan and nearly busted it all the way until Murphy was tripped by his own player 19 yards down the field. Spiller who seemed to get better with each carry bowled to the 13 for another first. This was quickly followed by Washington who moved them to the 6. Canadian appeared ready for the next carry stopping Spiller in the backfield. On 3rd and 4 at the 7, Washington carried Wildcats to the 1 yard line for the first down. Spiller notched his 3rd TD diving over the top to tie it up. 28-28 Canadian 3:42
Canadian set up shop at their 24 and Culwell started things off with a big run around the left side for 12. An unsportsmanlike penalty after a Culwell stop put the Wildcats in 3rd and 21 which they were unable to convert. Canadian elected to punt and trust the defense that had been unable to stop Franklin.
Starting at midfield with 2:14 remaining, the table was set for the Lions. A short gain for Washington was followed by another long Spiller run for 14 yards. Murphy was forced out of bounds with no gain and then Seth Spiller shocked the Canadian defense on the next play with a halfback pass for a TD to Braden Smith take their first lead. 34-28 Franklin 1:02
Canadian with three timeouts was not flustered starting at their 42. Culwell ran ahead for 6 followed by great strike to Reagan Cochrane (pictured) for the score. Salazar notched another kick to take the lead. 35-34 Canadian 0:28
A long return that gained very little burned the clock down to 20 seconds. A sideline pass that didn't get out of bounds caused Franklin to take their last timeout. With 10 seconds remaining Wade tossed a Hail Mary to the 41 yard line. A quick downing of the snap left Franklin 1 second in the game. Franklin was sacked ending the game!
Related Posts
