FRANKLIN — The Fenwick High School football team has settled in with Fred Cranford as its head coach, again.
Cranford was hired during the offseason to lead the Falcons for a second stint.
“We look at it now as if we’ve got one game that we can control, and that’s Friday night,” said Cranford, who led the Falcons from 2006 to 2012. “We’re getting into league play, and that’s exciting because right now, it’s anybody’s to take.”
Here are four things to know as Fenwick heads into Week 7:
1. Friday night execution
Cranford said his program is going in the right direction, but it’s all about consistently competing for four quarters.
“It just boils down to execution within the 48 minutes on a Friday night,” Cranford said. “I can tell you that from an excitement standpoint that we’re moving forward and optimistic because they’re flying around and getting after it.”
2. Growing as a team
Though the Falcons are 2-4 overall and 0-1 in the Greater Catholic League Coed, Cranford said they’re in a better spot than what they were in Week 1.
“We’re a much older, more mature football team,” Cranford said. “We’re in a better place, but we’re trying to stay healthy, too. Because it’s just a meat grinder in the GCL.”
3. Who’s leading the way?
Most of Fenwick’s offense is done on the ground, led by seniors Adam Rucker and Connor Schmuelling and junior Jackson Kauffman.
Sophomore Micah O’Connor has continued establishing his role as the Falcons starting quarterback.
The team’s leading tacklers are Fenwick junior linebackers Patrick Keefer and Kelby Shaffer.
4. Cranford quotable
“We’re still grinding every day, and there’s still a lot of things to be fixed,” Cranford said. “But I’ve been telling them that enthusiasm breeds enthusiasm. Our kids are having fun and have a lot of energy.
“We talk a lot about our culture and the core values that are going to get us where we need to go,” Cranford added. “That’s what we’ve been talking about since summer. So, just to be able to talk that kind of language with these kids, I think that’s what’s most important. These kids are caring. They really do care because they’re out there working hard at it.”
Midseason Report Card: C
