FRANKLIN — The Franklin High School football team has already matched last year’s win total at 2-3 this season. The Wildcats could mirror their 2022 win total with another victory.
Right now, Franklin first-year head coach Matt Muncy said his program has its sights set on making that happen — plus more.
“Started this week off with a couple good practices, so I have liked how we have responded so far,” said Muncy, who was hired this past December. “A lot of football to play, and we haven’t come close to playing our best yet.”
Here are four takeaways from Franklin’s first half of the season:
1. Showing improvement
Muncy said his team is taking steps in the right direction and has recently shown significant improvements.
“But unfortunately, we took a huge step back last Friday,” said Muncy, whose Wildcats fell to Carlisle 34-7. “Learned some valuable lessons and have made some difficult decisions that I hope pay off for us in the long run.”
Franklin has lost two in a row after starting the season 2-1 and enters Southwestern Buckeye League Southwestern Division play on Friday at home against Monroe.
2. Getting the offense going
Franklin’s offense is looking for a boost the second half of the season.
The Wildcats put up just 15.6 points a contest — while getting shutout once and scoring 7 points in their two most recent losses.
Junior quarterback Braydon Isaacs has thrown for 316 yards and two touchdowns with five interceptions, and he also leads the team in rushing. He’s rushed for 321 yards and four touchdowns.
3. Defense must buckle down
As the Wildcats enter a tough conference slate, they’ll have to buckle down on defense to stay in games.
Franklin has surrendered 25.8 points a contest this season.
Junior defensive back Andrew Cooke has four interceptions, which is tied for first in the SWBL.
4. Protecting the ball
Franklin turned the ball over five times against Carlisle, but other than that, the Wildcats have protected their possessions decently well.
Franklin only had one turnover in their two victories.
Midseason Report Card: C+
