FRANKLIN — New head coach Matt Muncy inherited a Franklin High School football team looking for a little more stability.
Muncy said the path has been straightforward in terms of getting the Wildcats where they need to be. Now, it’s time for Franklin to put what Muncy has preached to the test.
“From where we started in the winter to where we’re at now is night and day,” said Muncy, who graduated from Miamisburg in 2002 and was recently the defensive coordinator there. “It took a while for all of us coaches to gain and build some of the trust and belief from our players — because lately, they’ve had a lot of turnover, a lot of different coaches. So, for us, it was just another guy in front of them.
“We have to be as genuine as possible to show them what we’re all about. And we’ve gradually improved and improved so much. We’re in such a better place than where we were when I first took over.”
Muncy was hired in December and takes over for Luke Hurst, who went 5-15 in two seasons at Franklin.
The Wildcats finished 2-8 in 2023, winning back-to-back games in the middle of the season at Carlisle (26-0) and at Monroe (28-14).
“We’re going to be playing hard, playing fast, playing together,” Muncy said of what to expect from his Wildcats in Week 1 at home against Fenwick on Aug. 23.
“We’re really developing a strong identity in what we want to do on each side of the ball. We want to run the ball and be physical and control the line of scrimmage, offensively.
Muncy, who played three seasons in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals and the Tennessee Titans, said there will be a primary focus at the line of scrimmage — on both sides of the ball.
“We want to stop the run, be physical and be the best defense on the field,” Muncy said. “We’re just going to take some time for the guys to learn new schemes yet again. So, I give the kids a ton of credit for that, and again, buying in and believing what we’re all about. That’s who we’re looking to be and the progress that we’ve made so far.“We’re going to be a physical, run-first football team,” Muncy noted of the offense. “We want to own the line of scrimmage. We always want to outgain the other team on the ground. But that doesn’t mean we’re one-dimensional. We’re still going to throw the ball. We’ve worked on our passing game all offseason. I know we can throw enough to keep other teams honest.
“But there’s no secret to it, we want to run the ball. We want to own the line of scrimmage.”
Franklin graduated its top three skill players on offense from last season — quarterback Brock Childers, running back Hunter Pricket and receiver Josh Carter.
Braydon Isaacs, a junior, returns as the team’s leading tackler after recording 123 tackles at linebacker in 2023.
As a junior, Dawson Fitzpatrick saw limited playing time at quarterback, but he was third on the team with 80 tackles in the secondary. Fitzpatrick also did some of the punting duties.
Returning is junior Jack Berry, who wrapped up a team second-best 112 tackles at linebacker last year.
“We want to try to make the other team one-dimensional and have to throw the ball,” Muncy said. “When the ball is in the air, two out of three good things can happen for us. So, we’re going to stop the run, force other teams to throw and put them in bad situations that are going to favor us.
“We’re teaching good habits in running to the football, playing with good fundamentals, being great tacklers and being opportunistic.”
MORE ON MUNCY
Muncy opened Renegade Warehouse in Miamisburg in 2010 and has built that into one of the state’s premier athletic training facilities. … As the defensive coordinator at Miamisburg in 2023, Muncy turned around a defense that was near the bottom of the Greater Western Ohio Conference into one of the league’s best. … Muncy was recently named the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association Region 15 Assistant Coach of the Year.
