Robert Fulton scores 4 touchdowns as Latrobe beats Franklin Regional in 2OT
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Friday, September 2, 2022 | 11:13 PM
Latrobe’s Robert Fulton avoids the tackle attempt by Franklin Regional’s Zach Bewszka for a touchdown in the second quarter Friday, Sept. 2, 2022 at Franklin Regional High School.
Franklin Regional’s Zach Bewszka avoids Latrobe’s Kollin Stevens on the way to a third-quarter touchdown Friday, Sept. 2, 2022 at Franklin Regional High School.
Franklin Regional’s Roman Sarnic stiff-arms Latrobe’s John Wetzel on the way to a fourth-quarter touchdown Friday.
Latrobe’s running back Robert Fulton powers into the end zone for the game winning touchdown to beat Franklin Regional in overtime Friday, Sept. 2, 2022 at Franklin Regional High School.
Latrobe’s Robert Fulton hits Franklin Regional’s Joey Bayne as Bayne steps out of the end zone for a safety in the first quarter Friday, Sept. 2, 2022 at Franklin Regional High School.
Latrobe’s Robert Fulton out runs Franklin Regional’s Ayden Hudock for a 70+ yard touchdown run in the second quarter Friday, Sept. 2, 2022 at Franklin Regional High School.
Latrobe’s Franklin Regional’s Joey Bayne ties the game against Latrobe sending the game to overtime Friday, Sept. 2, 2022 at Franklin Regional High School.
Latrobe’s JaTawn Williams celebrates with running back Robert Fulton after Fulton’s game winning touchdown to beat Franklin Regional in overtime Friday, Sept. 2, 2022 at Franklin Regional High School.
Robert Fulton scored on a 5-yard run in the second overtime, and Latrobe won its second game of the season by defeating Franklin Regional, 36-33.
Fulton rushed for 252 yards and four touchdowns. He also scored on runs of 2, 92 and 73 yards.
The senior transfer now has rushed for 461 yards and nine touchdowns in two games.
Franklin Regional (0-1), playing its first game of the season, rallied from a 16-0 deficit in the third quarter.
The Panthers took their first lead of the game early in the fourth quarter on a 42-yard run by Roman Sarnic.
“I told them after that score that we had the momentum, so don’t give it up and we did on the next play,” Franklin Regional coach Lance Getsy said. “We’ll learn from this and become a better team. We didn’t play with the right mentality in the first half. We did in the second half.”
After Franklin Regional took a 20-16 lead on Sarnic’s run, the Wildcats went to the Wildcat and Fulton raced 73 yards for the score.
Late in the fourth quarter, Joey Bayne nailed a 33-yard field goal to tie the score at 23.
In overtime, Wetzel (1-yard run) and Sarnic (9-yard run) traded scores. In the second overtime, Latrobe’s defense forced Franklin Regional to settle for a 27-yard field goal by Bayne.
Two Fulton runs, the last from the Franklin Regional 5, had the Wildcats celebrating the victory.
“That’s what I’m so proud of,” Latrobe coach Ron Prady said. “We had the lead, lost it. Got it back, lost it, and then we finally found away to finish it. That’s what we’re trying to do here, learn how to win these games.”
First-game jitters could have contributed to the Panthers’ poor first half. Bad snaps and a couple of early penalties didn’t allow the Panthers to get into a groove.
Latrobe’s defense also had something to say about that, forcing two turnovers — an interception by John Wetzel at the Latrobe 8 to stop the Panthers best scoring threat and a fumble after a 10-yard gain. Alex Tatsch recovered the fumble forced by Fulton.
The Wildcats grabbed 2-0 lead with 10:49 left in the first quarter when a snap got away from Bayne on a punt and rolled out of the end zone.
Good field position and strong running of Fulton led the Wildcats to a 9-0 lead. The 43-yard, eight-play drive featured six runs by Fulton, who scored from the Franklin Regional 2 with 46 seconds left in the first half.
“This may sound crazy: We gave up 33 points, but I felt our defense played great,” Prady said, “especially in the first half. Franklin Regional has some great players that can make plays. They didn’t quit either.”
Sarnic did connect on a 52-yard pass to Ayden Hudock to the Latrobe 20. Two plays later, Wetzel picked off the pass off a deflection.
Latrobe grabbed a 16-0 lead early in the third quarter when Fulton ripped off a 92-yard touchdown run.
“This is a huge win for the program,” Latrobe senior lineman Daniel Calabrese said.”Last year, losing in the second half to them was a killer. This win boosts everything. The energy here has gone up so much and Bobby is amazing. Open up a gap and let him run crazy.”
Sarnic, who completed 7 of 18 passes for 123 yards, connected on a 33-yard scoring strike to Hudock. Hudock finished with four catches for 116 yards, but cramps kept him on the sidelines most of the second half.
After Andrew Devola recovered a Latrobe fumble, Zach Bewszka raced 25 yards to make it 16-13.
Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.
Tags: Franklin Regional, Latrobe
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