Running game, special teams help Franklin Regional blank Connellsville

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Friday, September 8, 2023 | 10:54 PM

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With its special teams unit flying to the football and setting field position and its running game in high gear, Franklin Regional handed upstart Connellsville a humbling 38-0 defeat in a nonconference matchup Friday night at Panther Stadium in Murrysville.

Franklin Regional (2-1) stuffed the Falcons’ running attack and got a pair of blocked punts in the first half to set up scores on the way to a mercy-ruled finish.

From the team run-out that saw senior Nick Purdue waving a flag with No. 71 on it to remember his late brother and teammate, Joe Purdue, to a crowd-pleasing halftime show dedicated to Elvis, to players and cheerleaders lining up in front of the student section, it was the home team’s night.

“The kids played to their potential tonight,” Franklin Regional coach Lance Getsy said. “Good, assignment football. Our guys did the right things and made plays.”

Juniors Kyle Dupill and Jude Gentile each scored two touchdowns for the Panthers. Dupill ran for 130 yards on 14 carries.

Connellsville (2-1), which came in 2-0 for the first time since 1997 — when it started 9-0 — had little time to get plays started due to persistent pressure from the Panthers’ defense.

The inability to move the ball was compounded by drives that continuously began at their own 20-yard line.

The Falcons’ Bruce Giles, a senior running back who ran for 221 yards last week against Hempfield, was limited to 55 yards on nine attempts.

“We knew they would be tough up front,” Connellsville coach Chad Lembo said. “We didn’t stick to our game plan. You could see by our body language we lost our focus. We had a little bit of success early on, but we can’t rest on that. We have to get some things in order and rebound from this.”

Franklin Regional scored on its first five first-half drives, using a power running game to push the Falcons down the field.

Dupill punched it in for a 2-yard score and Gentile added a 3-yard touchdown, part of a 14-point first quarter.

“We had a nice thing going; we’re both good backs and it’s nice to change it up,” Dupill said of he and Gentile. “We put our heads down and run.”

On the second score, the Panthers used a blocked punt by junior Hunter Reinhardt to set up a short field at the Falcons’ 35.

Joey Bayne, the Panthers’ sophomore kicker, had a perfect night. He showed his strong leg with seven touchbacks on seven kicks, and added a 22-yard field goal to make it 17-0. He also went 5 for 5 on extra points.

“Joey showed that last year, too,” Getsy said. “We count on him. He’s a college-level kicker.”

Late in the second quarter, junior quarterback Chase Lemke pump-faked right, then sneaked through a seam and raced 46 yards for a touchdown and a 24-0 lead.

Lemke ran for 85 yards on seven rushes. He only attempted nine passes.

Connellsville, which struggled to get a push up front, was roughed up again late in the second quarter as Panthers junior Elijah Bennett blocked another punt, setting up the Panthers with a first and goal.

“They had a lot in the box,” Lembo said. “They had damn near seven guys up. They were blitzing and bringing that pressure. We took too long to punt the ball.”

Dupill put on the capper with a 6-yard score for a 31-0 lead.

Gentile’s second TD came midway through the third and kicked in the mercy rule.

Connellsville finally started a drive in Panthers’ territory, and used runs of 25 and 17 yards by senior quarterback Anthony Piasecki and Giles to get to the 1. But the Panthers’ defense pulled a goal-line stand to preserve the shutout early in the fourth.

Junior Heath Silva broke up a pass on third down.

“Our kids are starting to understand you have to play every down,” Getsy said. “You can’t let up on offense or defense.”

Senior Jake Gentile had a 53-yard touchdown run negated by a penalty.

Piasecki was 5 of 16 for 37 yards.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Connellsville, Franklin Regional