Franklin Regional gets running game going in 2nd half, holds off Gateway

By: Ted Sarneso
Friday, September 20, 2024 | 11:06 PM

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The only thing stopping Franklin Regional senior tailback Kyle Dupill was cramps.

The running back was pulled halfway through the fourth quarter but not until he had rushed for 226 yards and two touchdowns on 36 carries in Franklin Regional’s 36-34 Class 5A Big East Conference win over Gateway at Pete Antimarino Stadium in Monroeville.

“No different from any other week,” Panthers coach Lance Getsy said. “Whenever he’s rolling, I’m going to get him the ball.”

Dupill did most of his damage in the second half.

“We wanted to start running the ball heavy at the beginning of the game, but we were able to get more in the second half,” Dupill said. “We knew what they were going to do, how to counter it and we were able to get me through the line.”

To make up for a shaky start on the ground, Franklin Regional’s passing game did more than enough. Senior quarterback Chase Lemke passed for 78 yards and a touchdown in the first half.

“Chase made some good reads and we were able to stretch the field at times,” Getsy said. “We did enough where we could change some things up, run some RPOs and throw the ball downfield. When we get the passing game involved, that’s when things go well for us.”

Did not take long for Franklin Regional (4-1, 2-0) to open the scoring.

Having a short field after Gateway punted, Lemke found senior tight end Macallister Bresnahan over the middle on a second-down play action pass for a 36-yard touchdown.

On his second touchdown of the night, Lemke lofted a pass on second down to senior Elijah Bennett for 35 yards, and Bennett coasted the other 30 yards. Lemke finished with 158 yards on 9 of 19 attempts and two touchdowns.

The Panthers then got a 27- and 23-yard fields goals form senior Joseph Bayne and were fortunate to score a safety.

On an option play, Gateway senior quarterback Elsidro Bryant kept the ball and was stuffed, but he turned to his left and attempted to pitch the ball back to senior Amari Gans.

Bryant threw the ball well over Gans’ head, and junior receiver Shawn Moorefield saved the Gators from giving up a touchdown by falling on the ball in the end zone.

It was a mistake the Gators (2-3, 1-1) would regret, losing by a two-point margin.

“Football gods won’t let you win football games like that. We made a slew of mistakes,” Gateway coach Don Holl said. “We thought we were prepared, but we didn’t execute a whole lot. We went through a phase where we lost our fundamentals, especially on the defensive side of the ball.”

After scoring only seven points in the first half, the Gators fought their way back in the second, getting three touchdown passes from Bryant, who finished the night going 16 of 29 for 295 yards and two interceptions while rushing for 92 yards and a score.

“I loved that the kids had energy late in the game and we recovered an onside kick, which is rare, and had a chance to get another after we stopped them, but didn’t recover,” Holl said. “We have great kids who play hard. You just can’t play hard with bad fundamentals very long and be successful.”

A week after holding Latrobe’s Alex Tatsch to 112 yards rushing, the Panthers defense was able to keep Gans in check to the tune of 32 yards on nine carries and an 18-yard touchdown. Gans had 136 yards and two touchdowns the week before.

“Our defense did a great job,” Getsy said. “We’ve been doing a great job shutting down the run, and, for three and a half quarters, we shut down their passing game. A lot of our guys are flying around the ball, which has made our defense so successful.”

Said Holl: “We had a lot of chances. There were about 75 points on offense we should have had, probably should have scored five touchdowns in the first half but that’s what happens when you don’t execute.”

The Panthers came out after halftime, chewed up almost six minutes of clock and drove 86 yards for a 3-yard score by Dupill, who racked up 66 yards on 10 carries during the drive.

The Gators ran only four plays on their next possession and were forced to punt.

Dupill powered the Panthers back down the field, running nine times for 61 yards and danced his way through the defense for a 4-yard touchdown run and giving Franklin Regional a 29-7 lead.

That’s when Gateway started to claw back.

“Our guys learned from this,” Getsy said. “Teams are going to fight back. I don’t know, maybe we thought we had it in the bag, but we’ll watch the fil and we’ll learn from it.

“Huge win, being in a conference like this. We know it’s a tough road and any win you can get is a big win.”

Franklin Regional hosts Kiski Area next week, and Gateway travels to face Armstrong.

Tags: Franklin Regional, Gateway