Yoemen top Franklin in battle of heavyweights

It was a matchup that everyone had looked forward to before the season ever kicked off.  Both Cameron and Franklin had played for state championships a year ago, and now they were in the same district.  

An overflow crowd for both fan bases got their money's worth on Friday night from Hedrick Field as the Yoemen built a 42-22 lead in the second half before holding off a late surge from the Lions to win, 42-38.  

Franklin (5-1/1-1), which is known for the powerful slot-t ground attack, ended the night with 336 yards rushing.  However, it was the Yoemen's (5-1/2-0) 360 yards through the air that proved to be the difference in an offensive shootout.  

"Overall, I am very proud of the team," said Yoemen head coach Tommy Brashear.  "We did what we needed to in order to win the ball game."

Cameron had come out slow in their past two ball games, and things did not look good early.  Franklin's Datron Dixon took the opening kickoff 91 yards to the end zone, and just like that it was 8-0 Franklin with under 20 seconds off the first quarter clock.  The Yoemen responded with a pair of touchdowns in the first.  Quarterback Zack Andress scored on a one-yard run while the junior found receiver Jordan Wells for a 7-yard touchdown pass later in the quarter. 

"Our kids have been down before and we just don't give up," said Brashear.  "They know they have the potential and the ability to come back.  The momentum was down there but we bounced back because it was so early in the game.  We answered quickly after that and it got momentum back on our side."

Andress continued to show his passing ability throughout the second, finding Wells on a 13-yarder followed up by Sicory Smith's 52-yard strike over the top to put the Yoemen up 27-14 with 5:53 left in the second quarter.  

"We have a lot of weapons," said Andress.  "We were able to get the ball to a lot of different people."

Franklin came into the contest ranked as the number three team in the state according to the Associated Press.  The Lions put pressure on the Yoemen, as RB Clayton Rosprim scored on a 7-yard run to close the gap to 27-22 at the half. 

The early portion of the third was the most important part of the game for Cameron, as 14 more points went up on the board, which led to a 42-22 lead.  The Yoemen had some big plays in this game, but short to intermediate passes helped keep drives alive and move the ball down the field. 

"We have been doing that at some points this year," said Brashear.  "People have been taking away the deep game.  We kind of wanted to keep our offense on the field to make sure our defense had time to rest and recoup.  A little bit of our game plan was to try and get some consistent drives down the field and I felt like our guys did a pretty good job of that on the night."

A 17-yard pass from Andress to Bryce Welsh gave the Yoemen a 35-22 lead after a successful two-point conversion pass to Iverson Westbrook.  

Westbrook got back in on the action after a Yoe defensive stop.  The receiver had taken a short pass from Andress, and it appeared that he was going to be stopped for a fairly short gain.  That was not the case as the junior broke a couple of tackles and a few seconds later had completed a 59-yard trot for the score.  

"I just saw green grass," said Westbrook. "I was just doing it for my team.  I am trying to get down the field and score for my team."

The Lions made a valiant effort late with two scores.  Only down by four, Franklin had the ball at the Yoe nine-yard line with a fourth and goal.  The pass fell incomplete.  

"That only builds our confidence on defense to hold a good team like that which had been driving on us in the second half," said Brashear.  "That was the determining factor in the game.  The defense did great job.  I can't say enough good things about those guys."

Westbrook put the game on ice by getting a first down on a reverse.  Cameron proceeded the milk out the remaining clock.  

SCORING

1st Quarter

Franklin: Datron Dixon 91-yard kickoff return - Avery Archibald run - 8-0 Franklin - 11:42

Cameron: Zack Andress 1-yard run - Adrian Lewis kick - 8-7 Franklin - 8:33 

Cameron: Andress 7-yard pass to Jordan Wells - Lewis kick - 14-8 Cameron - 2:35

2nd Quarter

Cameron: Andress 13-yard pass to Wells - kick failed - 20-8 Cameron - 11:52

Franklin: Bobby Graham 2-yard run - run failed - 20-14 Cameron - 8:18

Cameron: Andress 52-yard pass to Sicory Smith - Lewis kick - 27-14 Cameron - 5:52

Franklin: Clayton Rosprim 7-yard run - Dixon run - 27-22 Cameron - 2:09

3rd Quarter

Cameron: Andress 17-yard pass to Bryce Welsh - Iverson Westbrook catch - 35-22 Cameron - 7:32

Cameron: Andress 59-yard pass to Westbrook - Lewis kick - 42-22 Cameron - 4:16

Franklin: Rosprim 17-yard run - Thomas Box run - 42-30 Cameron - 2:12

4th Quarter

Franklin: Dixon 4-yard run - Dixon run - 42-38 Cameron - 11:02

STATS

Cameron Yoe

First Downs: 20

Rushing Yards: 25-63

Passing Yards: 360

Passes: 27-34-0

Punts: 1-44

Fumbles/Fumbles Lost: 0-0

Penalties: 10-75

INDIVIDUAL

Rushing: Tydrick Williams, 1-23; Iverson Westbrook, 4-16; Zack Andress, 6-13; DJ Fripp, 4-9

Passing: Zack Andress, 27-34-0, 360 yards, 5 touchdowns

Receiving: Iverson Westbrook, 14-173; Sicory Smith, 5-124; Jordan Wells, 5-30; Jordan Young, 2-16; Bryce Welsh, 1-17

Franklin

First Downs: 17

Rushing Yards: 336

Passing Yards: 60

Passes: 1-4-0

Punts: 2-35

Fumbles/Fumbles Lost: 0

Penalties: 7-60

INDIVIDUAL

Rushing: Clayton Rosprim, 15-124; Jared Pedraza, 5-73; Bobby Graham, 10-68; Avery Archibald, 5-34; Datron Dixon, 4-19

Passing: Thomas Box, 1-4-0, 60 yards

Receiving: Cody Wilson, 1-60

10-3A Scores

Cameron Yoe 42 Franklin 38

Rockdale 56 Academy 13

Troy 38 Jarrell 9

Up Next

Jarrell (1-5/0-2) - The Cougars had a fantastic 11-1 2015 campaign, but have struggled mightily in the early going this season.  Jarrell's lone win came over Thorndale in week number three, 42-19.  Loses have come to Johnson City (42-7), Florence (34-27), Lexington (76-7), Academy (29-21) and Troy (38-9).