Franklin Regional roundup: Panthers take down North Hills

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, October 23, 2017 | 5:33 PM

Thanks to staunch defensive play, a steady rushing game and one big play in the passing game, Franklin Regional football outlasted host North Hills, 21-13, to earn a WPIAL Class 5A nonconference victory Friday at Martorelli Stadium.

Senior Nate Leopold spearheaded the Panthers' ground game with 92 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries.

Leopold's contributions were especially important in the second half as Franklin Regional (6-2) owned the lead and killed the clock by running the ball on 25 of its 27 offensive plays.

The Panthers limited the leading rusher in Class 5A, North Hills' Melvin Blanks, to 74 yards on 22 attempts. He entered the game averaging 6.9 yards per carry.

“I have to say that North Hills is a sound team, and coach (Pat) Carey does a great job with them. We knew we'd have our hands full. I saw Blanks play four games where he just ran all over the field,” Franklin Regional coach Greg Botta said.

“But we gave (senior linebacker) Bryce Lauer a little more rest on offense, and I thought that was important for his play on defense. We were just able to get to the ball. We pride ourselves on our defense at Franklin, and they came up with plays when we needed them to.”

One play that made a major difference for Franklin Regional was a 47-yard touchdown from junior quarterback Adam Rudzinski to Devon Powell that gave the Panthers a lead that they did not surrender.

Rudzinski hit Powell on a 5-yard out route, and the wideout turned and burned the Indians cornerback who covered him. From there, the junior receiver raced down the sideline before making a cutback move on a North Hills safety who appeared to have a good angle for the tackle.

It would be Powell's only catch of the night, though the two-way player recorded an interception in the second quarter.

“Devon was our player of the game last week. He's just got to keep coming into himself a little bit. He's only a junior, but he's very, very athletic,” Botta said. “He played a tremendous game, and I'm really proud of him.”

Rudzinski completed 7 of 10 passes for 116 yards and a score.

Boys soccer

No. 3 Franklin Regional took advantage of strong play from its trio of center midfielders in its 2-1 Class AAAA first-round boys soccer playoff victory over No. 14 Mt. Lebanon on Saturday.

The Panthers' center midfield consisted of Justin LeDonne, Shane Popko and Auston Kranick.

Throughout the first half, the trio helped create scoring chances as the Panthers (16-2) looked to control possession from the kickoff.

“(Our midfield) did a really good job early,” Franklin Regional coach Rand Hudson said.

“We broke down later as far as playing to feet. We wanted to keep the ball on the floor.”

Popko earned the Panthers a corner kick with four minutes left in the first half.

On the ensuing kick, LeDonne scored off a header from a Domenick DiFalco cross.

The Panthers led 1-0 heading into halftime.

After the Blue Devils created scoring chances early in the second half, it was the Panthers who found the back of the net first.

Thad Schott sent a crossing pass to Kranick, who one-timed the ball into the net.

Kranick's goal gave the Panthers a 2-0 lead with 17 minutes, 24 seconds left in the game.

The Blue Devils responded with a goal by Sam Rothschild off a long throw-in from Brendan Daeschner.

“They're so dangerous with that throw-in,” Hudson said. “They just crowd around (our goalie). I'm glad we had two goals and not one.”

The midfield trio's strong play— including scoring both goals — proved to be enough to lead Franklin Regional into the second round.

“Those three in the middle have been key for us all year,” Hudson said.

The Panthers were scheduled to face No. 11 Canon-McMillan on Wednesday.

Girls soccer

The Franklin Regional girls soccer team earned the No. 7 seed for the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs after finishing 10-5-1 in the regular season. The Panthers were scheduled to play Mt. Pleasant in the first round, after deadline for this edition.

Tennis

Franklin Regional's Hannah Yan and Nikki Bonacci teamed up to finish second at the Section 1-AAA doubles tournament last week. They fell to Latrobe's Addison Kemerer and Maddie Stas, 6-2, 7-5, in the finals. At the WPIAL tournament, they lost a first-round match 10-5.

Volleyball

The Franklin Regional girls volleyball team wrapped up its season last week after finishing 0-10 in Section 3-AAAA.

Tags: Franklin Regional