Motivated Franklin Regional rolls past Bellefonte in PIAA 1st round match

By: Giustino Racchini
Tuesday, November 5, 2024 | 8:46 PM

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Coming off a loss in the WPIAL championship game, Franklin Regional was as motivated as ever to perform well in its first state playoff game since 2021 on Tuesday night.

On a warm Tuesday night, the WPIAL Class 3A runner-up Panthers (14-4-2) did just that, easing past District 6 champion Bellefonte, 6-0, in the first round of the PIAA tournament.

Franklin Regional will meet District 3 champ Conrad Weiser in Saturday’s quarterfinals at a time and site to be determined.

Bellefonte (15-3-3) entered the match fresh off a win against Hollidaysburg in the District 6 title game. Conelle Stabinger scored with 29 seconds left in the contest to get the Red Raiders to the PIAA playoffs.

Franklin Regional was coming off a 3-1 loss to Moon in the WPIAL finals.

The battle between District 6 and District 7 proved to be no match. Franklin Regional came out rocking, and the party didn’t really slow down.

Cruise Lamana scored in the first minute to put the Panthers up early.

Jovan Sankoorikal and Danny Christafano then put on a show for the Panthers. The next three goals came from one or the other, with Sankoorikal getting the first in the 27th minute off a feed from Christafano.

Then the next two goals flipped the script.

Christafano scored in the 22nd minute from a Sankoorikal feed and then added another goal with only 43 seconds to play in the first half.

“Jovan and I play club (soccer) together, and I feel like we have always had that connection, and it’s great to have him for states,” Christafano said after the game.

Sankoorikal missed the WPIAL final after receiving a red card.

The stats showed Franklin Regional’s domination in the first half. The Panthers racked up 23 total shots in the first half and 11 shots on goal. Not to mention their eight corners in the first 40 minutes.

Safe to say the Panthers were fired up for this one, despite the two-hour bus trip to Bellefonte.

The second half wasn’t as eventful, but the Panthers added a goal from sophomore attacker Andrew Acosta with 15 minutes to play as well as an own goal from Bellefonte that set the final score.

After the game, first-year Franklin Regional coach Nick White noted his team’s determination and execution.

“The boys’ attention to detail that we had tonight was over the bar, and we saw stuff in our preparation that we executed,” White said.

White added that the first goal is critical after a long bus ride.

Bellefonte coach Scott Martz said his team battled all the way to the finale this season.

“It’s only our second-ever district title in Bellefonte, so I think we had a great season,” Martz said. “We knew coming into this game how tough they were going to be, but I thought our guys held their own for a while tonight.”

Franklin Regional will now look to a quarterfinal matchup with Conrad Weiser, which defeated Mars, 4-0, in the first round Tuesday night.

Tags: Franklin Regional