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Titusville holds off Franklin @FASDathletics @gorocketsfb

Tagged under: District 10, Gameday Hub, News

| August 28, 2022

Titusville – Nate Stearns’ interception at the 7-yard line with 27 seconds to play sealed Titusville’s 14-13 season-opening win against Franklin.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Titusville Rockets got the job done when it mattered most.

“We had a lot of things that we brought to this game with our gameplan that our kids executed well,” said Titusville head coach Mike Reynolds. “We had our fair share of mistakes like any young team. Our senior leaders did a great job with their leadership helping us out.”

Holding a 14-13 lead with 9:27 to play in the game, Titusville turned away Franklin to seal the victory twice.

The Knights’ penultimate possession saw them drive to the Rockets’ 24-yard line with under four minutes remaining, where they faced a fourth down and four.

Quarterback Hunter Marstellar connected with Drew Wilkinson on what appeared to be nearly four yards. However, Franklin was penalized for an ineligible man downfield field that was ruled a loss of down and a turnover.

After forcing a Rockets punt, Franklin took over at their 47-yard line with 1:21 to play.

Following a procedure penalty, a couple of plays later saw Marstellar connected with Cole Buckley for a 33-yard completion that set up the Knights at the Rockets’ 20-yard line with 39 seconds to play.

Following an incomplete pass, Marstellar’s pass was tipped intended for Wilkinson that was eventually intercepted by Stearns, giving Titusville a thrilling victory.

“That was a fantastic moment,” Reynolds said. “It’s always a challenge early in the season to know what you need to install. Victory formation can be a big part of the game. It was great saying, ok guys, we practiced this during the week, so everybody should know what we’re doing, and that moment was special.”

The two teams battled to a scoreless first half, with Titusville getting the better of play twice, driving into the red zone only to be turned away by Franklin.

Titusville broke the stalemate midway through the third quarter when Brock Covell connected with Kameron Mong on a 9-yard touchdown pass.

Franklin tied the game in the most unconventional way possible on their ensuing drive.

Tailback Tobias Sanchez took a handoff and fumbled the ball at the 43-yard line. Offensive lineman Riley Toledo picked up the loose ball and outraced the Titusville defense with a 57-yard touchdown run.

 

Franklin took the lead early in the fourth quarter when Marstellar rolled to the near sideline and found a wide-open Buckley for a 65-yard touchdown.

“That second half was the grit of our program,” said Franklin head coach Matt Turk. “At the end of the day, our guys showed great character, and it was never say die, and you saw that tonight.”

However, the extra point was blocked, keeping the Knights’ lead at 13-7 with 10:23 to play.

Buckley caught two passes for 98 yards while rushing for 11 and intercepting two passes on defense. Marstellar completed 4-of-15 passes for 118 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions. Tobias Sanchez rushed for 74 yards on 20 carries.

“We liked our position on defense, we gave up a couple of plays that we’ll look to fix this week, and offensively we made a lot of progress in the second half. It’s all about improving from here. We had a lot of positives we can build off of heading into next week,” concluded Turk.

Titusville responded immediately with a double pass from Ian McDonald to Konnor Shumaker-Carpin for a 37-yard gain.

Brock Covell then completed a 31-yard pass to Brett Schmidt before throwing the game-winning touchdown to Mong from 12 yards out with 9:27 to play, followed by Owen Reib’s extra point.

 

“Many of our guys are playing in their position for the first time,” said Reynolds. “We let Brock settle down with some quarterback runs and option passes. I’m proud we could come together for a big win tonight.”

Brock Covell completed 9-of-15 passes for 114 yards with two touchdowns and an interception while rushing for 52 yards on 11 carries.

“I understood the character of this offense. The defense was always the question for me,” said Reynolds. “In our first scrimmage, I saw some great pursuit to the play ball, and we do emphasize speed, but you never know how fast you are on the field come game time. I saw a similar pursuit to the ball tonight, and they got us a couple of times. It’s the season’s first game, and we’ll continue to work hard to improve, especially in coverage.”

Kameron Mong chipped in with three receptions for 41 yards and two touchdowns while adding four rushes for 21 yards.

“We’re a blue-collar team from a blue-collar town, and as always, it’s time to go back to work and prepare for Sharpsville next week,” Reynolds concluded.

Game Highlights:

 

Titusville 14 Franklin 13

Score by Quarters

Franklin – 0 0 7 6 – 13
Titusville – 0 0 7 7 – 14

Scoring Summary

Third Quarter

T – Kameron Mong 9 yd pass from Brock Covell, (Owen Reib pat), 5:51

F – Riley Toledo 57 yd run, (Calan Hollis pat), 4:13

Fourth Quarter

F – Cole Buckley 65 yd pass from Hunter Marstellar, (kick blocked), 10:23

T – Mong 12 yd pass from Covell, (Reib pat), 9:27

Individual Stats

Rushing: Franklin – Tobias Sanchez 20-74, Marstellar 11-58, Toledo 1-57, Kadin Karns 4-(-3), Buckley 4-11. Totals: 40-197. Titusville: Brock Covell 11-52, Ashton Burleigh 6-7, Jaxon Corvell 5-22, Mong 4-21, Nate Stearns 1-15, Team 4-(-66). Totals: 31-51.

Receiving: Franklin – Buckley 2-98, Drew Wilkinson 1-14, Alex Wible 1-6. Titusville – Mong 3-41, Brett Schmidt 1-31, Jaxon Covell 1-5, Stearns 1-2, Reib 1-9, Blake Ross 1-16, Burleigh 1-10, Konnor Shumaker-Carpin 1-37.

Passing: Franklin – Marstellar 4-for-15, 118 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT. Titusville – Covell 9-for-15, 114 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT, Ian McDonald 1-for-2, 37 yards, 1 INT.

Interceptions: Franklin – Buckley (2). Titusville – Mason Titus, Stearns.

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