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Game-altering defense

Franklin’s two pick-sixes send Eagles on their way

By BRADEN CARMEN 5 min read

MAYVILLE -- Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton head coach Ty Harper has coached a lot of football games in his career. Friday's game might have featured the best individual performance from a defensive player he has ever seen.

Lance Franklin returned two interceptions for touchdowns, then added a fumble recovery for good measure, to lift the Eagles past Franklinville/Ellicottville 40-6 in a nonleague game at Chautauqua Lake High School.

"Lance put the entire team on his back," Harper said. " ... What Lance did tonight was as good as anything I've seen."

Throughout the first half of Friday's game in Mayville, defense was the story. That was never more true than when the clock hit triple zeroes at the break.

On the final play of the first half, Franklinville/Ellicottville quarterback Brady Tatlow scrambled to keep the play alive. He threw across the middle of the field with the clock ticking down, hoping to light up the scoreboard once more.

He did just that, but not the way he would have hoped.

Franklin picked off the pass and took off with nothing but open field in front of him. He outran Tatlow to the end zone as the clock expired for a game-changing pick-six. It flipped the momentum of the game entirely, putting the Eagles ahead 13-6 at halftime.

"I am not known for my pass coverage, but I saw the cross route and I knew I'd better get that. I see a wide open field, I hop in front of the ball and I catch it, then I'm gone," Franklin said. "It was a blur. There was so much energy. It was great. I loved it, every second."

From that point on, it was all Eagles, including another Franklin pick-six for good measure, followed by a fumble recovery for his third turnover of the contest. Not so bad from a player who had never intercepted a pass prior to Friday's game.

"We talk about it all the time. It takes one play to really change the course of a game. Lance was that guy -- and he was that guy twice," Harper said.

Before Franklin's theatrics, both offenses struggled early. Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton (3-2) managed just one touchdown, late in the opening quarter, and the visiting Titans (2-3) answered with their own touchdown with less than three minutes left in the second quarter.

The Eagles struck first on a 2-yard touchdown run by Tristen Gibbs in the final minute. Following a successful extra point, Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton held a 7-0 lead. That score carried over into the second frame.

The Titans finally got a drive going in the latter half of the second quarter. Facing a fourth-and-10 with 2:56 left in the first half, Brady Tatlow extended the play by scrambling in the backfield. As the pass rush surrounded him, Tatlow threw the ball up for grabs, and it paid off. A 15-yard completion kept the drive alive, and less than a minute later, Tatlow scrambled to his right on a bootleg and drilled Blake Smith in the chest for a 17-yard touchdown pass, just over the front right pylon. With 2:09 left in the half, following a missed extra point, the Titans trailed by just a point.

Franklinville/Ellicottville got the ball back before the break with a chance to take the lead in the final moments of the period. The Titans drove into Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton territory, but instead of taking the lead, Tatlow's forced throw -- coupled with Franklin's ensuing long interception return -- put the Eagles in firm control of the lead and the momentum.

That momentum carried over to the second half, as Franklin doubled down with another pick-six.

Just over three minutes into the second half, Franklin picked off another pass from Tatlow. This time, he had a much more obstructed path to the end zone, but the result was the same. Franklin broke several tackles during his second house call of the game. As Franklin walked off the field with his arms spread wide in celebration, his Eagles held a 19-6 lead.

"My team did great after that. I appreciate them putting in the hard work," Franklin said. "They really pushed forward. ... It was a great game."

From that point on, the homecoming hosts coasted to a victory. Gibbs and Thandon Bensink each had a pair of touchdowns on the ground as the Eagles offense got rolling after Franklin sparked the sideline.

"What Lance did for us was give us some breathing room," Harper said. "It was good to see the offensive line settle in."

A week after being shut out, Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton posted 40 points, with three players responsible for two touchdowns apiece -- Franklin, Bensink and Gibbs.

Bensink scored his second touchdown on a long run, breaking free down the visiting sideline. With 2 seconds left in the third quarter, the Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton lead was 40-6. The fourth quarter was played with a running clock.

"Last week was really tough for everyone involved in our program. I'm super proud of the players and the coaching staff. We were able to find each other this week," Harper said. "Football is a great game. It allows you to figure out how to handle adversity, and I thought we handled adversity pretty well tonight."

Franklin said following Friday's win that he will take things "step by step" and keep working on improving defensively, especially in pass coverage. He acknowledged, with a smile, "I think I did pretty good today."

Up next, Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Brocton will host Falconer/Cassadaga Valley/Maple Grove in Class C South action next Friday in Mayville. Franklinville/Ellicottville will host Randolph in a Class D contest at Franklinville High School next Friday night.

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