Franklin dominates up front to beat Modesto 24-10

There’s a fact of life that has become a burden on the very existence of Modesto High football.

While few schools in the region have played the game for more years than the Panthers, nearly all of them have claimed a playoff victory. But not Modesto, which remained winless in seven postseason appearances with Saturday’s 24-10 loss to Franklin of Elk Grove at Downey High.

Even in the loss there rose a silver lining in the realization that the Panthers weren’t that far off in this matchup and certainly belonged on the same field and in the same conversation with the Wildcats. In this case, the lone major difference between the teams was in the trenches, where Franklin’s defensive line controlled the action.

“It’s frustrating that this school has never won a playoff game, but you learn something every year,” ame, but you learn something every year,” Modesto coach Rich Alkire said. “This year we were in the ballpark. Last year it wasn’t close.

“What we learned here is that we really have to make an effort right up front. We’re coming along in a lot of areas. We have to work hard to identify kids and get us to where we can play at this level up front.”

“My hat’s off to Franklin for having a great team with a lot of great athletes on the defensive line,” said Phillips, who was limited to 161 yards passing and 43 rushing. “Their blitzing schemes were excellent. Our offensive line did what it could and we fought the whole game all the way to the end. I couldn’t be more proud of those guys up front.”

But even with Franklin’s line advantage, Modesto had a shot to make an early statement – which the Panthers squandered by dropping five passes in the first half, including three that would have gone for substantial yardage.

“The drops early-on hurt us and that maybe is my biggest regret from today,” Alkire said. “These kids work so hard and they’re going to take everything personally. I don’t want them to do that because this has been such a great year. We worked so hard this week and had a great game plan and we had wide-open looks.”

Being outplayed upfront and dropping passes became a combination the Panthers couldn’t overcome, despite playing excellent defense. Modesto was outgained only 244-239, but Franklin – by forcing three-and-outs – was able to control the game enough to advance to next week’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division I second-round game at top-seeded Folsom.

The Wildcats took a 7-0 lead midway through the second quarter on a 3-yard scoring run by Lamar Jackson, but Modesto answered just before halftime when Julio Corona connected on a 31-yard field goal.

Franklin’s second-half strategy was clear and simple – keep the ball away from Modesto. And the Wildcats did exactly that, controlling the ball for 16 minutes, 33 seconds and holding the Panthers to only 21 offensive plays in the final two quarters.

Franklin marched 75 yards for a score on its first possession of the second half to grab a 14-3 lead, then took control when a wobbly shotgun snap evaded Phillips and was recovered by the Wildcats at the Modesto 1. One play later, Franklin had a commanding 21-3 lead with 4:02 left in the third quarter.

The margin grew to 24-3 on a Franklin field goal before the Panthers closed the season with a drive for pride, moving 76 yards in seven plays for their lone touchdown, a 1-yard run by Tre Ingram with 1:01 left.

“Even in league, we’ve been outsized but Franklin had that little extra that we just couldn’t overcome,” Alkire said. “I’m so proud of our defense. It kept us in the game and we couldn’t get it done on offense.”

The outcome was particularly bitter for Phillips, one of the area’s most exciting quarterbacks, who was playing his final high school game.

“What we did together this year was unbelievable,” Phillips said. “We were picked to go about 3-7 and that’s the chip we played with all year. We were undersized and beat adversity all year. There’s not another team I’d want to be on.”

This story was originally published November 15, 2014 at 5:59 PM with the headline "Franklin dominates up front to beat Modesto 24-10."