Franklin looks to end Mansfield’s streak
Some people have been surprised by Franklin’s quick start out of the gate, but don’t count head coach Eian Bain among the disbelievers. The undefeated Panthers (3-0, ranked 11th in the latest Boston Herald Sweet 16) head into Hockomock League Kelley-Rex action tonight when they square off against No. 7 Mansfield,
proud owners of the longest current winning streak in the state (19).
“I’m really not surprised at all,” Bain said. “Even though our spring record was 3-4, three of the losses were one-score games against good teams (King Philip, Milford and Milton). We were a pretty young team with no real offseason, so we could see the potential there.”
Franklin showed some grit last week against Duxbury.
Trailing by two scores against a top-flight team, the Panthers scored the final 27 points of the game to take home a 27-14 victory.
“I think our kids showed a lot of maturity in that game,” Bain said. “Sometimes kids and coaches have a tendency to panic in the situation, especially a younger team. You want to have a sense of urgency without panic and just be who you really are as a team.”
That team has caught the eye of Mansfield coach Mike Redding.
“It’s a different Franklin team in that they are more committed to the run,” Redding said. “Their back (Mack Gulla) is as good as there is and they have a good line up front. They can still throw the ball, but are more determined to running it.”
Even with the losses of stars like T.J. Guy, Cincere Gill and a host of others, the Hornets look more like a team which is reloading rather than rebuilding as evidenced by wins over St. John’s (Shrewsbury), North Attleboro and Stoughton. While they might be a young team on paper, Redding thinks the youthful narrative is a thing of the past. “We had two tough scrimmages with Everett and Central Catholic and played three tough teams to start the season, so I don’t look at us as a young team anymore,” Redding said. “We’re hoping that tough schedule will pay dividends as we have two tough division games in the first two weeks (Franklin and Milford) and that’s going to decide the front-runner for the Kelley-Rex title.”
Since a tough 14-13 loss in 2017, the last three meetings have resulted in lopsided Mansfield victories (49-7, 39-9 and 24-6). Bain respects Mansfield, but feels his team is in a good place right now to compete with the Hornets.
“Mansfield is Mansfield,” Bain said. “They’re super well-coached, Mike Redding has been there 100 years and won 1,000 games. For us to compete with them, we have to continue playing good football. I think we play good football, we can beat anybody.”
Elsewhere tonight, three more key league encounters are on tap.
No. 5 Central Catholic opens its defense of its Merrimack Valley Conference Large title when it squares off against No. 19 Andover. Over in the Patriot League Fisher Division, Plymouth South
looks to bounce back from its first loss of the season when it hosts Hanover, while Bishop Fenwick and St. Mary’s vie for the top spot in the Catholic Central Large.
No. 1 Catholic Memorial hosts Bishop Hendricken (RI), while Bellingham and Ashland meet in a Tri-Valley League crossover game.
In action on Saturday, No. 13 Lawrence hopes the momentum from last week’s win against Andover carries over to this week when it hosts No. 3 Xaverian. No. 12 Marshfield travels out of state to lock horns with LaSalle (RI), while West Bridgewater takes the ferry over to Nantucket to face the Whalers.
Two big games on the ISL slate feature St. Sebastian’s at Milton Academy as well as BB&N
Governor’s Academy. Over in the Evergreen,
Pingree heads north to face St. Paul’s.