Phoenix advance after tough road win in first round
Sonoraville offense puts together big drive late, defense makes clutch plays
– For the second straight season, the Sonoraville Phoenix took on the role of road warriors in the first round of the Class AAA State Playoffs, and for the second straight time they walked out of their opponents’ stadium with a season-extending victory.
In a hard-fought game where nothing seemed to come easy, the Phoenix made plays when they absolutely had to on both sides of the ball to come away with a 15-9 victory at Franklin County. Sonoraville (8-3) now advances to the second round next Friday when they will make the long trip to Liberty County, who soundly defeated Pike County in their first-round matchup.
The Phoenix went right down the field and scored on their first drive of the game against Franklin County to take a quick lead with a six-yard run by quarterback Patrick Moore. Following that, Sonoraville had a tough time on the offensive side, and their possessions were limited as well due to the triple-option, clock-churning offense of Franklin County (4-7).
“The first drive of the game was almost perfect, but after that it seemed like we let our guard down and thought it was just going to happen for us,“said Sonoraville coach Jim Kremer. “I’ve got to give credit to Franklin County’s defense wo started to do a better job, but we’ve got to recognize that earlier and execute a lot better.“
The Lions got on the board late in the second quarter after the teams traded possessions several times. Franklin County kicker Owen Burtt knocked one through the uprights for a 29-yard field goal to make it 7-3, which was the score at the half.
Franklin County went on a long drive to start the second half that once again resulted in three points on a Burtt 44-yard field goal to pull his team within one point. He then made his third field goal of the night early in the fourth quarter to put his team ahead 9-7, but the Sonoraville defense’s ability to limit the Lions to three on each time they got into the red zone would eventually come back to haunt Franklin County.
On the ensuing drive, Sonoraville put together a clutch drive that was culminated by a 27-yard run by Tristan Key with just over five minutes to play that held up for to be the game-winner. Key added the two-point conversion with a run as well. He finished with 104 yards on 18 carries to lead the Phoenix offense, which was held in check for most of the night other than the two touchdown drives.
“We worked some stuff out at the half, but (Franklin County) had the ball for almost the whole third quarter,“said Kremer. “Once we got the ball back after they went ahead on the last field goal, we finally started to execute what we talked about at halftime. That was a big drive. We’ve got to find a way to be more consistent offensively. I feel like we have so much more to offer, and we’re not close to reaching our potential. We can execute a lot better.“
The Phoenix defense stepped up after the go-ahead score and made the plays needed to clinch the win, including a fourth-down strip-sack by Sherrod Agee and a fumble recovery from Chandler Shaw to seal it. Morgan Holt also had a big sack in the game, and several players stepped up once their backs were against the wall in the red zone. They gave up 267 rushing yards against the Lions’ potent option offense, but held them to just nine points.
“I can’t say enough about our defense tonight,“said Kremer. “That is a tough scheme to get ready for in one week, but Coach (Jeremy) Green and our staff did a great job.“
Kremer added how much it means for the program to win playoff games in two straight seasons.
“It’s awesome,“said Kremer. “We had to replace 16 starters from last year’s team, but that’s a sign of the kids we have. They stepped up. We want to continue growing as a program to the point where we never have a rebuilding year.
“We’ll enjoy this ride home after the win, get ready and go a long way next week (to Liberty County). We’ll prepare and line up and see what happens.“
NOTE:
There were a pair of ejections in the game, one for each team, following a scuffle after Key’s fourth-quarter touchdown. Franklin County’s Hunter Dunn and Sonoraville’s Blake Goble were both ejected after offsetting dead-ball penalties. Goble will now be suspended for Sonoraville’s second-round game next Friday per GHSA rules. Kremer said after the game that they will appeal the suspension.