(Photo by Kelly Malek)
Junior Jayden Wilmouth, who stands all of 5-4, has been a sort of unsung hero for the Knights this season -- doing a little bit here and a little bit there.
Senior Jason Carey took over at quarterback after returning from an injury early in the season.
The Knights made a grand entrance to their Senior Night game Oct. 18 against Oil City, and though the outcome was not to their liking, coming from two touchdowns down twice to beat Eisenhower in their homecoming game the week before was. Landon Lynch (6) celebrates after his late fumble return sent the game into OT. . (Richard Sayer, Eight&322.com)
Knights finished 2-8, but don't despair:
Team is loaded with talented young players
The 2024 season probably didn't go quite as coach Matt Turk had hoped. The Knights were coming off a 4-6 campaign, and Turk thought he -- finally -- he everything in place to move ahead.
But Franklin dropped an 8-7 decision to Class A Mercer in its home and season opener, and it was pretty much downhill after that.
Oh, there was a 40-18 victory over Warren, but everybody beats the winless Dragons. A legitimate bright spot was a thrilling 40-34 overtime win over Eisenhower in which the Knights pulled a rabbit out of a hat even to get the game into overtime.
But they followed that up with a 48-6 loss to Oil City on Senior Night before heading to Lakeview for their season finale and losing there, 44-12.
Graduation will take its toll mostly along the line where Jeremy Cunningham, Sam Wimer, Avery Shelter and Noah Brustle lived for years. Tight end Landon Lynch doubled as a quarterback, where Jason Carey played once he came back from an injury. The Knights will lose three skill position players in Hunter Hedglin and Ethan Domres along with Toby Sanchez, who hadn't played since he was hurt in the opening game of the 2023 campaign.
It looks like the Knights will rebuild the line around junior Jacob Riddle (6-2, 280), sophomore Kaiden Kiselka (5-9, 200) and junior Aaron Junior Moore (6-3, 290).
Where the team appears to be really talented is in the skill positions.
First and foremost is sophomore Caden Mincer, who produced the best season by a Franklin running back in years with 859 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns. Mincer is also an outstanding two-way player.
The Knights will also count on sophomore Freddie Blackhurst, one of several who battled injuries in 2024, but still came up with 126 yards on the ground on 33 carries. He's also a threat as a receiver and has played a little quarterback. He and junior Eddie Maddox are the only others on the team besides Carey and Lynch to do that.
Junior Jayden Wilmoth , who is only like 5-4, bot 180, was the leading receiver with 15 catches for 251 yards. Julian Johnson started both ways at wide receiver and in the defensive secondary. Evan Steigwerwald, starting fullback and linebacker, was another who lost playing time due to injury toward the end of the season.
Three freshmen, twins Liam and Isaac Grigsby and Conor Johnson, began to see a lot of action at those positions toward the end of the season. But the Knights' top ninth-grader is 6-2 Luke Marsteller, who is listed as a tight end. He saw a lot of varsity action.
Another returning star is junior Connor Ritchey, who kicker four field goals (and nine extra points.) His longest field goal was 42 yards against Oil City.
So, until next fall...
Veteran lineman Jeremy "Killer" Cunningham has a chat with Franklin braintrust during a break in the Franklin-Norrth East game on Sept. 21. Cunningham, a senior, has been a stalwart on the Franklin list the last couple of years.