It was a special win for the Penn-Trafford football team Friday.
The Warriors special teams blocked a field goal, blocked a punt, recovered a muffed punt that turned into a touchdown and had a couple of long kickoff returns to help pull out a hard-fought 26-10 victory over rival Franklin Regional in a Class 5A Big East Conference battle at Warrior Stadium.
“We just got done saying it was one of the ugliest wins we’ve ever had,” Penn-Trafford coach John Ruane said. “But what was really nice about it was how well we played defense to keep them off the board. They made some plays, but we buckled down when they crossed our 20-yard line.
“But that might be the best special teams performance we’ve had in 15 years. We stress the heck out of that to the kids on how important special teams are and tonight, that really proved that.”
Penn-Trafford also took advantage of Franklin Regional miscues: two lost fumbles and two interceptions.
The victory improved the Warriors to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the conference. Franklin Regional falls to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the conference. Both teams are a game behind Woodland Hills, which edged Gateway, 28-27.
Penn-Trafford leads the series 16-8, and the Warriors have won eight consecutive matchups.
Franklin Regional scored on its first possession as Joey Bayne nailed a 29-yard field goal. This came after quarterback Chase Lemke connected on a 35-yard pass to Jaymier Austin.
Penn-Trafford responded on its initial possession to grab a 7-3 lead as Tasso Whipple raced 15 yards for the score. Micheal Cheplick’s 46-yard kickoff gave the Warriors great field position.
The Panthers put together a good drive on their second possession, but they stalled and Bayne’s 34-yard field goal was blocked.
“We had scoring opportunities in the first half and didn’t capitalize,” Franklin Regional coach Lance Getsy said. “We made a couple of mistakes, but our kids fought. They had 14 offensive plays in the first half, and we had 33, We controlled the game, we just didn’t score.”
Penn-Trafford took advantage of a Franklin Regional fumble to stretch its lead to 14-3. It was Jonny Lovre scoring from the 1 after Cheplick recovered a muffed punt at the Franklin Regional 3.
The Panthers drove to the Penn-Trafford 32 late in the first half but were stopped on downs.
Franklin Regional dominated the game in the first half, outgaining the Warriors, 209-56.
The Panthers got an early break to begin the third quarter and trimmed the lead to 14-10. After Jake Weir’s interception, Kyle Dupill scored on a 13-yard run early in the third quarter. Dupill finished with 106 yards rushing.
But Penn-Trafford didn’t buckle. The offense started to make some plays against the stingy Franklin Regional defense.
“I was proud of their resilience because that was a big momentum switch,” Ruane said. “We had a tough time getting stuff going on offense. We didn’t perform well. We have to get better.”
Freshman Jack Miller nailed a 32-yard field goal to extend Penn-Trafford’s lead to 17-10 with 11:15 left.
Then a series of mistakes proved costly for the Panthers. A muff on the kickoff return had them start at their 10. A penalty nullified a first down, and then on fourth down a bad snap to Bayne caused the punt to be blocked by Landyn Stikkel. Jack Silvis picked up the ball and was tackled in the end zone for a safety by Jamison Yurt with 9 minutes, 35 seconds left to push the lead to 19-10.
“All that stuff adds up,” Getsy said. “We shot ourselves in the foot. But listen, Penn-Trafford did play a heck of a game. They were physical and fought their butts off.”
Whipple iced the game with 6:20 left when he raced untouched on a 29-yard touchdown run, his second of the game.
“Franklin Regional always has a solid team, and it’s always been our rival,” Whipple said. “But then again, I trust my team. Our special teams were fantastic.”
Whipple finished with 88 yards rushing. He eclipsed the 3,000-yard mark for his career and moved into fifth place all-time at Penn-Trafford.