62-0 Nuff Said

Dane Brown scoring one of his
four touchdowns

Jon Farbarik celebrating

Captains

The Panthers went on a tear this following week with a 62-0 victory over the Derry Area Trojans. This victory comes after a heartbreaking loss to The Hampton Talbots. This victory secured The Panthers third place in the Greater Allegheny Conference and home field advantage in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs. Dane Brown and Paul Emauele rushed each for over 100 yards, Dane with 120 and Paul with 150. These two scored 6 of the 9 touchdowns on the night. Carter Henderson also had a score and Sophomore Brian Gamwo also scored. At halftime the score was 42-0 and The Panthers didn't look back putting up another 20 points in the second half. The Panthers have Elizabeth Forward Warriors in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs and look to keep their successful season going.

A Block In The Road: Hampton Talbots

Carter Henderson

Nico Lodovico

The Team

The Panthers suffered a devasting loss last week to the Hampton Talbots. The Talbots (7-1) take on Mars (7-1) to determine who wins the Greater Allegheny Conference. Depending on who wins determines where the Panther will be in the Conference. The Panthers struggled last week allowing a massive amount of yards in the air, but their run defense was shutdown. Carter Henderson is looking to break the wpial tackle record this week, he only needs 22 to tie the record 23 to break which was previously set at 136 tackles. The Panthers take on the Derry Area Trojans this week. The Trojans are a team that the Panthers don't to look over but will not be as much of a test as the other teams they have faced. The Trojans look to be a spoiler for the Panthers season, but the Panthers will look to make sure that the train will get back on track just in time for the playoffs.

The Train Keeps On Rolling

Charan Singh 

Captains

Adam Mihoci With a Solid Tackle

The Franklin Regional Panthers have beaten another two tough opponents in the last couple of weeks. First off revenging a tough playoff loss last year to Knoch and then another win against Holidaysburg. The Panthers were in for a fight against Knoch but prevailed in the end, winning 23-13. The Knights gave everything they could but couldn't fend off The Panthers. Nico Lodovico threw for almost 200 yards and Charan Singh caught a touchdown and also racked up 150 yards receiving. Adam Mihoci also had a huge game for The Panthers, leading Dane Brown to many yards rushing. He also caught a touchdown to add to his monstrous night. The Panthers kept the train rolling against the Holidaysburg Golden Tigers. The Panthers went up early with a Dane Brown Touchdown in the first quarter and the offense seemed to stall, but The Panthers seemed to pick up right before halftime, with a touchdown run from Nico Lodovico. The Panthers picked it up in the second half, scoring early with Dane Brown, then Matt Yurko and Paul Emanuele finished it out. Dane Brown, a Cornell Commit, carried the ball for 100 yards, which led the Panthers to Victory on Homecoming. Dane Brown and his girlfriend, Maggie Kimmich, won Homecoming King and Queen. The Panthers look to take the conference lead with a win over Hampton in the upcoming week and look to keep the train rolling.

Revenge: Knoch Knights

Rallying the troops

Pregame Huddle

Barry O'Block and Cory Lauer after a tough loss

Game Preview"In taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy; but in passing it over, he is superior" said by Francis Bacon. The Panthers look to pass over The Knoch Knights with a win and become superior. The loss last year against Knoch, was one of the hardest things for Panthers to overcome and a win would easily fix that. In the third round of the WPIAL playoffs last year, The Panthers and The Knights met and it was one of the most exciting games in highschool history. A huge crowd of almost 8,000 people showed up to watch the heavyweight battle between two unbeaten powerhouses, but The Panthers came out on the wrong side of things with a score of 9-7 Knights. The Knights kicked a field goal with about 3 seconds left to win the game, which sent them to Heinz Field, where they would get pounded by The WPIAL champions, The Montour Spartans. The Panthers return a lot of starters this year, which the Knights do not. The Knights lost two key players on offense, Running Back Andrew Rumburg-Goodlin and Quarterback Dakota Bruggeman. The Panthers look to keep the train rolling this week with a revenge victory over The Knights this week. This win would not only help the seniors this year but also the seniors last year who didn't get the victory and didn't get the chance to play at Heinz Field.

Game Preview

Answering The Call: BVA Leopards 35-7

The Whole Team

Austin Duncan Scoring a Touchdown

Final Score

The Panthers did much more than answer the call on friday night against the Belle Vernon Area Leopards.  Charan Singh started the scoring for The Panthers within the first three minutes of the game. The Panthers never looked back after the first touchdown. Dane Brown scored the next touchdown for The Panthers and then the offense didn't see the field much in the first half. The offense ran a total of 24 plays, which they average about 50-60 plays per game on offense. The offense seemed like it could never get going because the defense was on the field the whole time. Austin Duncan scored the next touchdown for The Panthers on a fumble recovery and on the following series Colin Jonov had an interception which he returned for a touchdown. On the next series, The Panthers forced The Leopards to punt and The Panthers scored another touchdown on a punt return. The Panthers put up 35 points in the first half and didn't look back at The Leopards. The Leopards(1-4) were picked to win their conference (Big 9) in the preseason have taken a turn for the worse. On the other hand, The Panthers(4-1), one of the favorites in triple-A, have not look back since the Mars lose. The Panthers look to continue their success this week with another win over another tough opponent in The Knoch Knights.

Welcome To The Jungle: Belle Vernon Area Leopards

Belle Vernon's Dorian Johnson

Nick Helsley pumped up for the game

Up next for The Panthers is the Belle Vernon Area Leopards. The Leopards are led by a Division-1 recruit, Dorian Johnson. Johnson, 6'6", weighs in at a whopping 290 pounds and is a force on both defense and offense. He already verbally committed to Penn State, but is reconsidering his decision. He has gotten offers from Penn State, Pitt, Ohio State, West Virginia, Alabama, Notre Dame and many others. Other than Johnson, The Panthers have a good chance of beating the Leopards. The Leopards are a very sloppy team that makes a lot of mistakes, which The Panthers should easily capitalize on. Coming off the impressive win against Greensburg Salem, The Panthers looked like they couldn't make any mistakes and look to keep the train rolling this week.

The Panthers after another win

Dorian Johnson's Interview: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/high-school-football/blue-chip-chat-withdorian-johnson-belle-vernon-high-school-648910/
Dorian Johnson's Highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcM_-OImF6Q

Impressive win for the Panthers against Greensburg

The Team after an impressive win

Quarterback Nico Lodovico talking
with Lineman  Nick Helsley

Sophomore Brett Zanotto

The Panthers played The Greensburg Salem Lions last week and couldn't be stopped. The Panthers shutout The Lions while putting up 44 points on the scoreboard. The Lions were held to a slim -10 yards of total offense.  During the rout, The Panthers had everyone score. Paul Emanuele led the way after sohpomore Brett Zanotto broke his ankle during the second quarter. Also scoring was Matt Yurko, Charan Singh, Dom Matarazzo, Brett Zanotto and Dom Giannangeli. Luke Fleck also made his season debut and it looked like he didn't miss a beat. The Panthers looked like they couldn't be stopped, scoring their first touchdown within the first 3 minutes of the game. They never looked back from there and scored 35 points in the first half. The Panthers look to continue their success this upcoming week with another tough opponent in Belle Vernon.

Sahara Desert Expedition: Greensburg Salem Lions

Coach rallying the troops

Senior Luke Fleck looks to make his return this week

Nick Vento with a strong runThe Franklin Regional Football Panthers have yet another hard challenge this week, dealing with the Lions of   Greensburg Salem. The Lions are 1-2 with tough loses to Holidaysburg and Knoch, yet there record does not show what kind of football team they are. The Lions are a very physical team, yet they lack athleticism at some of skill positions. The Panthers expect a lot of play by The Lions freshmen quarterback and number 7 Denzell Jackson. The Panthers should look to continue their success this week much like they did last week against the Highlands Rams. The final score came out to be 35-3. The Rams came out and showed no weakness, marching the ball right down the field and kicking a field goal, but after that it was all The Panthers. For the second week in a row The Panthers had to overcome adversity because of Senior Leader Dane Brown being out. Picking up the slack was the dynamic trio of Nick Vento, Brett Zanotto and Paul Emanuele. Dane Brown should look to return next week against the Leopards of Belle Vernon, meanwhile Senior Center Luke Fleck looks to make a return this week against the Lions. The Panthers showed many highlights, which include the offense line and kicker Brent Velasquez, but they still have not peaked at how great they can become and with Luke Fleck coming back , The Panthers look to keep the train moving at high speed and have no let up.

Next Up The Golden Rams Of Highlands

Coach Botta talking to the team after the win

Carter Henderson(Left) and Nico Lodvico (Right)

Dane Brown after suffering an ankle injury 

Coming off an impressive win, The Panthers look to continue their success against The Golden Rams of Highlands High School. The Panthers took it to Indiana last week scoring 35 points and allowing 0. Senior quarterback Nico Lodovico threw for an impressive 279 yards and two touchdowns. On the receiving end of the passing attack were Charan Singh with 75 yards receiving and Colin Jonov with 179 yards receiving. The Panthers overcame adversity right off the bat with their running back, Dane Brown, going down early with an ankle injury. Picking up the slack, after Dane went out was Senior Nick Vento and Sophomore Brett Zannotto. The Panthers have another tough opponent this week facing the Highlands Golden Rams. The Rams are a very young team, featuring 15 freshmen and only 5 seniors. They run a very conventional offense like any other team and their defense is the same way. Highlands is highlighted by their Sophomore Quarterback, whom is a threat running more than he is passing. The Golden Rams are going to be a tough opponent if the panthers let them be a tough opponent and The Panthers look to keep the train on track without stopping for anybody.  

Calling of the Tribe: Indiana Indians

This week The Panthers of Franklin Regional have a another good test with the Indiana Indians. The Indiana Indians run a very tricky offense to defend, which is known as the triple option. The offense features a lot of motions of back and reading with the quarterback. This week of practice for The Panthers was a good one. Coach Botta was very pleased on the progress we made from last week to this week. This week the practices were very uptempo and a lot of conditioning was used as motivation from the loss of Mars. The Indians are highlighted by a division 1 center and their quarterback. The center gets off the ball well and will be a test for Jon Farbarik. The quarterback is a fast athletic quarterback but he lacks the arm of good quarterback. The biggest threat is their running game and their passing game is below average. The defense is also average as well. After a devastating loss to Mars, The Panthers look to get back on track this week with a win over Indiana and everything will sit a lot better in everyone's stomach next week.

The Panthers Found Life On Mars With a Tough Loss

It wasn't the best of weeks for the Franklin Regional Football Team last week. Suffering their first loss of the season to the Mars Fighting Planets. The Panthers coming into the game, ranked third in the state, thought that this game was going to be a good battle but could easily have been won. The game ended in a score of Mars 21 to Franklin 17 and the Panthers were distraught with the loss. The Panthers had some bright spots, even with the loss. Dane Brown carried the ball for 173 yards, Carter Henderson had 13 tackles, 2 tackles for loss and the new kicker Brent Velasquez nailed two extra points and kicked his first field goal. The offense and defense didn't look they missed a beat from last, even though we lost. 6 starters on both sides of the ball. The Panthers look to get the train back on track this week with a victory of The Indiana Indians.

A Little About Me

 Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, where I will be talking about the Franklin Regional Football team on a weekly basis, what goes on during the week and how the team feels about there match up on the upcoming Friday. I, Matt Yurko, am a senior at Franklin Regional High School, play fullback and defensive end for the Panthers. I have two brothers, Ev(13) and Ben(8), who are my biggest supporters as well as my mom and dad. Most of my free time activities consist of football, since football is like a job. An average football week consist of 3 hour practices four days a week and the game on Friday and when I get done I am usually drained from the practice and don't have any energy to do anything. Although football takes up most of my life I still enjoy it. Again I thank you for reading this blog and hope you continue in the future.

Forever and Always,

Matt Yurko