Indians Lose Away to Franklin-Simpson 27-20

The district matchup between Franklin-Simpson and Adair County took place last Friday, and it was one to remember.

Going into the matchup the Indians knew they had a tough task ahead of them as Franklin-Simpson is ranked as one of the top teams in the district and have gone undefeated up to this point with many impressive wins.

The game started out slow as quarterback Lane Grant took the snap and attempted to run it up the middle. He was then struck by a Franklin-Simpson linebacker and fumbled to begin the game. This would eventually lead to a Wildcats touchdown.

The game was stuck at 7-0 for a long period of time as neither team could get anything going. It was then that junior wide receiver Solomon Stonebraker was able to break away and put the Indians on the board.

The score would remain 7-7 until Stonebraker was able to get in the end zone for the second time of the game, this time throwing the pass was junior wide receiver Aiden Smith. Aiden recurved the ball off of a pitch from Grant, then threw the ball to Stonebraker for a 69-yard touchdown.

When asked about the catch, Grant said “that’s a play we’ve been saving for them. We knew we’d have to use everything we had in our playbook.”

In total Solomon would rack up eight total receptions for 140 yards, and two of the three touchdowns.

The other touchdown was caught by Aiden Smith. This touchdown came in a timely fashion as it was 4th down in the fourth quarter. It was a must score opportunity and Smith jumped above a Franklin-Simpson defensive back for a spectacular touchdown catch.

Aiden has really found his stride the past few games and makes a world of difference on the field.

Grant threw for 117 passing yards on 13/24 completions and two passing touchdowns. The difference Grant makes is quite obviously on his feet as he rushed for 88 yards on 24 attempts throughout the game.

On the defensive side of the ball the Tribe held strong throughout much of the first half but seemed to struggle due to the size of the Franklin-Simpson running backs in much of the second half. Fortunately, junior linebacker, Timothy Streeval, put his skills to good use Friday as the hard hitter totaled eight tackles and was one of the few Indians who had any success containing the run.

Another key component of the Indians game that is often overlooked by many is their kickoff team. When the Indians seemed like the game was going to get away from them, the special teams came up big and recovered an onside kick. This would lead to the Indians score than would make it a one possession game.

Although the Indians weren’t able to pull out the win, there are many great things to take away from the game. Being able to keep it close with a top tier team in our district shows our guys that we can play with the best teams around.

On Friday, the Tribe will go head-to-head against Monroe County at home. The game starts at 7 p.m. and is not a game Indian fans will want to miss.

By Trenton Page
sports@adairvoice.com