Chanel's Tony Franklin Doesn't Kick

2001 OHSAA DIVISION V STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME BEDFORD CHANEL 44, MARION PLEASANT 27 CANTON -- Don't mistake Bedford Chanel running back Tony Franklin for former the Philadelphia Eagles kicker of the same name. Chanel's Franklin doesn't kick. Well, not footballs anyway. Franklin did, however, kick the Chanel run attack into high gear Friday night at Fawcett Stadium in Canton, rushing for a championship record 393 yards to power the Firebirds past the Marion Pleasant Spartans 44-27 in the Division V state championship game. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound senior carried 33 times and scored four touchdowns for Chanel (15-0), his scoring runs going for 10, 49, 80 and 81 yards. The two longest runs capped two one-play drives for the Firebirds while the 49-yarder was just the second play of another Chanel drive. The run attack helped the Firebirds take a 31-0 lead over Pleasant (14-1) early in the third period. An injury to starting quarterback Scott Jefferies in the first quarter didn't help matters for the Spartans, but the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference champions did try to rally in the second half. Pleasant came up with a pair of touchdowns -- and 18-yard touchdown pass from Braden Freeman to Adam Hesler on one drive and a two-yard James Taylor run on another -- to close the Spartans within 18 points, 31-13. But Franklin broke off his final touchdown run of the game, the 80-yard sprint, on the first play of the Firebirds' ensuing drive to push the margin back to 25 points. Freeman came up with a 37-yard punt return for a score midway through the final period and caught a six-yard TD strike from J.R. Cleveland in the final seconds, but Kyle Moriarty's 10-yard TD pass to Jason Perry locked up the game for the Firebirds in between the two Pleasant scores. Franklin's 10-yard TD run, one that capped an eight-play, 80-yard drive, opened the scoring with 7:02 left in the first quarter. Franklin broke off his 81-yard run with 8:12 left in the second period and Chris Penny added a 24-yard field goal with 5:39 left in the first half to put Chanel ahead 17-0. Moriarty's 49-yard strike to Michael Collins with 1:20 left in the second gave Chanel a 24-0 lead at the half, and Franklin's 49-yard run on the second play from scrimmage in the second half pushed Chanel to their 31-point edge. Chanel didn't need much of a passing game with Franklin carrying the load. Moriarty threw just six times and completes three passes, but threw for 72 yards, had no interceptions, and two of his three completions went for touchdowns. Perry had two of the three catches for 23 yards to lead the team. Pleasant's Cleveland did a solid job under center after being forced into action by Jefferies' injury. Cleveland completed 8-of-13 passes for 150 yards and one touchdown for the Spartans. Jefferies was 4-of-7 for 49 yards before his injury, while Freeman was 2-for-3 for 24 yards with another TD strike. Hesler led all receivers with six catches for 118 yards while Preston Field topped the Spartan rushers with 94 yards on 10 carries. SCORE BY QUARTERS Pleasant...............0.....0....13...14.........27 Chanel.................7...17....14.....6.........44 SCORING SUMMARY FIRST QUARTER CHANEL - Tony Franklin 10 run (Chris Penny kick), 7:02. (8 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:58) SECOND QUARTER CHANEL - Tony Franklin 81 run (Trevor Nikles kick), 8:12. (1 plays, 81 yards, TOP 0:11) CHANEL - FG Chris Penny 24, 5:39. (4 plays, 1 yard, TOP 1:28) CHANEL - Michael Collins 49 pass from Kyle Moriarity (Trevor Nikles kick), 1:20. (3 plays, 60 yards, TOP 1:06) THIRD QUARTER CHANEL - Tony Franklin 49 run (Chris Penny kick), 11:11. (2 plays, 50 yards, TOP 0:49) PLE - Adam Hesler 18 pass from Braden Freeman (Shawn Galloway kick), 7:56. (8 plays, 73 yards, TOP 3:15) PLE - James Taylor 2 run (kick blocked), 5:25. (2 plays, 38 yards, TOP 0:11) CHANEL - Tony Franklin 80 run (Trevor Nikles kick), 5:10. (1 play, 80 yards, TOP 0:15) FOURTH QUARTER PLE - Braden Freeman 37 punt return (pass failed), 6:00. CHANEL - Jason Perry 10 pass from Kyle Moriarity (kick failed), 2:01. (5 plays, 31 yards, TOP 1:37) PLE - J.R. Cleveland 6 pass from Braden Freeman (Preston Field run), :32. (6 plays, 64 yards, TOP 1:29) TEAM STATISTICS..............PLE......CHANEL First Downs................................21.................16 Rushes-Yards......................41-154.........49-414 Passing Yards............................223................72 Passes Att-Comp-Int..........14-23-0...........3-6-0 Total Offense.............................377..............486 Punts-Avg.............................3-27.0..........2-32.5 Fumbles-Lost.............................5-2...............2-2 Penalties-Yards........................4-29.............5-26 Time of Possession..................23:15............24:45 RUSHING: Pleasant-Preston Field 10-94, Adam Hennessy 10-34, Scott Jefferies 3-16, Nick Perin 1-11, Braden Freeman 3-7, Justin Williams 7-6, James Taylor 1-2, J.R. Cleveland 6-(-16). Chanel-Tony Franklin 33-393, T.Terry 6-28, Jason Perry 3-(-2), Team 2-(-2); Kyle Moriarity 5-(-3). PASSING: Pleasant-J.R. Cleveland 8-13-0-150, Scott Jefferies 4-7-0-49, Braden Freeman 2-3-0-24. Chanel-Kyle Moriarity 3-6-0-72. RECEIVING: Pleasant-Adam Hesler 6-118, Braden Freeman 4-69, J.R. Cleveland 2-12, Preston Field 1-24, Justin Williams 1-0. Chanel-Jason Perry 2-23, Michael Collins 1-49. INTERCEPTIONS: Pleasant-None. Chanel-None. clecinosu