Wildcats rebound with dominating victory over Ross

Visitors use size advantage on the line to gain 365 yards on the ground against Rams.

Mesoraco's slam sends Reds over Braves
7:38 a.m.
Lost chances cost Cougars
5/25/12
Badin advances to regional final
5/25/12
West hopes to keep winning
5/25/12
Is third time the charm for senior?
5/25/12
> More sports headlines

By Pete Conrad, Staff Writer 1:13 AM Saturday, September 5, 2009

ROSS TWP. — Following a loss in the season opener, Franklin High School coach Rodney Roberts said his Wildcats had something to prove Friday night, Sept. 4.

What they proved was that if they can control the line of scrimmage like they did against the Ross Rams, they can do just about anything.

Franklin racked up 365 yards on the ground and defeated the Rams 34-18 at Robinson Field.

“After our performance last week — we weren’t happy with the way we played — we wanted to come out tonight prove what we were capable of,” said Roberts, whose team evened its record at 1-1.

“We took a big step forward tonight,” he said.

Franklin senior running back Dylan Salyers took a lot of steps forward, rushing 13 times for 166 yards and two touchdowns and scoring another touchdown on a 9-yard pass from senior quarterback Ben Sizemore.

Ross coach Brian Butts said his linemen were much smaller than those of Franklin. That made a big difference.

“When you’re a 180-pound lineman going against a 280-pounder, you get worn down really fast,” said Butts, whose Rams slipped to 1-1. “Physically, they just manhandled us up front.

“We talked about having to have an extraordinary effort to make up (the size difference),” he said. “Last week we had it. This week we didn’t.”

Franklin led 14-0 following touchdowns runs by Salyers and Eric Hildenbrand when Ross finally got up off the mat midway through the second quarter and sliced the lead in half with a 70-yard drive capped by Erik Geiser’s 32-yard touchdown pass to Danny Lane.

The Wildcats responded with an 11-yard run into the end zone by Hildenbrand, who ran nine times for 77 yards and two touchdowns.

Corey Wigal kicked a 22-yard field goal for the Rams and at halftime they were barely holding on, trailing 21-10.

The backbreaker came midway through the third quarter when Salyers picked up a loose ball from a mass of players and sprinted 86 yards for a touchdown.

“Dylan made a great play on that,” Roberts said. “That was all effort on his part.”

The Rams rallied with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Geiser to Casey Vatter. A two-point pass from Geiser to Cole Stalker made it a 16-point game, but Ross could get no closer.

Prior to the game coach Paul Fernandez and his Ross softball team received their Division II state championship rings.

Share this article