By Ethan Hoffman--Eagle Staff Writer
The Franklin County High School Eagles Varsity Football squad has kicked off their 2022-2023 regular season! The Eagles sit 1-2 with an opening night win @ Bassett, a crushing defeat against Salem, and a loss to Liberty Christain.
Head Coach J.R. Edwards stated this season’s record, before the LCA game is as black and white as it seems, “[we have] One win, one loss… One was good enough, one wasn't.”
The Eagles are coming off an average 5-6 2021-2022 season, which included a loss in the first round of the playoffs to Western Branch 35-27.
“Last season, I think the biggest thing was playing relaxed and playing fast. Last year we were thinking too much and not relaxed” stated Defensive Coordinator Chandler Hunt.
Week One matched up the Eagles with Bassett High School, which was doing a special “Black-Out” event, which included all-black uniforms for the Bengals.
“...The blackout [event] Bassett was doing got our guys riled up,” Hunt revealed.
FC won the game 21-17, on the back of a great offensive and defensive performance as a whole.
“[It is] a combination of about 45 young men doing their jobs for about 160 plays,” Edwards shared.
The spirits were not as high for the end of the game against the Salem Spartans. FC took a heart-wrenching loss to Salem 33-32, after an offensive masterclass by both teams. Being down 7 with 39 seconds left to play, a QB sneak from QB Eli Foutz put the Eagles within one. However, on the subsequent 2-point conversion attempt, a controversial and unsuccessful trick play was called, handing Salem the victory.
The Eagles took on Liberty Christian on September 9th. LCA is fresh from a Class 3 Championship Game appearance last year and looks to force FC an aggressive hand. Before the game on Friday, Coach Hunt said whilst LCA made be a difficult opponent, the defense was ready for anything the offense threw at them.
“LCA does a lot of stuff, a lot of different formations- trying to trick us," Hunt explained. "We have a good game plan- I think we have a good chance of winning if we stick to the game plan.”
Unfortunately, a well-rounded LCA team beat the Eagles 34-14, largely due to their offensive attack.
Even after the loss, hopes are high on the Eagle’s sidelines for the remainder of the season, and spirits are rising after a major Eagle victory of 40-0 at home against Magna Vista on September 16. Now, the players just have to maintain this momentum.
“The defense is going to play hard. We are going to fight in every game, we are not going to get down," Hunt added, followed by a comment from Edwards. “I think they can do anything they set their minds to, and decide to consistently get after it."
The remaining schedule is as followed:
@ Hidden Valley 9/23
vs. Staunton River 10/7
@ William Byrd 10/14
vs. William Fleming 10/21
@ Lord Botetourt 10/28
@ Northside 11/4