The Franklin Panthers looked goof Friday in a 24-7 win over West Henderson. It was a nice start to the 2008 season. At times the team showed their youthfulness with hints of inexperience, but overall had a solid showing. For the lack of returning expereinced players the offense did a fine job behind QB Auston Bishop, WR Ryan Evers and RB Blaine Clark. I think we will see signs of a very good offense as the weeks go by.
The defense looked great. Our defense will be the key to the season. Great defense wins games.
the season is young but the promise of another great year of Franklin football looks good.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
2008 Football Season Is Here!
Friday begins the 2008 season of high school football in western North Carolina. I wondered if people get this excited about HS football in other part of the the country. It's hard to imagine they do.
We at Panther Country are geared up to bring you the best season of Panther Football on the web as humanly possibly. We have made some great contacts with other people who will be helping supply even more photos this year. We will also continue to add weekly highlight videos from every game possible. (last year we had high light videos for all but 2 games!).
We will have links to news articles written by our own volunteers and links to local media with their coverage as well!
It's going to be a great season and lot of fun. Hope you will be checking back often here at Panther Country to see it all.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Plemmons Resigns As Franklin Basketball Coach
Plemmons resigns from Franklin
by APEARSON@CITIZEN-TIMES.COM
published April 8, 2008 12:17 am
FRANKLIN — Robert Browning sat across from Doug Plemmons last year at Franklin, interviewing for much more than an assistant coaching position.
Plemmons made good on a promise Monday by resigning as the Panthers’ boys basketball coach and handing the title to Browning.
The timing might seem peculiar — Plemmons shared the Mountain Athletic Conference Coach of the Year award this past season with Roberson’s Kevin Keen. But Plemmons, a veteran of 25 years (15 at Franklin), had a plan when he brought in Browning.
“This is something I’ve thought about for a few years now,” said Plemmons, who will remain Franklin’s athletic director.
“I wanted to wait until the correct time, and this is it. I feel proud of the progress we made this year, and it was a good, solid year for our nine seniors.”
The Panthers won just five games in the 2006-07 season but improved to 12-12 this winter.
Plemmons has accumulated 456 career wins, 10 regular-season conference championships, five conference tournament titles and three sectional championships. His teams advanced to a regional championship twice and qualified for the state playoffs in all but four seasons.
Browning’s coaching career began in 1992.
He has head coaching experience at North Carolina and West Virginia high schools and was most recently Greene Central’s coach from 2005-07. In his final year there, Browning, 41, was named the Eastern Plains Conference Coach of the Year.
“I’m thankful for this opportunity,” Browning said. “Since I’ve gotten to Franklin, I’ve been amazed at how respectful the kids are. The standards for athletics and teaching are high.
“We’ll have to start from scratch next year since not a lot of our players are going to have experience. We’ll really have to be a team that plays as one. And to me, that’s what coach Plemmons taught so well here.”
by APEARSON@CITIZEN-TIMES.COM
published April 8, 2008 12:17 am
FRANKLIN — Robert Browning sat across from Doug Plemmons last year at Franklin, interviewing for much more than an assistant coaching position.
Plemmons made good on a promise Monday by resigning as the Panthers’ boys basketball coach and handing the title to Browning.
The timing might seem peculiar — Plemmons shared the Mountain Athletic Conference Coach of the Year award this past season with Roberson’s Kevin Keen. But Plemmons, a veteran of 25 years (15 at Franklin), had a plan when he brought in Browning.
“This is something I’ve thought about for a few years now,” said Plemmons, who will remain Franklin’s athletic director.
“I wanted to wait until the correct time, and this is it. I feel proud of the progress we made this year, and it was a good, solid year for our nine seniors.”
The Panthers won just five games in the 2006-07 season but improved to 12-12 this winter.
Plemmons has accumulated 456 career wins, 10 regular-season conference championships, five conference tournament titles and three sectional championships. His teams advanced to a regional championship twice and qualified for the state playoffs in all but four seasons.
Browning’s coaching career began in 1992.
He has head coaching experience at North Carolina and West Virginia high schools and was most recently Greene Central’s coach from 2005-07. In his final year there, Browning, 41, was named the Eastern Plains Conference Coach of the Year.
“I’m thankful for this opportunity,” Browning said. “Since I’ve gotten to Franklin, I’ve been amazed at how respectful the kids are. The standards for athletics and teaching are high.
“We’ll have to start from scratch next year since not a lot of our players are going to have experience. We’ll really have to be a team that plays as one. And to me, that’s what coach Plemmons taught so well here.”
Friday, March 7, 2008
Lady Panthers Basketball State Playoffs
The Lady Panthers play in the 4th round of the state playoffs tonight. Panther Country wishes them all the best.
Here's is an article in todays Asheville Citizen Times about their playoff run:
Panthers turn season around
by Andrew Pearson
The Panthers (23-6) haven’t squandered an opportunity since, winning their first, second and third postseason games since 1987.
“This group has just shown a ton of heart,” Franklin coach Jay Brooks said. “They’ve paid the price to get this program where it is. Being down here (at the 3-A Western Regional basketball tournament) is something they’ve earned.”
Brooks wasn’t always so cheery. Especially not after the Panthers were upset by Erwin, 47-37, in the MAC tournament’s semifinals on Feb. 20.
That costly defeat put Franklin into a position where it had to win the No. 2 seed the next day in a tiebreaker game against North Buncombe, which the Panthers did. During the regular season, they also had two opportunities to clinch but lost both times.
Now, Franklin and leading scorer Jena Cabe (16.5 points and 3.0 steals per game) faces South Piedmont Conference champion Concord (28-2) at 7 tonight at Atkins High. The Spiders average 73 points a game. Senior T.T. Belcher, who has more than 1,000 career points and rebounds, is the SPC Player of the Year.
“I think we’ve scored 73 points maybe three times this season,” Brooks said. “We’ve had a real tough two weeks with six games. But we’ve also played two of our best games (in the 3-A state playoffs).”
Center Melanie Stewart (5.1 rebounds a game) had double-doubles in the Panthers’ last two victories over Kings Mountain and Charlotte Catholic. Two Panthers dish out two or more assists a game — Evan Moffitt (2.3) and Whitney Harrell (2.1).
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Franklin Football Just 5 Months Away
Alright, first thing...it's been FOREVER since we have posted on the Panther Country Blog. Sorry about that. The Panther Country website with the pictures, videos, stories and other upkeep make it very hard to get on here and type entries.
So it's the end of February and we are just over 5months away from Franklin Football kicking back up. We do have the 2008 schedule available now. Here's a look at who the Panthers square off against in '08:
Aug. 12
Hayesville (Scrimmage)
Away
6:00
Aug. 15
Owen (Scrimmage)
Home
TBA
Aug. 22
West Henderson
Away
7:30
Aug. 29
Murphy
Away
7:30
Sept. 5
Robbinsville
Home
7:30
Sept. 12
Swain
Away
7:30
Sept. 19
Smoky Mtn.
Home
7:30
Sept. 26
TC Roberson **
Away
7:30
Oct. 3
Erwin**
Home
7:30
Oct. 10
Tuscola**
Away
7:30
Oct. 17
Open
Oct. 24
North Buncombe**
Home
7:30
Oct. 31
Asheville**
Away
7:30
Nov. 07
Enka**
Home
7:30
Nov. 14
1st Rd Playoffs-TBA
TBA
7:30
So it's the end of February and we are just over 5months away from Franklin Football kicking back up. We do have the 2008 schedule available now. Here's a look at who the Panthers square off against in '08:
Aug. 12
Hayesville (Scrimmage)
Away
6:00
Aug. 15
Owen (Scrimmage)
Home
TBA
Aug. 22
West Henderson
Away
7:30
Aug. 29
Murphy
Away
7:30
Sept. 5
Robbinsville
Home
7:30
Sept. 12
Swain
Away
7:30
Sept. 19
Smoky Mtn.
Home
7:30
Sept. 26
TC Roberson **
Away
7:30
Oct. 3
Erwin**
Home
7:30
Oct. 10
Tuscola**
Away
7:30
Oct. 17
Open
Oct. 24
North Buncombe**
Home
7:30
Oct. 31
Asheville**
Away
7:30
Nov. 07
Enka**
Home
7:30
Nov. 14
1st Rd Playoffs-TBA
TBA
7:30
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Franklin's Breakdown Against Murphy
By now you have seen that Franklin fell to Murphy on Friday to move to 1-1 on the football season. The game was nothing short of a heartbreaker. Franklin held an 11 point lead in the 4th with about 4 minutes left and let it slip away. Murphy took home the win 27-24. It was a tough one to watch.
That said, I was thinkning last night and I wondered, "can a loss be a good thing?". What do you think? Post you thoughts on the comments section.
The reality as of Friday night is that our passing game and pass defense is struggling. But, both of those, especially the passing game, can improve quickly. This loss could end up being a great thing for this team. Talk about motivation and wanting some redemption the next 2 weeks against other Smoky Mountain Conference teams (Robbinsville and Swain County). Knowing Coach Brooks, he won't let this ruin the season. The boys played their hearts out and now know the things they must take care of to hold on to leads and win games in the 4th quarter.
One other note: How impressive is our O-Line and RB Josh Young? WOW! The kid runs for 300 plus the first week against Hayesville. Murphy comes in and you know they are going to try and shut him down and he still gets 250 yards! Amazing running by Young and even more credit to another wonderfully organized O-line for the Panthers.
Go Panthers!
That said, I was thinkning last night and I wondered, "can a loss be a good thing?". What do you think? Post you thoughts on the comments section.
The reality as of Friday night is that our passing game and pass defense is struggling. But, both of those, especially the passing game, can improve quickly. This loss could end up being a great thing for this team. Talk about motivation and wanting some redemption the next 2 weeks against other Smoky Mountain Conference teams (Robbinsville and Swain County). Knowing Coach Brooks, he won't let this ruin the season. The boys played their hearts out and now know the things they must take care of to hold on to leads and win games in the 4th quarter.
One other note: How impressive is our O-Line and RB Josh Young? WOW! The kid runs for 300 plus the first week against Hayesville. Murphy comes in and you know they are going to try and shut him down and he still gets 250 yards! Amazing running by Young and even more credit to another wonderfully organized O-line for the Panthers.
We will see what Friday holds against Robbinsville at Big Oak Stadium for our Panthers. If the Panthers hold a lead in the 4th, I don't think you'll see it slip away this week.
Go Panthers!
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Panther Country Is Alive And Well
The first week of high school football in the mountains has been electric. Week one was a "W" for our Panthers as they downed hayesville 35-16 at the Panther Pit.
RB Josh Young had an amazing game. He was just 10 yards short of breaking the single game rushing record for Franklin. I am sure if Coach Josh had known he would have let Young stay in to break the record. Iit would have been nice to be there and witness it.
The offensive line looked pretty strong on Friday. I guess that is evident from Young's 313 yards rushing. The passing game needs some work, but it was slow out the gate last year. After a few games I'm sure QB Vose will have no trouble connecting with his recievers.
Panther Country is alive and well. The community is excited about another fun season and the coaching staff is as good as ever. We are lucky to have such a deep and committed staff for the program.
Keep checking out the Panther Country site at www.fhspanthers.com. We will keep the stories, audio and videos coming.
Go Panthers.
RB Josh Young had an amazing game. He was just 10 yards short of breaking the single game rushing record for Franklin. I am sure if Coach Josh had known he would have let Young stay in to break the record. Iit would have been nice to be there and witness it.
The offensive line looked pretty strong on Friday. I guess that is evident from Young's 313 yards rushing. The passing game needs some work, but it was slow out the gate last year. After a few games I'm sure QB Vose will have no trouble connecting with his recievers.
Panther Country is alive and well. The community is excited about another fun season and the coaching staff is as good as ever. We are lucky to have such a deep and committed staff for the program.
Keep checking out the Panther Country site at www.fhspanthers.com. We will keep the stories, audio and videos coming.
Go Panthers.
Friday, August 10, 2007
FHS Football vs Cherokee (scrimmage) Tonight
The Panthers get to put on the pads and hit someone tonight as they scrimmage 1A Cherokee. It is going to very hot tonight as it is currently 88 degrees in Franklin and rising. This will give Coach Josh Brooks a good look to see where his boys stand after preseason workouts.
The first game is just 7 days away! The Panthers matchup against Hayesville at home on August 17th. Be sure to check back at Panther Country for full stories, audio, video and more online at www.fhspanthers.com
As always, you can also listen to the game live on 96.7 WNCC in Franklin next Friday night or online at their website www.967wncc.com The Streaming audio is only good live during the game.
Go Panthers!
The first game is just 7 days away! The Panthers matchup against Hayesville at home on August 17th. Be sure to check back at Panther Country for full stories, audio, video and more online at www.fhspanthers.com
As always, you can also listen to the game live on 96.7 WNCC in Franklin next Friday night or online at their website www.967wncc.com The Streaming audio is only good live during the game.
Go Panthers!
Thursday, May 3, 2007
FHS Principal Sheilds Honored By NCHSAA
Gary Sheilds was awarded "Principal Of The Year" by the NCHSAA. He is in Raleigh to recieve the award today.
Mr Sheilds is a wonderful principal. Some of us from Panther Country went to FHS under his watch. You will find that almost every student has nothing but positive things to say about Mr. Sheilds. He is friendly and caring about the students, but it also very clear about what he expects from you.
When it comes to athletics, Sheilds is a great supporter. He has allowed Franklin to compete with the best teams in the mountains by setting high on feild and in the classroom standards. He has also been instrumental in hiring the type of coaches that Franklin currently has that work hard to win but do it the right way.
Sheilds fondness for FHS's students and teachers is evident. It will be a sad day whenever he does decide to retire. Someone will have some big shoes to fill.
Asheville Citizen Times Story on Gary Sheilds
Mr Sheilds is a wonderful principal. Some of us from Panther Country went to FHS under his watch. You will find that almost every student has nothing but positive things to say about Mr. Sheilds. He is friendly and caring about the students, but it also very clear about what he expects from you.
When it comes to athletics, Sheilds is a great supporter. He has allowed Franklin to compete with the best teams in the mountains by setting high on feild and in the classroom standards. He has also been instrumental in hiring the type of coaches that Franklin currently has that work hard to win but do it the right way.
Sheilds fondness for FHS's students and teachers is evident. It will be a sad day whenever he does decide to retire. Someone will have some big shoes to fill.
Asheville Citizen Times Story on Gary Sheilds
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Colin Chapman Places 2nd at MAC Golf Champioship
Franklin's Colin Chapman had a great round of golf yesterday with a 70 adding to his first round 76 to give him 2nd place at the MAC Golf Championship. Colin finish with a 16, 9 strokes behind Tuscola's Drew Page.
Page and Chapman have played the best golf in western North Carolina all season long and now both with take their clubs to regionals to take on the best in the region.
Good luck to Colin at regionals and congrats to Franklin on another solid golf season.
Now if only we could all hit the ball like Colin!
Page and Chapman have played the best golf in western North Carolina all season long and now both with take their clubs to regionals to take on the best in the region.
Good luck to Colin at regionals and congrats to Franklin on another solid golf season.
Now if only we could all hit the ball like Colin!
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