Hickory defense dominates in victory over Franklin

Sep. 3—HERMITAGE — Before the season began, Hickory football coach Bill Dungee said the one question will be the production in the trenches.

There wasn't any doubt who won the line of scrimmage during the Hornets' 62-3 win over Franklin on Friday night in Hermitage.

Hickory (2-0) held the Knights to 29 yards of total offense. The Hornets defensive front was specially disruptive, driving the Franklin (0-2) rusher back for negative-39 yards on 39 carries.

The Hornets' defense started strong. The first four Franklin possessions ended with two turnovers and a pair of punts.

"We really needed (the first four stops)," said linebacker Sean Kennedy, who finished with two tackles for loss and a sack. "When you get those type of things, it changes the whole game around. It changes everything. Our offensive mindset, lets get in there and lets go score again. Our defensive side, its the same thing. Just keep pounding them and pounding them."

The Hornets recorded five sacks, intercepted a pass and forced a fumble. and most of that was in the first half.

They allowed only one significant drive by the Knights. Franklin capped a nine-play drive with a 36-yard field goal by Nathan Pfennigwerth early in the second quarter.

From that point on, the Knights couldn't muster anything on offense.

"The defense did a great job, really the last two weeks," Dungee said. "They've been put in bad situations, and to only give up 13 points in the first two weeks, couldn't be happier."

The defensive dominance gave the Hornets a short field, and they capitalized frequently.

Hickory went up 13-0 after an interception and forced fumble. DayMar Trawick scored on a 13-yard run to open the scoring on Hickory's first drive. Logan Woods drove the Hornets down the field on the second possession. A bad snap put the ball on the ground, but the quarterback recovered in the end zone.

Keenan Scullin pushed the lead to 20-0 later in the quarter