No. 3 Frankfort beats North Marion 41-20; Whiteman wins 100th game

Oct. 29—SHORT GAP W.V.a — No. 3 Frankfort pulled away late in a 41-20 win over North Marion Friday night at Frankfort Stadium.

The win was number 100 for Falcons head coach Kevin Whiteman. He is now 100-43 overall while this year's team improves to 8-1 overall and remains 3-0 in the Potomac Valley Conference.

"It means a lot to me," Whiteman said. "I'm very proud to be the coach here. I've been around this football program since I've been a kid. I've been around a lot of good coaches, a lot of good players. My assistants I have now do a wonderful job. It's not just me, I'm a small piece of the puzzle. I wish my mother was here to see it, but I'm glad my dad and brothers were here."

The Huskies (7-1, 6-1 Big Ten Conference) combined for 196 yards of total offense compared to 375 for the Falcons.

"We gotta get more physical, we gotta be more disciplined against this style of offense," North Marion head coach Daran Hays said. "We're kinda used to playing more wide open, spread out and fast tempo."

Frankfort got the ball first and Rocky Fontenot picked up 21 yards on a run early in the drive to the Huskies 28. Parker VanMeter ran for 14 up the middle for a first down at the one. Luke Robinette finished the drive with a quarterback sneak to take the lead.

"That's always huge, when you score and get that momentum going, it's awesome," Whiteman said.

Penalties were a common theme for the Falcons in the first half. They committed six penalties for 60 yards compared to one by North Marion. A late hit on Frankfort gave the Huskies the ball at the 33. Aaron Hoffman ran for 15 on the next play. It set up a seven-yard touchdown pass from Casey Minor to Landon Frey. Parker Kincell walked in on the two-point conversion.

Late in the quarter, Robinette took a deep shot for David Holsinger that was caught for 43 yards. The Falcons capped off the drive with a 19-yard run by VanMeter for six points. Frankfort missed the PAT to make the score 13-8.

"That was big, David came in there and made a huge play," Whiteman said. "It got us some momentum on that drive. It was a really big play."

Early in the second quarter, the Huskies lined up to punt. The snap was low and the punter fell on it for a seven-yard loss. It gave the Falcons possession at the North Marion 31.

John Anderson III took a handoff down the left side for 22 yards. Two plays later, he picked up 11 on a jet sweep. VanMeter scored his second touchdown of the game from two yards out. Robinette scored the two-point conversion on a quarterback keeper.

On the Huskies' next drive, they faced a fourth-and-2. The offense lined up to go for it and got the Falcons to jump offside. A swing pass to Hoffman picked up 15 inside the Frankfort 30. A few plays later, North Marion was called for holding. It set up a fourth-and-14 at the 19. North Marion took a shot for the end zone, but Logan Athey broke up the pass.

"It kinda put us behind the sticks," Hays said. "They can play a loose coverage on us, force us to throw the underneath stuff. Really good tacklers on the back end as well."

Frankfort took over, but a fumble and four penalties forced it to kneel out the clock.

The Huskies got the ball to open the second half. On third down, Minor took a deep shot down the right side that was caught by Kincell, which went for 41 yards and a touchdown and cut North Marion's deficit to 21-14.

"That was a pretty big one for us," Hays said. "We felt like that was something that was gonna get us back in the game."

On the Falcons' ensuing drive, they had a fourth-and-inches. VanMeter broke several tackles up the middle and picked up 18 yards. He scored from two yards out for his third of the game. The extra point was blocked by the Huskies.

North Marion punted on its next drive, but Frankfort fumbled the punt and the Huskies fell on it. They took over at the Falcons' 23-yard line. A few plays later, Isaiah Sigley walked in from three yards out to make it a one-score game at 27-20.

"That was the huge momentum shift that we were really looking for," Hays said. "We did a great job of getting down the field. We're limited on our possessions, so it's not like we wanna punt but you kinda have too."

Frankfort faced fourth-and-3 at the North Marion 21. Robinette kept it to his right and picked up a first down. It set up Anderson who took a toss 16 yards for a touchdown. It gave the Falcons a two-score lead with less than five minutes to go.

The Huskies were backed up inside their own 25 and had to go for it on fourth down. They tried to pass but it fell incomplete. Three plays later, Anderson took an end-around for 23 yards and his second touchdown.

"John does good for us all around," Whiteman said of Anderson. "He's a good football player, a good boy. Proud of him, proud of the whole team."

For Frankfort, Robinette went 3 for 5 for 67 yards. He also ran 11 times for 35 yards and a touchdown. VanMeter led the Falcons with 14 rushes for 103 yards and three touchdowns. Anderson III ran eight times for 90 yards and two touchdowns.

"We challenged him to be a bull tonight and he did a great job being a bull," Whiteman said of VanMeter.

For North Marion, Minor went 8 for 17 for 108 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran 13 times for 30 yards. Hoffman rushed five times for 47 yards. Frey caught four passes for 43 yards and a touchdown.

"He's been more efficient, he took a beating a little bit tonight," Hays said of Minor. "That's a physical football game. We didn't do a great job of protecting him at times. You could tell they knew he was a physical runner and a tough kid. They were really getting after him and trying to take every shot they could at him."

The Huskies host Liberty on Friday at 7 p.m. The Falcons host their rival Keyser in the Mineral Bowl on Friday at 7 p.m.

"It's our biggest game," Whiteman said of Keyser. "That's our rival, that's our county rival. Both teams will be fired up. They got a good team, we got a good team. It's gonna be a fun night, a fun Mineral Bowl."

Jordan Kendall is a Sports Writer for the Cumberland Times-News. Follow him on Twitter @JKendallCTN.