Woodford County Franklin County preview

The Yellow Jackets will try to bounce back after literally getting run over by Johnson Central last weekend when they face 4A Franklin County (3-2) Friday.

Woodford (3-2) will come into the game with plenty of motivation. This weekend marks homecoming and that always seems to get the crowd into the game early. The Jackets also have revenge on their minds. Woodford County was undefeated when they traveled to Franklin County last year, and the Flyers upset them 17-14.

"We owe them one," Yellow Jacket coach Chris Tracy said. "But the most important thing is getting off the snide now."

The Yellow Jackets will face a mirror image in Franklins' offense. The Flyers run an identical system, and that should help the Woodford defense. Several of the Jacket players said they had a difficult time preparing for Johnson Centrals' power running game because they had no way to replicate it in practice.

Franklin comes in with a balanced offensive attack, averaging 146 yards per game rushing and 182 through the air. If you take out the loss against Lafayette, their passing average jumps to over 200 yards per game.

Despite Franklin’s high-powered passing attack, Tracy said Woodford will key on stopping the run and forcing the Flyers into a one-dimensional attack.

Defensively the Flyers do a good job stopping the run, allowing an average of only 86 yards per game. They are a little more vulnerable through the air, allowing an average 126 yards passing.

This game will say a lot about Woodfords' character. Can they bounce back after getting steamrolled by Johnson Central?

I think this team has a pretty strong psyche and they are definitely tight in the locker room. There was no finger pointing or blame-game after the loss last week.

I look for Woodford to play tough tomorrow night. I expect the Jacket defense to really come out hard after getting embarrassed last week and I think they will shut Franklin down. Woodfords' D can create turnovers in bunches, as we saw when they played Bryan Station, and I could see Franklin getting frustrated early and falling victim to the turnover bug. On the offensive side of the ball, nobody has been able to really stop Steven Duckworth and crew and I don't think Franklin will fare any better.

My pick:
Woodford 42 Franklin Co. 17