Franklin Road Academy coach Bill Whittemore fought back tears as he watched his team and fans celebrate an improbable come-from-behind 34-33 victory over Notre Dame on Friday night in the second round of the Division II-AA state playoffs.
"I love them," Whittemore said, his voice wavering. "They played their butts off and played hard. I couldn't be prouder of them. They never quit, and they play for each other."
Down 30-6 in the second quarter, the Panthers (8-4) made key adjustments on defense to stymie the overwhelming Notre Dame rushing attack by bringing eight or nine defenders in the box.
The Fighting Irish (9-2) dominated the early game via a blend of rushing and trickery. They finished with 465 yards of total offense but were kept out of the end zone in key late-game situations by mishandled snaps, turnovers and penalties.
"They were moving the ball on us, running the clock - it's what they do, and we knew that," Whittemore said. "We just had to execute with the opportunities we had after struggling early."
After taking only three snaps in the first quarter, the Panthers offense came alive. FRA quickly scored twice before halftime, with touchdowns coming on a Brogan Wilson 2-yard run and a 19-yard Sean Casey pass to Riley Speed to bring the score to 30-20.
Down by 13 in the fourth quarter, FRA needed two touchdowns to win. Throwing out of his own end zone, Casey connected once more with Speed for a 98-yard touchdown strike. A short Irish punt gave the Panthers excellent field position on the Notre Dame 40-yard line to set up the score that would give FRA the win - a Wilson 13-yard touchdown run, hurdling an Irish defender on his way to the end zone.
"They took advantage of every one of our mistakes," Notre Dame coach Charles Fant said. "You can only do that with great coaching. I tip my hat to what Coach Whittemore and those guys did tonight."
Contact Justin Dempsey at sports@timesfreepress.com.