Sports

LEBANON, Ind – Frankfort faced a tough challenge in sectional football action Friday when they traveled to face its perennial rival, the Lebanon Tigers – a team that has held the Hot Dogs scoreless over the previous three years and outscored them 233-39 in the past four.

And like the previous three years, Lebanon shut out the Dogs, winning 29-0. The twenty-nine points allowed is the fewest a Dogs’ defense has allowed against Lebanon since a 29-14 loss in 2015. Frankfort ends the season at 5-5.

“To come down here and play these guys to a 29-0 ball game, it’s just a testament to how far these guys have come,” said third-year FHS head coach James Byers. “How far this team has come. How far this senior class has brought us. We threw these guys to the wolves when they were sophomores.”

Lebanon used a mix of defense schemes to shut down the Frankfort offense. On the ground, Hot Dog junior running back Riley Goodnight entered the game averaging 132 yards-per-game and was held to just 39 yards on 26 carries. From the air, junior quarterback Sam Michael threw for 34 yards on 4-of-9 attempts.

“Even though we did not score, we offensively moved the ball well,” said Byers. “Sam made some really nice throws. Riley had some really nice runs. Cam (Swinford) had a really nice catch on the sideline to convert the first down.”

For the season, Goodnight rushed for 1,229 yards, added an additional 145 yards of receiving, and scored 15 touchdowns – 13 from the ground and 2 from the air. Goodnight finished his junior season ranked 21st in Indiana for total yards and 19th in the state in rushing yards.

Michael threw for 908 yards on 50 percent passing and rushed for 510 yards. He scored 13 touchdowns in total with seven from the air and 6 on the ground. Seniors Jade Ayers and Kyle Earl finished with 441 and 293 receiving yards respectively.

Defensively the Hot Dogs were led by the linebacker duo of senior Gabe Chavez and junior Brenton Wood with 16 and 15 tackles respectively. Wood also had a blocked punt. Senior Ramsey Mitchell added a sack and junior Bryce McDonald came away with an interception.

For the season, Chavez ended ranked 2nd nationally in tackles and 1st in Indiana. Junior defensive tackle Vlad Carreras Lantigua finished the year ranked 20th nationally overall in tackles, 1st nationally among defensive tackles, and 7th overall in Indiana. McDonald finished the year tied for 31st nationally in interceptions, tied for 7th in the state in interceptions, and tied for 15th in the state in tackles among free safeties. Ramsey Mitchell finished his senior year tied for 13th in the state in sacks and senior Reece Mitchell ended his year as the #1 strong safety in the state in total tackles.

Coach Byers talked about how the program has grown and what this season has meant for the growth of the Frankfort football program in years to come.

“There was talk of shutting down the program two years ago,” said Byers. “The numbers were so low – it was really bad. Our staff came in and we didn’t win any games – we got the numbers up (students playing). We started getting better, showing improvement. We improved more that second year. We were more competitive in games and this year finally turning the corner and getting those wins, making plays, and winning tight ball games.

“North Mont is an outstanding team. Crawfordsville is a really well-coached team. To make that trip up, two-hours to a different time zone, and play a South Central team – that was super awesome. Southmont, an incredibly physical team, their coach has them run a triple-option really well. Then Clinton Prairie, a lot of athletes and a big offensive line, for us to go in there and get our first win was tremendous.

“These guys have had a huge year and I’m so proud of them. I wish we could keep playing, but it ends for everybody like this but for six.” Each year six teams in Indiana high school football are crowned state champs – one in each of the six football classes.

Coach Byers looks toward next year with seven returning starters on each the defense and offense side. “We’ve made huge strides,” said Byers. “Now it’s, how do we take the next step? And, that’s going to be the focus of this offseason.”

TIGERS 29, HOT DOGS 0

Lebanon;10;12;0;7;-;29
Frankfort;0;0;0;0;-;0

Scoring Summary

1st Qtr (9:16) Lebanon. Trevor Myers 38-yard field goal. 3-0.
1st Qtr (3:27) Lebanon. Garrett Harker 1-yard run. Trevor Myers kick good. 10-0.
2nd Qtr (4:20) Lebanon. Caden Boggess 23-yard pass from Garrett Harker. Kick failed. 16-0.
2nd Qtr (1:33) Lebanon. Garrett Harker 35-yard run. Kick failed. 22-0.
4th Qtr (9:05) Lebanon. Brayton Bowen 1-yard run. Trevor Myers kick good. 29-0.

FRANKFORT, Ind – The past three years Frankfort looked at the last regular-season game against Crawfordsville as the chance to keep from going without a win.

And, the past two years were not kind to the Hot Dogs – no wins in each of those seasons. But, Friday’s game against the Athenians had a different meaning in 2020. FHS entered the contest in hopes of accomplishing something that has not been done for 11 years – end the regular season with a winning record.

Despite a first-quarter Crawfordsville touchdown, the Dogs bounced back and scored three times offensively and defensively held the Athenians scoreless for the remainder of the game, and claimed its 5th win of the season, 22-8 – a regular-season record of 5-4.

“That was exciting – first regular winning season in like eleven years,” said a jubilant FHS coach James Byers after the senior class had surprised him with a cooler of water poured over his head. “You can’t say enough about this group of seniors – they’re outstanding young men. I’m so happy for all of them – I’m so happy for those two senior classes that came before them that kind of set the stage for this.

“This group has done a tremendous job of battling through adversity – battling when people around didn’t believe in them and they believed in themselves and believed in each other. They just kept grinding, they just kept working.”

The Hot Dogs defense turned up the pressure after the early score and collected 5 interceptions, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery – two of the turnovers led to FHS scores by the Dogs’ offensive unit. And, the special teams unit added a blocked punt.

“Defensively we are tough,” said coach Byers.

Frankfort got on the board twice in the second quarter both times the result of the defense causing a turnover.

The first score came after Vlad Carreras Lantigua forced a fumble of Athenians quarterback Kaiden Underwood on the 4-yard line. Four plays later and Hot Dogs quarterback Sam Michael scored on a 1-yard run. A two-point conversion pass to Jade Ayers from Michael tied the game at 8-8 with 11:09 left in the second quarter.

The second score came after Brenton Wood intercepted a pass thrown by Underwood on the 40-yard line that allowed the offensive unit to take the field. And like the previous score, Michael scored on a 1-yard run. The two-point try failed – the Dogs up 14-8 with 6:40 left in the first half.

FHS scored the final time in the 4th quarter at 8:39 on a 36-yard run by Michael. Cam Swinford caught the two-point pass from Michael that moved the score to 22-8.

“We played well on all three phases,” coach Byers said. “Coach Pickrell did a great job of putting together a defensive game plan. Coach Jewell did a great job with the offensive game plan and making in-game adjustments.

“Coach Surber did a great job of putting together the special team’s plan. The entire staff, coach Chris Keller, Colt Keller, Evan Hall, Dillion Shelly, Noah Dubree both are former players (Shelly and Dubree) of ours that have come back and are doing a great job with our guys.”

With the regular season complete, Frankfort turns its focus to the post-season playoffs. The Dogs travel Friday to its perennial rival Lebanon (2-4) for the first round of the class 4A sectional 22 action. The two did not meet in the regular season due to COVID-19 protocols with the Lebanon team. In addition to the game canceled with Frankfort due to COVID-19, Lebanon canceled two additional games, Danville and North Montgomery.

“(Lebanon) coach Smock is an outstanding coach – he’s got some really big kids on his line, they’ve got some really terrific athletes,” said coach Byers. “The Harker kid is back (Garret Harker, 5’10”, senior, quarterback). Their wide receiver is back – Reese (J.C. Reese, 6’2”, senior), he’s probably the fastest kid in the conference. And, they are going to be tough defensively.

“We are going to focus in on what we are going to need to do to be competitive with those guys. They kind of came in here last year and steamrolled us (53-0), but we’re a little more confident team this year. We’re a little bit more composed – we’ve been in some kind of tough, close games. So hopefully, we can be a little more competitive with them this year.”

HOT DOGS 22, ATHENIANS 8
Frankfort;0;14;0;8;-;22
Crawfordsville;8;0;0;0;-;8

Scoring Summary
1st Qtr (7:20) Crawfordsville. Kaigen Fields 18-yard pass from Kaiden Underwood. Underwood 2-point conversion run good. 0-8.

2nd Qtr (11:09) Frankfort. Sam Michael 1-yard run. Two-point conversion pass good, Jade Ayers pass from Michael. 8-8.

2nd Qtr (6:40) Frankfort. Sam Michael 1-yard run. Two-point conversion failed. 14-8.

4th Qtr (8:39) Frankfort. Sam Michael 36-yard run. Two-point conversion pass good, Cam Swinford pass from Michael. 22-8.

LINDEN, Ind – Frankfort entered Friday’s contest against Sagamore Conference foe North Montgomery in hopes of their first win in 11 years against the Chargers.

Trailing 14-0 in the first half, the Hot Dogs quest looked to be in question against a Chargers team that had previously been ranked in the state 3A football polls.

The North Montgomery defense pressured the Hot Dogs with a variety of stunts and blitzes in the first half that yielded the Chargers with three sacks of FHS quarterback Sam Michael as well as an interception that stopped a scoring drive on the 17-yard line.

Just as it appeared North Montgomery had found a way to stop another FHS drive with 3:49 left in the first half, Michael converted on a fourth-and-five with a 13-yard pass to Kyle Earl. The Hot Dogs would then face another fourth-and-long decision. And, again it was Earl that hauled in another 13-yard pass from Michael to set-up a first-and-goal from the 2-yard line. With 2:39 left on the clock, Riley Goodnight punched it in and the Dogs were on the board, he added a two-point conversion run that would make the score 14-8.

“They stayed positive, they stayed upbeat,” said Frankfort head coach James Byers when asked about the first-half struggle. “Our leaders took charge when we needed them too.”

Frankfort turned up the intensity in the second half and the momentum changed as a result of a Ramsey Mitchell 65-yard, pick-six interception of Chargers quarterback Donavan Haworth with 4:53 left in the third quarter.

“It was a great play – [Ramsey Mitchell] was able to read it and jump it … and that is only a tied ball game,” said an excited coach Byers. “Then the offense comes out on a sudden change – big play call – we called ‘weak outside zone’ – which is something that we don’t normally do, but (Coach) Chris Keller saw it from the box, Coach (Cormac) Jewell made the call and it was awesome.”

Goodnight ran for the two-point conversion that put the Dogs on top for good, 16-14. The win improves FHS to 4-4 on the season and 2-3 in the Sagamore Conference. North Montgomery drops to 5-3, 1-3.

Coach Byers talked of the all-around team performance – a game he called their “most complete.”

“I’m so proud of our guys,” coach Byers said. “The way we got down early and we battled back, we stayed composed.

“We had those three drives early that were stopped, but in general the offense played really solid. The defense – we gave up a couple big runs, but overall we played really solid. Our special teams – they played solid.

“That was our most complete game to date – in terms of all three phases of the game.”

Michael and Goodnight led the Frankfort offense attack. Michael completed 10 of 21 passes for 105 yards, he also rushed for 29 yards on 7 carries. Goodnight carried the ball 25 times for a total of 91 yards. From the air, Earl recorded 7 receptions for 63 yards and Jade Ayers added 3 receptions for 42 yards.

Defensively the Hot Dogs held back North Montgomery with a team effort. Brenton Wood led the way with 18 tackles (8 solo) followed by Ethan Cook with 17 tackles (10 solo). Vlad Carreras Lantigua and Gabe Chavez each with 16 tackles (6 and 5 solo tackles respectively). Ramsey Mitchell and Reece Mitchell each tallied 9 tackles and 1 sack.

“That North Mont team is a heck of a team, they were ranked in 3A at one point,” added coach Byers. “They are an outstanding ball club. For us to come in, we’d lost a couple, and to bounce back the way we did after having to overcome that adversity is really something. It says a lot about these young men and their character and just the kind of team that they are.”

The Hot Dogs host Crawfordsville (0-8, 0-6) on Friday for the final regular-season game.

HOT DOGS 16, CHARGERS 14
North Montgomery;6;8;0;0;-;14
Frankfort;0;8;8;0;-;16

Scoring Summary
1st Qtr (0:38) North Montgomery. Jacob Braun 1-yard run. Kolton Scrimager two-point conversion pass from Donovan Haworth. 8-0.

2nd Qtr (5:00) North Montgomery.Gage Galloway 27-yard pass from Donovan Haworth. Two-point conversion failed. 14-0.

2nd Qtr (2:39) Frankfort. Riley Goodnight 2-yard run. Goodnight two-point conversion run. 14-8.

3rd Qtr (4:53) Frankfort. Ramsey Mitchell 65-yard interception return. Riley Goodnight two-point conversion run. 14-16.

FRANKFORT, Ind – Frankfort entered Friday’s homecoming game against Western Boone with a two-game win streak and knew they would have a big task going for a third.

The Stars are the 2A back-to-back state champions, and the Hot Dogs showed in the opening series they were ready for the challenge.

The Dogs’ defense held on a third-and-goal and forced a 28-yard field goal attempt. When the ball snapped, linebacker Brenton Wood forced his way into the backfield and blocked the attempt. The live-ball was scooped up by Ramsey Mitchell and returned to the 40-yard line.

“Overall, defensively we played outstanding,” Frankfort head coach James Byers said. “I was really proud the way our guys responded – they struggled a little last week and they came back and had an outstanding week of practice all week.”

The Stars’ defense was equally ready. Frankfort came in averaging 31-points on 405-yards of offense per game, 126-yards in passing, and 279-yards in rushing.

Western Boone shut the FHS rushing game down, allowing only 91-yards. The Dogs’ go-to rusher, Riley Goodnight, was held to 17-yards for the game. Goodnight entered the contest averaging 166-yards per game. Quarterback Sam Michael ran for 74-yards for the game.

While yardage from the ground was tough to come by, Michael did find success from the air by connecting on 10-of-18 attempts for 106-yards. The yards did not come easy as Western Boone applied pressure coming away with five sacks.

“Our offensive line has a few things to clean-up – the holds and things like that,” Byers said. “We got to take care of that, those things cannot happen up front – those are being detail-oriented.

“When [Michael] settles in and throws the ball quick, he is dynamic. So, he’s just got to get back into that rhythm that he’s established the last few weeks.”

Jade Ayers led the receivers with four receptions for 49-yards. Kyle Earl added four for 38-yards and Goodnight had two for 19-yards.

Defensively, the Hot Dogs found themselves having to defend the short field while Western Boone showcased its duo of powerful running backs, Robby Taylor and Luke Marsh. The two combined for 184 of the 220 yards of rushing. Marsh scored in the third quarter on a 17-yard run.

By the games’ end, the Stars offense found the end zone a total of five times as well as adding a 40-yard field goal to end the Dogs’ win streak, 37-0. The Dogs go to 3-3 on the season and 1-2 in conference action. Western Boone improves to 3-3, 2-1.

Coach Byers addressed whether the Stars’ size and physicality had a determination on the outcome of the game.

“No, they’re a good offense and they’re going to score points. That’s the nature of the beast – shuttin’ people out doesn’t happen much anymore especially with a back like [Marsh] and a back like [Taylor],” responded Byers. “They are really good players. We gave up 37 cause we had a short field a couple of times – it’s tough to defend from [your own end].”

Gabe Chavez and Vlad Carreas Lantigua led the Dogs’ defense with 21 tackles and 18 tackles, respectively. Wood added 16 tackles.

The Hot Dogs travel Friday to take on Danville – a team coach Byers calls “outstanding.” Danville is undefeated at 4-0 with its most recent win over Southmont, 35-7.

Scoring Summary

STARS 37, HOT DOGS 0

Western Boone;12;14;8;0;-;37
Frankfort;0;0;0;0;-;0

Scoring Summary

1st Qtr (3:19) Western Boone. Mitch Miller 7-yard run. Josiah Smith extra point kick good. 7-0.

2nd Qtr (6:16) Western Boone. Elliot Young 2-yard run. Josiah Smith extra point kick good. 14-0.

2nd Qtr (0:00) Western Boone. Josiah Smith 40-yard field goal good. 17-0.

3rd Qtr (5:09) Western Boone. Luke Marsh 17-yard run. Two-point conversation failed. 23-0.

4th Qtr (8:25) Western Boone. Elliot Young 3-yard run. Josiah Smith extra point kick good. 30-0.

4th Qtr (1:59) Western Boone. Connor Garrity 15-yard pass from Elliot Young. Josiah Smith extra point kick good. 37-0.

Union Mills, Ind – On an evening when the Frankfort Hot Dogs’ defense struggled, its offense came out on fire – and they did not have to wait long to get on the field.

The Dogs took over on their own 48-yard line 9-seconds into the game – the result of a bad long snap to the South Central Satellites quarterback on the game’s first play. The ball deflected directly to the on-coming rusher, Ramsey Mitchell, who covered-up the loose ball.

One play and 12-seconds later, the Hot Dogs were on the board after Riley Goodnight raced 52-yards on an end-around that saw the junior running back cut back up-the-middle out running two South Central defenders. The two-point attempt failed and the early 1st quarter score was 6-0.

“Riley was a monster,” said Hot Dog Coach Jame Byers. “Sam (Michael) threw the ball so well. Getting Cam (Swinford) back and working him in as wide receiver has been really beneficial. Kyle (Earl) had some huge catches. Jade (Ayers) had huge catches.”

One such “huge” catch made by Ayers came during the opening drive of the second half. With a second-and-five, Coach Jewell, FHS offensive coordinator, called for a hitch-and-go to be thrown to Ayers. The pass was set-up by a fake pass motion by Michael, freezing the South Central defenders, allowing Ayers to run past the deep defenders. The outcome was a perfectly thrown strike to Ayers in full stride ending in a 31-yard touchdown. Goodnight added a two-point conversion run making the score, 34-11 with 10:35 left in the third quarter.

Regarding the touchdown pass to Ayers, Byers said, “He (Ayers) called that hitch-and-go that we threw for the touchdown. He had been asking for it all game.”

Those would end up being the final points of the game for Frankfort and would mark the awakening of the Satellites offense.

And, their offense all came from quarterback Brady Glisic. Glisic scored three times in the third quarter on runs of 16, 55, and 35-yards, bringing South Central to within 3.

However, Frankfort’s defense came to life in the 4th quarter generating two huge stops.

“I was proud of our guys,” said Coach Byers. “Proud of the resilience they showed. Proud of the grit they showed. And honestly, I was proud of the way they responded to a tight game.

“Had we played better early, we would not have put ourselves in that position, but we got into that position and our defense had not played well all night and I talked to them on the sideline.

“And I said, ‘Fellas, you guys are going to make a huge stop to win this ballgame.’ And, they came back. The two drives we made stops on – are the last two drives of the game. So for those guys to pick their head’s up when they knew they had not played well – believed in each other, played hard, and make the big plays when needed – it was incredible.”

The 34-31 win moves the Hot Dogs to 3-2 on the season.

Offensively the “monster,” Goodnight, finished with 216-yards on 32 carries, scoring one touchdown on the ground and one from the air.

Reece Mitchell added 63-yards from the ground on 2 carries of which 62-yards came in the 2nd quarter when the Hot Dogs found themselves pinned on their own 2-yard line after a Satellites punt. With 40.8 seconds left in the half, Mitchell took the hand-off from the half-back position and sprinted down the middle of the field. That play set-up a Michael to Goodnight 7-yard touchdown pass with 10.7 seconds left on the clock, increasing the lead going into halftime, 26-11.

Michael threw to 5 different receivers for a total of 177-yards, on 16 of 27 attempts with three touchdowns. Michael also rushed for 51-yards on 9 carries and 1 touchdown.

Ayers led all receivers with 7 catches for 106 yards and a touchdown and Earl hauled in his first touchdown reception of the season in the first quarter on a 12-yard slant over the middle.

Gabe Chavez once again led the defense, with Ramsey Mitchell adding another fumble recovery and Reece Mitchell making some big plays on 4th down stops. Ramsey, along with Vlad Carreas Lantigua, Charlie Garcia, and Ethan Cook provided the pressure on the final defensive stand to win the game. Bryce McDonald and Ivan Duarte had the pass breakup that sealed the win for the Hot Dogs.

The Dogs are back in action this Friday against Sagamore Conference foe the Western Boone Stars (2-3, 2-1) who come to Frankfort for a 7 p.m. kickoff after most recently defeating North Montgomery 38-16.

Buyers talk about Western Boone: “They are big and strong and physical. Their fullback is huge. They are going to give him the ball a lot and he’s going to be a workhorse for them and we’re going to have to figure out a way to stop him. The quarterback is a good athlete, throws a really good ball. Even though they had some really, really good talent graduate, they still have some really tremendous players there. We are going to have a big task in front of us.”

Scoring Summary

At SOUTH CENTRAL – Union Mills, Ind

SATELLITES 31, HOT DOGS 34
Frankfort:12:14:8:0:-:34
South Central:3:8:20:0:-:31

Scoring Summary

1st Qtr (11:39) Frankfort. Riley Goodnight 52-yard run. Two-point attempt failed. 0-6.

1st Qtr (7:44) South Central. Trent Hudspeth 30-yard field goal. 3-6.

1st Qtr (4:17) Frankfort. Kyle Earl 12-yard pass from Sam Michael. Two-point conversion failed. 3-12.

2nd Qtr (5:12) South Central. Brady Glisic 16-yard run. Dylan Hale pass from Brady Glisic, two-point conversion good. 11-12.

2nd Qtr (3:17) Frankfort. Sam Michael 6-yard run. Riley Goodnight run, two-point conversion good. 11-20.

2nd Qtr (00:10) Frankfort. Riley Goodnight 7-yard pass from Sam Michael. Two-point conversion failed. 11-26.

3rd Qtr (10:35) Frankfort. Jade Ayers 31-yard pass from Sam Michael. Riley Goodnight run, two-point conversion good. 11-34.

3rd Qtr (8:03) South Central. Brady Glisic 16-yard run. Trent Hudspeth kick good. 18-34.

3rd Qtr (8:03) South Central. Brady Glisic 55-yard run. Two-point conversion failed. 24-34.

3rd Qtr (0:35) South Central. Brady Glisic 35-yard run. Trent Hudspeth kick good. 31-34.