By T.J. Turrisi
October 31, 2009 — It was the seniors last night at Bender Field, and they went out with a 47-8 bang over Franklin.
Terence Goodrum returned the opening kick for a score. The Bulldogs’ Wing-T put up 321 rush yards. The defense picked off three passes. And two seniors scored their first touchdowns of the year.
“The kids were just determined to win the ballgame, and we got a tremendous effort out of the line and the skill kids and everybody,” Meadville coach Mike Pendolino said. “The offense and defense put four quarters together and did it in good fashion.”
Goodrum set the tone and took some of the weight off the ’Dogs’ shoulder early as he hit the middle of the field, busted through the wedges and went 88 yards to paydirt.
“We got our wedges together, and they had great timing, and Terence did the rest,” Pendolino said. “He found his seam and away he went. That’s the way it’s designed to go.”
Franklin’s offense was anemic until very late in the game. The Knights failed to pick up a first down until about the three-minute mark in the third quarter, down 40-0.
In the first half, their drives ended with: punt, punt, interception, punt, interception, punt.
On Meadville’s second possession, senior signal-caller Jarrod Kilburn dropped back to pass on a 4th-and-3 at the Franklin 29. Under pressure, he decided to tuck it and run and it paid off.
“It was a pass called left, and they kind of blew it up with an outside blitz,” Kilburn said. “I thought about stepping up but ... I got flushed back right. Originally, I just tried to bull up field and get the first (down), but the blocker was kind of standing there. I just noticed he was being indecisive, and he fell and I just broke it up the sideline and I was gone. There was nothing on the backside.”
“He made a good decision and did well with it,” Pendolino said. “He made it work. We talk about being able to pull the trigger when the time comes ... and that’s what he did.”
That rush provided Kilburn’s first TD on the ground this season.
Two drives later, set up by a Dan Nelson interception on a tipped pass, Meadville went 32 yards on seven plays, and Tyler Banks caught a pass from Kilburn and headed upfield untouched for an 18-yard score. He then tacked on another with a 13-yard jaunt at the 4:44 mark in the second quarter.
Banks picked off a pass on the ensuing drive and took it 25 yards down to the Knights’ 1. Fullback Mike Adams went in to give Meadville a 33-0 halftime lead.
Franklin covered 16 yards with no first downs in the first half and went backwards 10 yards on penalties.
In the second half, Franklin punted on the opening possession, and Kilburn hooked up with senior wideout Chris Heaney for his first TD of the year on a pretty 44-yard fade route.
“It looked like cover-three off the snap,” Kilburn said. “(Heaney) had about a five- or six-yard cushion. Chris is pretty quick, and I thought pre-snap we could burn him. I hit my third step and just let it go. Chris got behind him and it was six the whole way. There was no doubt about it.”
“We had good protection up front,” Pendolino said. “(Kilburn) made a nice throw, nice catch, and it’s very nice to see those kids have some fun like that.”
Heaney also had an interception of a Billingsley pass in the third quarter.
Donte Hollingsworth rolled up 42 yards on his first drive of the season and finished with a five-yard score to complete the scoring for the Bulldogs.
Franklin QB Nick Billingsley tossed a 41-yard touchdown pass to Jim Waters with 6:13 left in the game. He then hit Travis Adams for the two-pointer to set the final tally.
“It’s the last time on Bender Field, and I think they were all excited and wanted to give their best and they did,” Pendolino said.
“It’s surreal,” Kilburn said. “I remember my first game like it was last week and now this is the last one. It was a good way to go out; I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Banks led the way with 127 yards rushing and 18 receiving for two touchdowns. Kilburn finished with 62 yards passing and 48 rushing.
Hollingsworth was the game’s second-leading rusher with 65 yards on just seven takes. Adams took 13 handoffs for 55 yards in the first half alone.
The ’Dogs take on Strong Vincent (7-2) at Erie Veteran’s Stadium in Week 10.
“It’s nice to win big like that and know your offense can get rolling and put points up like that before you play a team like Vincent, who is always tough defensively,” Kilburn said.
