Photo Credit: Livonia Franklin Football Facebook Page
The Livonia Franklin Patriots have played for the district championship in each season since 2015. That streak will continue next week after they dominated Ypsilanti 45-8 in their district semifinal contest.
Cordell Mabins got the scoring started for Franklin with a one-yard touchdown rush midway through the first quarter. Just under two minutes of game time later, Franklin would score again as Zac Olesuk and Connor Hatfield connected on a twenty-eight yard touchdown pass. This gave the Patriots a 14-0 advantage early.
Brandon Reiten was on the receiving end of Olesuk’s next touchdown pass as the second quarter got underway. This seven-yard score would be the last touchdown of the half. Brayden Felt would add a field goal to move the advantage for Franklin to 24 points heading into the locker room.
In the third quarter, the Patriots added two touchdowns to their tally. Connor Hatfield scored his second touchdown of the day with an eighteen yard rush. Cordell Mabins also made his second trip to the end zone when he ran through the Grizzlies’ defense for a thirty-four yard score.
Ahead 38-0, Franklin’s backup quarterback Aidan Johnson got in on the scoring tally. He kept the football and ran six yards for their final score of the game. Charles Atticus Carridine rushed for a late touchdown and tossed the conversion for Ypsilanti, but it would do no more than prevent the shutout.
With the victory, Franklin is now back in the district title game. They will travel to rival Livonia Churchill next week for that contest. It is a rematch of an early October battle in which Churchill won 46-37 (game recap here).
