**ARTICLE BY JOSH LONGSTRETH**
The top team in the TVC rolled grabbed another win last week against Bridgeport. This week, the Frankenmuth Eagles would hope to start their weekend off right with another dominant game. The Eagles would welcome in the Alma Panthers on their Homecoming night. In a down year, Alma Panthers would be looking to gain some momentum down the back stretch of the 2022 season. They would be looking at giving the Eagles their first loss of the year and what better way to do that than spoil the Eagles weekend. It just wouldn’t be this night.
Frankenmuth would put together one of their patented Eagles drives on the first possession of the game. They would drive 70 yards for their first score of the game that would be capped off on a 35-yard TD pass from QB Aidan Hoard to Sam Barger. A Will Soulliere PAT would give the home team a 7-0 lead early. The next drive they would do it all over again, this time from 79-yards. Barger would plunge his way into the endzone from 1-yard out giving Frankenmuth a 14-0 after the extra point. That’s where we would stay after one.
The Eagles would put together another successful drive with the 2nd quarter winding down. This time, Hoard would connect with Hunter Bernthal on a 12-yard TD pass that would have the Eagles cruising into halftime. After one half of play it would be Frankenmuth, 21-0.
The nightmare for the Panthers wouldn’t end in the 3rd. Frankenmuth would punch another one in on a 5-yard TD run by Carson Knoll. Not long after, Zak Andrews would find his way into the endzone when he found daylight on a 28-yard TD run. It was all Eagles after three, 35-0.
The Eagles weren’t done yet in the 4th. Bernthal would reach paydirt again, this time on the ground. He’d find his way in on a 13-yard TD scamper. With Soulliere’s 6th PAT of the night would make it a 42-0 ballgame. The shutout would be for not late in the 4th. Alma would find a way to put points on the board on a 36-yard TD pass with just seconds remaining. That would be the only damper on the Eagles for the night. Frankenmuth rolls past another TVC opponent, 42-7.
The Eagles defense continues to make a name for themselves this season. They piled up 6 sacks in this one and would hold the Alma offense to just 81 total yards on the night. Colin Main led the way on that side with 6 tackles. Frankenmuth had a balanced attack on offense in this one. The Eagles would end the night with 158 yards passing and would add 262 on the ground. Sam Barger led the way on the ground with 83 yards on just 8 carries. Griffin Barker would pitch in with 79 rushing yards of his own. Aidan Hoard added the 2 passing TD’s while going 7 of 14 through the air.
With this one, Frankenmuth now earns a share of the conference. A win next week over Garber will help them win the TVC outright. The Eagles now sit at 7-0 overall and 6-0 in conference play. They’ll have a tough one next week as they face a hot Essexville Garber team who has cruised in their last three games. The Dukes sit at 5-2 overall on the year and 4-2 in the TVC. The Dukes will welcome them in for a 7:00 battle next Friday. Alma will be faced with having to bounce back next week. They now sit at 1-6 overall and 1-5 in TVC play. They’ll face a Bridgeport team who will be hungry for their first win of the year. Bridgeport is now 0-7 on the year and 0-6 in the conference. The Bearcats will make the trip to Alma when the two square off at 7:00 Friday night.
