Photo Credit: Livonia Franklin Football Facebook Page
The Livonia Franklin Patriots started their playoff run with a victory on Friday night against the Mules of Temperance Bedford. They were in control throughout, as twenty-eight unanswered led them to a 35-14 victory.
Connor Hatfield wasted no time to assert his impact in this game. He took the opening kickoff all the way back to the end zone, an eighty-five yard score. The Mules would respond however, as they took eight minutes off the clock and marched down the field. They got a one-yard touchdown run by Gabe Johnson to make it 7-7 after the first quarter of play.
In the opening seconds of the second quarter, Zac Olesuk and Hatfield connected for a forty-five yard touchdown pass. On their next drive, Cordell Mabins scored on a thirty-six yard touchdown to extend Franklin’s lead to fourteen points. They would take the 21-7 edge into the locker room.
After a scoreless third quarter, Olesuk took to the air to get the scoring started again. He passed to Tyler Whisman for a fifty-six yard touchdown, bringing the score to 28-7. Mabins would add an explosive run of fifty-one yards to balloon the lead further. Randy Boisselle capped off the game’s scoring with a fifty-four yard touchdown for Bedford, but with under two minutes to go, it was too little too late.
The Patriots won their playoff opener for the sixth consecutive season. They will look for another win next week when they host Ypsilanti Community. The Grizzlies pulled off a #2/#7 seed upset when they knocked off Dearborn Heights Crestwood 21-7 on Friday night.
