Sports
Verdugo Hills Slips Past Franklin (Video)
Panthers take first loss on home field after playing sluggish through three quarters.
The football team staged a late comeback that fell a little short on Friday night, losing 16-12 to Verdugo Hills High School in its final preseason tune up of the season.
“We didn’t come through in the first half, that’s what pretty much did it,” Franklin quarterback Joshua Taylor said. “We have to come out right from the get go, rolling and it wasn’t there.”
FHS (3-2) defensive back Milton Zelaya picked off a pass from Verdugo quarterback Mark Powell as the Dons threatened to score midway through the third quarter.
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Zelaya’s interception sparked an 11-play, 89-yard scoring drive for a team that seemed to just be going through the motions for most of the game.
Isaiah Turner hauled in a 43-yard pass from Taylor to put the Panthers on the scoreboard, 16-6, with just over two minutes remaining in the third quarter. The two-point conversion attempt that followed was no good.
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“JT put it right on the spot. I trust him and he trusts us to come down with the ball, and I did,” Turner said.
Another INT by the Franklin defense, this time by Taylor, who played on both sides of the ball, would eventually lead to another touchdown.
Taking over on their own 14-yard line, Taylor led the offense halfway down the field before moving to wide receiver. Backup quarterback Eduardo Mejia capped off the drive with an 8-yard toss to Taylor in the end zone with 7:15 left to play.
Franklin failed to convert on its second two-point conversion attempt of the night.
Trailing VHHS (3-2, 1-0) by four with just over a minute remaining, Panther head coach Eric Jaimes used his final timeout as his team faced 4th and13.
Verdugo followed suit, calling timeout after taking a look at how the Franklin offense was lined up.
The ensuing play never developed as a pass from Mejia to Taylor slipped through Taylor’s hands and the Dons ran out the rest of the game clock.
Jaimes said, “We put in some good drives in the second half, but we struggled in the first half. We just weren’t our team in the first half.”
