The high school football regular season enters its homestretch in week 8 as many of the local public schools, including all of the Williamson County Schools programs, are in a bye week.
Our Game of the Week features two Division II-AA Middle Region foes as the Franklin Road Academy Panthers travel to face the Battle Ground Academy Wildcats.
FRA (7-0, 3-0), who won last year’s matchup 61-20, brings its undefeated record on the road to BGA (6-1, 2-1) Friday night in a battle of high-powered offenses.
Both teams scored more than 30 points in all but one of its combined games this season. BGA scored just 16 in its 46-16 loss at undefeated regional rival Christ Presbyterian Academy. FRA’s lowest output came in a 27-7 win over Franklin in the second week of the season. Last week, they defeated Davidson Academy 51-14.
The Panthers average 45.7 points per game this season, while the Wildcats, who defeated Pope John Paul II 61-10 last week, come into the game averaging a smidge fewer at 45.0 points. First-year head coach Bobby Bentley has the offense humming under junior quarterback Kaedyn Marable.
Marable boasts an impressive stat line through seven games this season. He is 118-162 passing for 1,791 yards and 19 touchdowns with zero interceptions. He also has nine rushing touchdowns this season.
Seniors Arnett Haynes Jr. and Locke Kennedy lead a talented group of wide receivers for the Wildcats. Hayes had 73 yards and two touchdowns in the first half of the Wildcats win last week. For the season, he has 37 catches for 512 yards and six touchdowns. Kennedy blocked a punt, which led to a touchdown in the victory, and has 448 yards on 22 catches for five touchdowns for the year.
The Panthers will need to find a way to stop junior defensive tackle Nathaniel Fleming from sacking the quarterback, as he has eight sacks this season to lead the team and the region. Junior middle linebacker Park Ballash leads the team with 46 tackles and 6.6 per game.
FRA's powerful offense is led by Roman Mahlerwain, a volleyball star who passed for 258 yards and three touchdowns on 14-17 attempts in the Panthers' win over Davidson Academy. He has more than 1,000 yards and 15 touchdowns on the season so far.
After this game, with just two games left in the regular season, this outcome could play a big role in playoff seeding for both teams. An FRA victory allows them to keep pace with CPA for the region title and set up a seemingly decisive matchup on Oct. 25 at home, and a BGA victory would give the Wildcats a stranglehold on second place in the region.
The game kicks off in Franklin on Friday at 7 p.m.
Other notable matchups on tap for week 8 include Father Ryan (5-1) travelling to undefeated Ensworth (7-0) and Montgomery Bell Academy (3-4) visiting Lipscomb Academy (1-5).
Other week 8 games in Williamson and Davidson County include:
Brentwood Academy at Knoxville Catholic (Thursday)
Antioch at CPA (Thursday)
GCA at Whites Creek
Nashville Christian at Columbia Academy
Shelbyville at Spring Hill
Rossview at McGavock (Thursday)
Ezell-Harding at PCA (Thursday)
Clarksville Academy at DCA
Davidson Academy at The Webb School
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