FRANKLIN – South Warren had everything go its way in last season’s meeting against Franklin-Simpson.
Fast forward to 2018 and the Spartans once again rolled past the defending Class 4A champion Wildcats, dominating from the start to earn a 36-14 win on Friday evening at James “Shadetree” Matthews Stadium.
“I was proud of the guys,” South Warren coach Brandon Smith said. “They started fast. In years past we’ve struggled to start fast, but this group has done that through the first three games.”
The Spartans – who are off to their second straight 3-0 start – were led by senior quarterback Gavin Spurrier for a second consecutive game.
After registering a 12-for-12, 132-yard, three touchdown performance last week against Warren Central, Spurrier completed 9-of-15 passes for 163 yards and three TDs against Franklin-Simpson (2-1).
“Gavin’s the smartest quarterback I know – I promise that,” Spartans’ running back Cameron Harrison said. “He’s just really smart in school and that just translates to the field. He’s a great quarterback.”
South Warren jumped out to a 20-0 lead in the opening quarter and added 16 more points to their side of the scoreboard in the second to trigger the KHSAA state mandated running clock before halftime – and the Spartans remained on top from there.
“Our philosophy has always been ‘Don’t let ‘em get going,’” Smith said. “Let them get going, then it’s athlete on athlete – we don’t want that battle. So our plan is to not let them get going.”
Alongside Spurrier’s performance, Harrison put together another solid outing for the Spartans, finishing with a pair of touchdowns and 59 yards on just three receptions to go along with 70 yards on the ground.
South Warren returns to action next Friday at 7 p.m. in its home opener against Central Hardin. Franklin-Simpson will look to bounce back that same night on the road at Greenwood.
The Spartans came out of the gate and quickly went to work.
“Every week, we always talk about starting strong,” Harrison said. “I feel like that was a weakness last year, so it just feels good to start strong. We just start strong and keep going after that.”
Behind its stout, veteran defensive unit, South Warren forced a fumble and made Franklin-Simpson pay for it.
As Wildcats quarterback Luke Richardson scrambled in an attempt to gain some yardage, the underclassmen fumbled and Isaac Young recovered it and ran 50 yards in the opposite direction to give the Spartans a 7-0 lead.
“It was big,” Young said. “I was just looking back and forth and I saw that I had blockers on both sides – and they were blocking great for me all the way downfield. Coach just put together a great game plan and we practiced great all week. We just came out and executed.”
Clayton Bush – a Western Kentucky commit – recorded the Spartans’ first offensive score of the contest on a two-yard TD run at the 4:33 mark of the first quarter. Following a 15-yard gain that moved South Warren near the goal line, Bush received the handoff from Spurrier and punched it in to make it 13-0.
Spurrier’s first TD pass came on a 25-yard strike to Harrison near the end of the period to push the Spartans’ advantage to 20-0 entering the second. The quarterback went onto toss two more in the first half to make it 36-0 at the break.
Franklin-Simpson was able to find an offensive rhythm in the second half and scored on touchdown runs from Tre Bass and Carlos McKinney to avoid being shutout.
“I just think they’re a really, really excellent football team in all phases,” Franklin-Simpson coach Doug Preston said. “I knew that coming in – and they proved it tonight. They’re just a tremendous football team.
“I really like that our kids came out and responded and played hard and continued to try and play every snap that we had in the second half.”
SW – 20 16 0 0
F-S – 0 0 7 7
First quarter
SW – Young 50-yard fumble recovery TD (Dervisevic kick), 8:23
SW – Bush two-yard run (Two-point conversion fails), 4:33
SW – Spurrier 25-yard pass to Harrison (Dervisevic kick), 2:33
Second quarter
SW – Spurrier 26-yard pass to Mustapha (Spurrier to Bush for two-point conversion), 10:14
SW – Spurrier 23-yard pass to Harrison (Boley run for two-point conversion), 3:30
Third quarter
F-S – Bass 8-yard run (Hollingsworth kick), 2:46
Fourth quarter
F-S – McKinney one-yard run (Hollingsworth kick), 7:42
