By Chad Hensley
KyForward sports reporter

A 41-year drought ended on Saturday night when Franklin County posted a 48-14 win over Allen County-Scottsville to capture the school’s first regional championship since 1979.

The Franklin County community is excited about a football program that is one win away from playing for a Class 4A state title. But to advance to Lexington, the Flyers (8-1) must go through defending Class 4A champion Johnson Central. Kickoff for the Class 4A state semifinal matchup is set for Friday at 7:30 p.m.

“Our town is very excited about our football team,” said Franklin County head coach Eddie James. “They have rallied behind our boys and it is exciting. The kids have worked very hard and deserve the recognition they are getting. For me as a coach and alumni, it is extra special.

“This place is home to me and being able to get to this point has taken a long time and a lot of work. Our kids never cease to amaze me. They are resilient and work so hard.”

Johnson Central (10-0) currently owns the state’s longest active winning streak at 25 after defeating Corbin, 28-14, thanks to a vaunted rushing attack led by Mr. Football candidate Dylan Preston.

Preston, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound senior running back, has rushed for 1,597 yards and 28 touchdowns this season including 193 yards and three touchdowns against the Redhounds.

“Dylan is a great player for Johnson Central,” James said. “Their team goes as he goes, and he is a special talent. They have several other threats offensively, so our goal is to play sound, physical defense. We know that they will play a great game and we will work hard to be ready to play at a championship level.”

That sound, physical defense that James speaks of held Allen County-Scottsville (5-4) to about 50 yards less than the Patriots season average as well as a season-low 14 points. Peyton Ledford led the way with nine tackles against the Patriots and was followed by Nahavian Davis with eight tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss.

“Nahavian is another kid who gives us his all every single day,” James said of his junior defensive end. “It has paid off for him, and he is playing good football right now. Our coaching staff had a very good defensive game plan, and our kids did a great job of executing. Coach Ledford and his staff work very hard to put us in positions to be successful.

“Sometimes we get a label of being an offensive team, but these guys on defense play hard and live up to our R.P.D. (relentless, physical, disciplined) motto.”

The defensive unit for the Flyers has forced 25 turnovers, with seven going for touchdowns. The defense has also put the offense is good field position throughout the season.

Just as Johnson Central features a Mr. Football candidate, Franklin County also features strong contender for that award in Nick Broyles.

Broyles has racked up larges chunks of yardage since he took over the starting quarterback duties prior to his sophomore season.

After Friday’s win over Allen County-Scottsville, Broyles now has passed for 7,238 yards and 81 touchdowns. He also has rushed for coupled 2,222 yards and 25 touchdowns for a combined 9,460 yards of offense and 106 touchdowns. Most of Broyles’ rushing yards came as a sophomore and junior, when the offense relied on him to provide yardage on the ground and through the air.

This season, however, the Flyers offense has been more of a pass-friendly offense while still being effective when it needs to be on the ground. Kaden Moorman, a sophomore running back, has been a nice complement rushing the ball to keep defense in check.

Moorman has rushed for 534 yards on 79 attempts with 11 touchdowns and caught four touchdown passes out of the backfield.

Fred Farrier has added 12 touchdowns for the Flyers with 11 by way of touchdown receptions. Farrier, a three-star receiver, will be playing FBS Football next fall with his top five recently being narrowed down to Air Force, San Diego State, Ohio, Toledo and Alabama-Birmingham.

The senior receiver hauled in five catches for 108 yards and a touchdown against Allen County-Scottsville to up his season totals to 46 catches for 874 yards and 11 touchdowns and his career numbers to 149 receptions, 2,536 yards and 33 touchdowns.

“Our entire goal this year offensively was to be balanced and built for a playoff run,” James said. “The last two years in the games that eliminated us from the playoffs, the offense struggled and only managed six points a game, so we did some reshuffling and changed our offensive philosophy.

“We knew if we wanted to win in November, we couldn’t do it with gimmicks and tricks so we have decided to try to play spread football but in the most physical way we can. Our kids have bought into that and the result is an offense that is multiple and efficient in all facets of offensive football.”

The deepest playoff run in the last 41 years for Franklin County will have to go through the town of Paintsville, which is a little more than two hours away from Frankfort and where Johnson Central is located.

The trip to Johnson Central will be one in which the Flyers will be facing arguably the best team they’ve matched up against in years.

The Johnson Central defense is just as formidable as the offense for head coach Jim Matney’s squad. The Golden Eagles are giving up 58.3 yards per game on the ground and another 58.7 per game through the air and have forced 23 turnovers.

The Golden Eagles are led by Mason Lemaster, a junior linebacker who has 77 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.

As stingy as the Johnson Central defense has been for the entire season, Matney’s crew has clamped down even tighter in the postseason, allowing 41.7 yards rushing and 55.3 yards passing in wins over Harlan County (46-8), Letcher County Central (50-0) and Corbin (28-14).

“Johnson Central does a great job defensively,” James said. “It is important that we do the things that matter in championship games. We talk to our kids about limiting penalties and ball security a lot. We firmly believe that the team who plays the most disciplined will be winners on Friday night.”

“Johnson Central is a great football team,” James added. “Coach Matney has done an excellent job of building his program and establishing a physical brand of football that fits his kids well. We are excited for the task at hand. Our program is built on kids who work hard, and we look forward to the challenge of playing a team that has proven success like Johnson Central.”

In Friday’s other Class 4A semifinal, unbeaten Boyle County (9-0) plays host to Hopkinsville (7-2) at 7:30 p.m. The winner of that game will meet the Franklin County/Johnson Central winner at 7 p.m. on Dec. 18 in Lexington for the Class 4A state championship.

Johnson Central capped a perfect season (15-0) in 2019 by defeating previously unbeaten Boyle County in the Class 4A state championship game by a 21-20 score in Lexington. Preston rushed for 97 yards and scored a touchdown in that game to lead Johnson Central