RUSSIAVILLE — Frankfort needed two things Friday night to spoil Western’s home opener — a tough defense and Korben Shirar.
The Hot Dogs posted a 21-3 victory as their defense held the Panthers to just 153 total yards, and Shirar took care of the rest. The junior halfback outgained the entire Western offense with 164 yards on 19 carries and had a hand in all three Frankfort scores, rushing for two touchdowns and throwing a halfback option pass for another.
The backbreaking TD came midway through the third quarter after Western had closed the gap. Western’s Briar Shoffner blocked a punt to set the Panthers up at the Hot Dog 8-yard line and John Reeder kicked a 27-yard field goal to narrow the margin to 7-3.
But Shirar responded on the Hot Dogs’ next play from scrimmage. The 5-foot-10, 160-pounder broke through the line on a routine off-tackle run and scampered 71 yards to make it 14-3. The TD broke any momentum the Panthers hoped to establish, and with the Frankfort defense controlling the line of scrimmage, Western was effectively beaten.
Western coach Alix Engle was disappointed in his team’s play but is optimistic that his squad will improve.
“[Friday] night it seemed we weren’t the toughest ones out on the field,” he said. “Seemed like maybe we didn’t want it quite as much as the Hot Dogs did. My hat’s off to Frankfort. They made some plays when they had to make plays and we didn’t.
“Right now I think we need to toughen up a little bit — actually, a lot,” added Engle. “The good thing is we’re going to get better. We have a lot of seniors playing, but some of them are guys who haven’t gotten a lot of game-time reps. We’ve got to get reps under their belts. They’re a little green right now. That’s the good thing. I can count on these guys to be there through thick and thin to work hard. We’ll bounce back and we’re going to compete for a conference championship.”
But this night belonged to the ‘Dogs. Shirar sparked Frankfort’s first TD, ripping a 37-yard scamper around right end on a third and 11 play to put the ball deep in Panther territory. Facing a fourth and three at the Western six, Shirar passed to running back Juan Guillen to make it 7-0 with 2:57 remaining in the first period.
Neither team mounted a real threat after that until the third period scores. The Hot Dogs’ final TD came late. After Western turned the ball over on downs, Frankfort drove to the two-yard line where Shirar added the clincher with a burst off right tackle to make it 21-3.
Frankfort coach Tom Potts felt his team’s defensive preparation was the key.
“We probably spent 85 or 90 percent of our practice time on stopping [Western’s] option game and the other 10 percent on the pass,” he explained. “[The option] is what they’re good at. If we don’t stop that, then we can’t stop them.”
Western finished with just 138 yards on 42 rushes, and QB Mike Jakubowicz completed just one of 11 passes for 15 yards. Several tosses were dropped by his receivers. Jakubowicz rushed 15 times for 56 yards, and Jake Askren had 36 yards on 14 carries.
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FOOTBALL: Western has no answer for Hot Dogs
Frankfort back rushes for 164 yards, keys all three TDs
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