Franklin wins, setting up Route 8 rivalry clash for D10 title

Franklin junior Damon Curry sunk a three-pointer just a little over a minute into Tuesday night’s playoff game at Slippery Rock University to go over 1,000 points on his career. He and his Knights teammates took care of business defeating Fairview 52-40 in the District 10 semifinals to set up a third meeting this year with Route 8 rival Oil City. This time with a championship on the line.

Earlier in the night the Oilers had a low scoring back and forth win over Seneca. If the Oilers had to grind the gears to get their 38-36 victory, the Knights were set on cruise control for most of their night.

Franklin opened the game with 10 unanswered points and a strong defensive effort to take a lead they would never relinquish. Fairview hit two shots in the closing 90 seconds of the first quarter, but the damage was already done. 

The Tigers pulled within three in the second quarter but that's as close as they got. That margin lasted less than 20 seconds as Dreyden Payne's field goal put Franklin ahead by five. Curry went on an eight-point scoring run to keep the Knights in command of the scoreboard.

Cole Buckley grabbed a monster rebound with 1:20 left to play in the half and put it back up for two to help the Knights head into the locker room with a 25-19 lead. 

Buckley came back out for the second half ready to roll. He scored eight of his game total of 14 in the third stanza. Curry and Jalen Wood put up points as well and the Knights were up by 10 at the end of three. 

From there, the Tigers never closed the gap to fewer than seven points. Wood, Curry, Payne, Buckley and Johnathan Leccia combined for 12 points in the final quarter to win 52-40. 

Curry had a game-high 19 points on the night. Buckley had 14, including a near slam dunk at the end of the game to seal the win. Wood added 10 points to the effort. Payne had four, Ethan Owens had three and Leccia had two. 

Franklin will return to the District 10 championship, which they won last year over Seneca. This year they will face their Route 8 rival Oil City for a Friday night at a site and time to be determined. ​​​​​​