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Titusville football will be taking on Franklin on the road in the season opener Friday.
Both Titusville head coach Mike Reynolds and Franklin head coach Matt Turk are coming off rough 2022 seasons. The Rocket’s were 3-7, though Reynolds said they should have been .500 on the season except for a couple of tough losses.
One of the Rockets' three wins came in the season opener with a 14-13 squeak-by win over Franklin. The Knights did not record a win in 2022.
Titusville, under the direction of then first-year head coach Reynolds, was outscored by their opponents 342 to 198 last season. Franklin only scored 58 points in 2022, while giving up a whopping 452. In the three years under Turk, Franklin has been outscored 1,262 to 296. Sobering numbers that Turk is remembering, but not dwelling on, as he hopes to turn around a beleaguered program that hasn't recorded a winning season since 2005.
Reynolds is also facing a program in need of a turnaround. The Rockets' last winning season was in 2016.
This first game of the season is big for both programs as they hope for a good start in a region packed with beasts like Meadville, Oil City and Sharpsville. “We have them all,” Reynolds said of the tough schedule and what he’s doing to prepare. “We gotta be ready and loaded for bear when Friday night comes.”
Both Titusville head coach Mike Reynolds and Franklin head coach Matt Turk are coming off rough 2022 seasons. The Rocket’s were 3-7, though Reynolds said they should have been .500 on the season except for a couple of tough losses.
One of the Rockets' three wins came in the season opener with a 14-13 squeak-by win over Franklin. The Knights did not record a win in 2022.
Titusville, under the direction of then first-year head coach Reynolds, was outscored by their opponents 342 to 198 last season. Franklin only scored 58 points in 2022, while giving up a whopping 452. In the three years under Turk, Franklin has been outscored 1,262 to 296. Sobering numbers that Turk is remembering, but not dwelling on, as he hopes to turn around a beleaguered program that hasn't recorded a winning season since 2005.
Reynolds is also facing a program in need of a turnaround. The Rockets' last winning season was in 2016.
This first game of the season is big for both programs as they hope for a good start in a region packed with beasts like Meadville, Oil City and Sharpsville. “We have them all,” Reynolds said of the tough schedule and what he’s doing to prepare. “We gotta be ready and loaded for bear when Friday night comes.”
"We really enjoy that Franklin (vs.) Titusville rivalry. There’s a long history with those guys,” Reynolds said. “Our kids know them and they know us, so it’s a great game for both teams to play because the fans are close by and it's really an exciting way to kick the season off.”
Reynolds, who helped the team under previous Rocket coaches like John Wiley and Scott Salvo, knows the history of the schools. “We’re comfortable with their facility. Years ago it used to be a mud bath and they’d come here and it was a mud bath,” he laughed. But it’s different now. “Nobody has grass anymore.”
Turk, who has nine players who have played in his system since they were freshmen, is hoping the maturity of his team will result in more wins. “Adversity doesn’t build character, it reveals it,” he said, hoping these years of getting pummeled by older, bigger teams has built a lot of character. “We’ve been through hell together. You could tell going 0-10 bothered them, which it should. They are tired of getting muscled around.” Turk said the off-season work by his players was the best he’s seen since he started. Better conditioning means less injuries, he said.
The Knights are looking forward to facing the Rockets. “They were a really good football team last year,” Turk said. “They beat us and they are all coming back. They lost two key positions, I think, they are going to be a lot better than what people give them credit for.”
Kickoff for the season opener is 7 p.m. Friday at the Franklin High School field.
Reynolds, who helped the team under previous Rocket coaches like John Wiley and Scott Salvo, knows the history of the schools. “We’re comfortable with their facility. Years ago it used to be a mud bath and they’d come here and it was a mud bath,” he laughed. But it’s different now. “Nobody has grass anymore.”
Turk, who has nine players who have played in his system since they were freshmen, is hoping the maturity of his team will result in more wins. “Adversity doesn’t build character, it reveals it,” he said, hoping these years of getting pummeled by older, bigger teams has built a lot of character. “We’ve been through hell together. You could tell going 0-10 bothered them, which it should. They are tired of getting muscled around.” Turk said the off-season work by his players was the best he’s seen since he started. Better conditioning means less injuries, he said.
The Knights are looking forward to facing the Rockets. “They were a really good football team last year,” Turk said. “They beat us and they are all coming back. They lost two key positions, I think, they are going to be a lot better than what people give them credit for.”
Kickoff for the season opener is 7 p.m. Friday at the Franklin High School field.
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