Franklin’s quarterback Aidan Marcum threw a 14 yard touchdown pass to open up the scoring against Bend at Punk Hunnell Stadium in Bend, but Dallas Fagan blocked the extra point, and the Lava Bears never looked back, defeating the Quakers of Portland, 33-6.
After surrendering the early touchdown, the Lava Bears ground game went to work as Sr. RB Duke DeGaetano took carry after carry, bursting for a 17 yard scamper with 1:25 left in the first quarter to tie the game at 6.
Duke followed with TD runs of 1 and 12 yards out to distance the Lava Bears to a 20-6 lead with 9:55 left in the 3rd quarter.
From there, Sr. QB Jonah Koski and ‘Air Bear’ came alive as Koski delivered 2 scoring strikes in the 3rd quarter, a 55 yard completion to Cody Connell and a 70 yard pass to Kyle Bailey, with Bailey’s reception representing the final points of the night.
Franklin seemed to grab momentum on numerous occasions through the first 3 quarters, but penalties put a halt to their drives.
Marcum finished the game 16-26 for 175 yards passing and led the Quakers with 15 carries for only 8 yards, as he was also sacked 3 times by Bend defense.
Koski finished the game 3-8 for 138 yards and 2 touchdowns. DeGaetano carried 23 times for 161 yards and 3 touchdowns, the first rushing TDS for the Lava Bears on the season.
And, 1st year Bend Head Coach Matt Craven picked up his first victory at the head of his alma mater.
Bend will hit the road next Friday as they take on the Hermiston Bulldogs in an classic old IMC showdown. Hermiston was idle Friday, coming off a loss on September 14th to top-ranked Sherwood 35-28.
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