There’s an old saying: “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.”
It couldn’t have been a worse start for Inglewood in their Saturday matchup with Franklin.
A bad snap gave Franklin a defensive touchdown on Inglewood’s opening drive and Inglewood fell behind 7-0.
“No matter what happens, you got to stick in there. We’re going to put some points on the board no matter what happens,” said three-star quarterback Lincoln Jahn. “We know who we are.”
Jahn couldn’t have said it better. The Sentinels (3-1) didn’t seem worried in the slightest, dominating the rest of the way for a 50-21 victory over Franklin (1-2).
“Our first time scoring over 30 points this year, that was really big,” said Jahn. “Keeping the pressure on, keeping our foot on their neck, no matter what. Slow first start, so we got to pick that up.”
Jahn and the offense responded to the deficit right away. He found Trent Bellamy on the following drive for a 56-yard passing touchdown to cut the lead to 7-6.
It was time for the Inglewood defense to step onto the field after the score and they made their presence felt immediately.
Oklahoma commit Elija Harmon recorded a pass breakup and a sack to get the Inglewood offense the ball back and they went right back to work.
“Just a killer mentality, I preach it all the time,” said Harmon. “The call is the call, but it’s what you do with it.”
It was running back Marlon Watson’s turn for a big play. He made a man miss to score a 45-yard rushing touchdown to take the lead at 12-7.
“It all starts with the backs,” said Jahn.
The Franklin offense struggled to find a rhythm for the rest of the half.
Harmon continued to wreak havoc in the backfield, while linebackers Khamari Garnett and
Jordan Williams were unblockable.
“The main thing for us is just flying around, being physical, and just doing your assignment.
The Sentinels also had a hard time finding their groove offensively, but their defense continued to get the ball back in their hands.
“I’m proud of this defense. They really lift so many nerves and anything off your shoulders that you have as a quarterback,” said Jahn
Jahn and co. got going again in a two-minute drill. A fake punt from Williams kept the drive alive with around a minute of time left.
They fed running back Semaj Welch and he delivered, breaking tackles like paper to will the offense to the three-yard line.
He capped off the drive with a strong touchdown run to take an 18-7 lead before the break.
“Semaj and Marlon, I don’t think they could have a much better season than they are right now,” said Jahn.
It was all Inglewood to start the third quarter.
Texas A&M commit Myels Smith started the half off with a tackle for loss to force a Franklin punt.
“Myels and Elija are the best one-two punch in the country,” said Jahn. “Knowing that’s what the other quarterback has to deal with, I always know that something’s gonna go bad for them.”
The Franklin defense forced an Inglewood punt of their own, but gave the ball right back by muffing the punt return.
Inglewood capitalized. Jahn found Williams in the end zone on the very next play to push the lead to 24-7.
They weren’t done there. Another Harmon sack gave the offense the ball back and Jahn threw a deep bomb for a touchdown to Brandon Crawford to push the lead to 30-7.
“The backs help bring the box down and then we spread them out with our athleticism on the outside,” said Jahn. “Those receivers can go.”
Jahn finished the game with five passing touchdowns in the win.
“Five touchdowns, I love that, hopefully I can keep that up,” said Jahn.
As good as the offense was in the second half, it was only right that the defense to put this game to bed.
Jamir Belote took an interception 79 yards to the house on a pick-six to open up the floodgates at 35-7.
Franklin showed plenty of heart, scoring some late touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough as Inglewood would hang on to stay undefeated.
“We still gotta work on a lot of the little things. Defense gotta finish a lot better in the second half, and offense has got to produce better,” said Harmon. “It’s still a win all in all though.”
