Brentwood-Franklin may boil down to kicks again

Jeff Lockridge
Staff Writer

There is no middle ground for a high school placekicker.

He is meant to loiter in the shadows, making his name known only when the game is on the line.

Make the winning kick and his name is decorated with headlines. Miss it and his name is mysteriously filed on the team's liability list.

Three of the best kickers in the Midstate will be at Brentwood High tomorrow night. Two of them missed crucial kicks the last time the Bruins (10-1) played Franklin (9-2), in Week 7 of the regular season. That left the door open for the third, David Campbell, to play hero in the Rebels' 24-21 overtime win.

"I knew it would come down to me or the offense making a big play," said Campbell, Franklin's field-goal specialist. "I just waited by the coaches. On third down they asked me if I wanted it on the left hash or if I wanted it moved to the middle. I said give it to me here."

Campbell's 23-yard boot made the difference. With these two region rivals so evenly matched, it could easily come down to deciding kick once again in Round 2 of the Class 5A playoffs.

David DeFatta, who missed three point-after attempts for Franklin in that first meeting but has since made 15-of-16, and Kyle Willis, who hit three extra points in that first meeting for Brentwood before missing a 26-yard field goal in OT, both desire another shot with the game at stake.

"Going into this game as a kicker, you think back to it but you have to block that out," DeFatta said. "After the first one got blocked and I missed the second, it gets into your head a little bit. But we've been kicking well since then so our confidence is high."

"I don't stress over kicks I miss," Willis added. "I approach every game exactly the same, and I don't freak out when the game is on the line. I like pressure situations. It was very uncharacteristic of me to miss that one. I know my kicks are going through, whether they actually do or not."

Before it comes down to that game-winning kick this time, both teams will try to impose their wills. Franklin will not be able to run all over Brentwood's defense the way it did against Hunters Lane last week, and needs some more big plays from QB Matt Solima and his nimble receivers.

By the same token, the Bruins and QB Thomas Welch cannot sit on a small lead just because their defense has held the last four opponents to a combined 20 points.

"They have a lot of speed and we're going to have to match it," Brentwood cornerback Kellen Moore said. "We have to make their offense one-dimensional. We've done that to them the last two or three games. Then we just need to cut down on their big plays."

"It will be the most exciting game I've ever played in," Solima said.

"What Welch and I each have to do is to play the way we are coached, make good reads and don't make any turnovers."

Brentwood has been the more consistent team since the last meeting and beat Franklin at home in the playoffs last year. If defensive end Nick Fossett can return from an injured ankle and perform well, the Bruins still hold the edge.

Our pick: Brentwood 24-21.