SHORT GAP, W.Va. — No. 2 Frankfort forced three turnovers in the first half and took advantage, pulling away from Hampshire to win 45-7 on Friday.
“I thought we showed a lot of improvement from last week,” Frankfort head coach Kevin Whiteman said. “Come out and play hard, take care of business. Very proud of the effort. I was a little worried about how we’d perform tonight, we stepped up to the plate and played like Frankfort Falcons.”
The Falcons (2-0) took eight plays on the opening drive to cover 69 yards and capped it off with a walk-in touchdown run from Carder Shanholtz.
On the Trojans’ (1-1) first drive, Brady Twigg intercepted a pass on third down, and five plays later, Blake Jacobs scored on a quarterback sneak.
Hampshire went for it on fourth and 14 at the Falcon 29 two plays into the second quarter, and was denied by an 11-yard sack from Chase Opel.
“I felt like we played like we practiced all week,” Hampshire head coach Donny Evans said. “We didn’t have a good several days there with Labor Day, the JV game on Tuesday. Just kind of got us off kilter throughout the week.”
It turned into another walk-in score by Bradyn Tyler from seven yards out to push the Falcons lead to 21-0.
The Trojans’ next drive was another quick one, only lasting two plays before Anthony Smith recovered a fumble at the Hampshire 13.
Two plays later, Cole Shanholtz scored from the six.
“The coaches had a good defensive game plan,” Whiteman said. “Kids went out and executed. We played physical, and that’s the way we gotta play. It was just a great effort.”
After another Hampshire drive stalled, Tyler returned the ensuing punt 42 yards for another Falcons touchdown.
Tyler recorded four carries for 47 yards and scored twice.
“He’s very fast, he’s hard to contain,” Whiteman said. “He’s a very shifty kid. We look for him to make a lot of big plays for us this year.”
Leading 35-0 at halftime, Frankfort’s defense held the Trojans to negative 16 rushing yards, mostly off of three sacks.
“It just started off right from the beginning, dropping passes and turnovers,” Evans said. “We weren’t getting down on the defensive line and they were just kind of man-handling us. We’ve just got to do a better job with our defensive front and understand that we’ve got to get after it. What we put in is what we’re gonna get out of it.”
Hampshire quarterback Landon Eversole was injured in the second quarter, leading to sophomore Mason Chenoweth taking over for the final three drives of the half.
Evans said he dislocated his finger, but doesn’t believe it’s a serious injury.
Carder Shanholtz scored on the first Falcon drive of the third quarter from the 17.
Shanholtz tied Tyler for a team-high 47 rushing yards on seven carries, adding a pair of scores.
Roscoe Dean prevented the shutout on a two-yard touchdown run late in the third for Hampshire.
Dean finished with 11 carries for 59 yards and a score.
“What we put in is what we’re gonna get out of it,” Evans said of his postgame message. “We have to have a good week of practice, we’ve got to look sharp in practice. We just can’t go through the motions and be complacent. I thought we were a little complacent after that Preston game. With Frankfort being a good football program, we just need to rise up to the occasion.”
Rhett Sensabaugh drilled a 45-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter for Frankfort.
It’s a school record, previously held by Brady Aldridge, who hit a 44-yarder in 2019 against Washington.
The Falcon defense finished with six forced turnovers, intercepting three passes while recovering three of Hampshire’s six fumbles.
Frankfort finished with 290 yards of offense compared to the Trojans’ 221.
Hampshire was 2 of 9 on third down while the Falcons converted 3 of 4.
Both teams play Friday at 7 p.m.
Frankfort hosts Allegany, renewing an area matchup for the first time since 2011, while Hampshire travels to Moorefield.
The Campers (0-1) fell to Hollidaysburg, 40-13, on Friday.
“It’ll be exciting, a team that’s just a few miles from us,” Whiteman said. “We haven’t played them since about 2012 and I’m friends with their coaches. It’s gonna be a fun week and a fun night next Friday.”