Rivalry is as good as it gets this weekend
Stage set for Sabers, Knights homecoming showdown
A Franklin-Oak Creek football matchup is usually big enough to stand alone as one of the area's biggest matchups of the week.
But when the teams meet at 7 p.m. Friday, Franklin's homecoming and possible playoff implications gives the 2009 version of this rivalry the chance of becoming an instant classic.
"We don't approach it as just another game," Franklin coach Jeff Klemp said. "It's a big game. Any game against Oak Creek is a huge game. And I'm hoping that playing Oak Creek during homecoming week will keep our players attention focused on football and not all the other distractions."
Last year, Franklin scored 21 points in the third quarter en route to a 24-0 victory. In 2007, Mike Bartholomew's first as head coach with the Knights, it was his team that pitched a shutout, a 13-0 victory.
The Sabers have won two of the last three meetings, but Oak Creek has won four of the last six.
Friday's game marks the first time since 2005 that both teams entered the game with a winning record. That year, Oak Creek was 5-1 and Franklin was 4-2 when the teams met in the season's seventh week. Oak Creek, fresh off a 34-6 road loss to Kenosha Bradford on Friday, is 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the SEC. Franklin is also 3-1 but improved to 2-0 in league play with a 54-0 win over host Racine Case on Saturday.
An Oak Creek loss Friday would mean the Knights would need three wins in their final four games to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2005.
"They all are (must-wins) in our league," Bartholomew said. "With seven league games and having to win four (to qualify), you'll get the same answer every week.
"It's an opportunity for our kids to really try to make a statement that Bradford's not 28 points better than we are. They were better than us (Friday), but we had some things not go our way. We have to overcome that."
Oak Creek trailed Bradford, 14-6, and was on a potential game-tying drive when junior quarterback Kyle Veloz injured his ankle and left the game. The Knights' drive stalled out short of the end zone, and Bradford capitalized as Gino DeBartolo hit Tyler Ortiz for an 88-yard touchdown that put Bradford ahead, 21-6, early in the second quarter.
Veloz tried to return but could not play at full strength and was later removed for good. He was considered day-to-day at press time.
"Your quarterback is your trigger guy," Bartholomew said. "You lose your quarterback, it's going to change what you can do. We weren't able to run the ball after he went out for various reasons.
"We played hard. We just didn't finish drives when had opportunities early. You have to punch it in, in those situations, even if your backup quarterback comes in."
Franklin, meanwhile, jumped all over Case early. Lance Baretz threw a 49-yard touchdown pass to Brady Oates in the first quarter and opened the second with an 81-yard TD to Adam Kaniewski. Baretz added a 15-yard TD pass to Matt Sklander later in the second quarter as Franklin built a 27-0 halftime lead.
Baretz finished 7-for-14 for 174 yards.
Franklin's defense, which had been battered by Muskego for nearly 400 yards the week before, held beleaguered Case to just 96 total yards. Joel Kornhoff had a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter.
"Muskego's offense is better than Case's offense right now," Klemp said. "Our defense played very well and took away some of their weapons they do have."
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