Football powerhouses collide in opening round

Franklin - No quarterback Sean McGuire, no problem for the Franklin football team, as the Sabers cruised into the WIAA state playoffs with a regular-season closing 24-6 victory over Racine Case last Friday.

Franklin coach Louis Brown said McGuire, a sophomore, was held out because of a problem with his kneecap and was relieved by junior Zach Eder.

"We could have played him," said Brown, "but we wanted to be careful. Zach did all right. He had one interception, but he also had a little more experience and that did help him a bit."

With the win, the Sabers finished the regular season at 7-2 overall and 5-2 in the Southeast Conference, good for third.

And on Tuesday, Franklin found out its playoff fate.

The Sabers will open the 2011 postseason against Marquette in the Division 1 field. The game will be a rematch from earlier in the year when Franklin defeated the Hilltoppers, 16-0, in non-conference action.

While the team is a lot younger, the Sabers will try to recapture that playoff magic it had last year when it advanced to the Division 2 state semifinals. Marquette is also no stranger to this stage as it won the Division 1 state title two years ago.

Against Case, Franklin got off to a slow start, settling for a 29-yard Matt Ward field goal in the first quarter and a Ben Miller one-yard run for score in the second session for a 10-0 lead. Miller would be a workhorse this night, lugging the ball 28 times for 153 yards and three TDs.

Miller added a one-yard run in the third and a two-yard crossing in the fourth to provide the Sabers with enough wiggle room to win the game. Case only got on the board with the Franklin reserves on the field.

Brown was very pleased with how the special teams performed and also noted that sophomore Zack Wroblewski filled in well for the injured Danny Schlemm at center. Eder finished 9 of 17 passing for 97 yards.

"We really wanted to work and keep our momentum," said Brown. "Sometimes, when you've qualified for the playoffs like we have and you can't move up (in the standings), it's hard to do that, but I was pleased with our guys."

Another thing Brown was pleased with was the performance of the defense, as the unit finished with the best points against average in league play (13.9 ppg.).

"The guys have done a great job there all year," he said.

Worthy of special mention was defensive end Levon Myers. Better known for his offensive line play, he played end in the Sabers' 3-5 defensive set and recorded eight solo tackles including three for loss.

BRACKETS SET

The Franklin football team will get a rematch with non-conference rival Marquette (7-2) in a first round WIAA Division I football playoff game tentatively set for 7 p.m. Friday at Hart Park in Wauwatosa.

The Sabers defeated the Greater Metro Conference tri-champion Hilltoppers, 16-0, in a game earlier this season.

The winner of that game will face the victor of another GMC tri-champion Brookfield Central (8-1) and Milwaukee Hamilton (4-5) in a Level 2 game either Oct. 28 and 29.