STRONG - Easton Franks’ 83-yard interception return and Carson Young’s 53-yard touchdown burst helped the Woodlawn Junior Bears overcome an early deficit to knock off the Strong Junior Bulldogs, 30-14, in the South Conference opener Friday afternoon at Strong.
Strong took an early lead when they returned a Woodlawn fumble 42 yards to the Junior Bears’ 21. Two plays later, the Junior ‘Dogs were on top, 6-0, with a 21-yard pass at the 2:534 mark of the opening period. Woodlawn’s Duke Scott stuffed the two-point conversion.
The Junior Bears answered with an eight-play, 49-yard scoring drive, highlighted by a 22-yard run from Young and a one-yard quarterback sneak by Greyson Jones for the score. The two-point run was short, leaving the score tied, 6-6, with 7:58 left in the second quarter.
Strong drove to the Woodlawn 5 late in the first half when back-to-back illegal motion penalties put the Junior Bulldogs to the 11 yard line. On the next play, Franks intercepted a pitch to the outside and went 83 yards for the touchdown with 3 seconds left in the half. Jones pushed through for the two-point conversion to make it 14-6 Woodlawn at the half.
The Junior Bears quickly extended that lead in the second half when Young took the first snap of the third quarter 53 yards for a touchdown. Jones bulled in for the conversion to make it 22-6 with 7:32 left in the third.
Strong made it a one-possession game late in the third quarter when the Junior ‘Dogs returned a punt 56 yards for a touchdown. The conversion run closed it to 22-14.
Woodlawn responded when Young raced for 32 yards on the first play after the ensuing kickoff, sparking a nine-play, 55-yard scoring drive. Jones pushed across the goal line on 4th-and-inches with 5:12 left in the game for the TD and Young added the conversion run to make it 30-14.
Strong did drive to the Woodlawn 11 on its next series, but Logan Doss and Bentley Parker had tackles for losses, and Young stopped the Junior ‘Dogs at the line of scrimmage on…