It was homecoming for SHS on Friday. It was a hard fought win for the Cards.

SHS beat Franklin Central 34-21 which improved the Cards’ record to 4-2.

“This was a big time win,” head coach Bill Peebles said. “This was a challenging week. We didn’t know if (senior quarterback) Luke (Johnston) was going to play, we knew that (senior defensive end) Kyle (Williams) was going to be out (and) (junior defensive end) Ethan Vanover came back this week and we didn’t know what kind of player he would be on Friday night.

The first touchdown of the game was a 77 yard pass from Johnston to junior wide receiver Blake Evans which made the score 6-0 for the Cards due to a missed extra point. The first quarter ended with SHS up, 6-0.

Franklin Central scored to start the second quarter to lead the Cards, 7-6. Johnston then threw a shovel pass to Evans for a one yard score to lead Franklin Central, 13-7. Franklin Central scored again to take the lead 14-13 but then Johnston threw a 54 yard pass to Evans to end the half with SHS leading Franklin Central 20-14.

To start out the third quarter, Franklin Central scored a touchdown to take the lead, 21-20. Once again Johnston threw a shovel pass to Evans for a three yard touchdown to end the third quarter with the Cards leading, 27-21.

Not much happened in the fourth quarter except another shovel pass from Johnston to Evans for a one yard score which made the score 34-21 which would end up being the final score.

Johnston went 19 for 22 passing with 321 yards, five passing touchdowns and one interception. Junior running back Andrew Mappes had 19 carries for 93 yards and one reception for 13 yards. Evans had nine receptions for 155 yards and five touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Paul Scruggs had two receptions for 45 yards. Senior tight end Evan Higgs had two receptions for 25 yards. Senior wide receiver Wezi Kumwenda had three receptions for 29 yards. Sophomore wide receiver Matt Johnston had four receptions for 54 yards. Junior middle linebacker Jalen Williams had seven total tackles, including one tackle for a loss. Senior cornerback Justin Herring had five total tackles.

“It feels amazing,” Evans said. “The fans were into it and (I’m) thankful we came out with a victory.”