For the second week in a row the Salem High football team dug themselves into a hole they couldn’t climb out of, and they find themselves at 0-2 for the first time since 1997 with both losses coming at home.
Last Friday Franklin County was the victor, holding on to beat the Spartans 31-21. It was the Eagles first win over Salem since 2011 and their first in Salem since 1980 when the Spartans still played at Municipal Field.
“We have a young team and we need to work on fundamentals,” said Salem coach Don Holter. “We need to tackle better. On their first series they had a 55 yard run and we missed three tackles.”
That run set up a touchdown just three and a half minutes into the game and the Eagles never trailed after that. Salem fumbled on their own 18 with a second and a half left in the first quarter and Franklin converted with a 31 yard field goal to make it 10-0.
As they did a week prior after falling behind, the Spartans didn’t quit. Jordan McCadden ran back the ensuing kickoff 76 yards for a touchdown and things were looking up. Unfortunately, Franklin added two more scores before the half to take a 24-7 lead into the locker room, ending the half with an interception to kill a late Spartan drive.
Salem cut the lead to 24-14 on a touchdown run by Kyshead Arrington on the first drive of the second half and the Spartans were right back in the game. They got it back to 24-21 on a TD pass from Tanner Overstreet to Jordan Burton, but Franklin scored on the last play of the third quarter and a scoreless fourth period followed. Salem has yet to have the lead in a game thus far.
This week the Spartans will be looking for their first win as they play on the road for the first time at William Fleming. The Colonels are coached by former Salem quarterback Nick Leftwich and he’s taken a lot from the Spartan playbook.
“A lot of us do,” said Holter. “They look similar to us as far as scheme.”
Fleming has opened the season 1-1, losing 41-14 to Varina but rebounding for a 49-0 win over Albemarle last week. It will be a big game for both teams who have high aspirations for this season.
“We just have to stop getting out of our own way,” said Holter. “We have good kids. We need to forget about Franklin County and focus on William Fleming.”
