The Colts are a team, however, which prides itself on its defense, holding their opponents to an average of 14 points a game prior to last week.
Last week, the Colts defense was made to look like swiss cheese, with the Flyers going for 276 yards in the air and 209 on the ground.
To their credit, the visitors set the tone early, coming up with good stops on the Flyers' first two drives and recovering a fumble that eventually led to the first touchdown of the night.
The Flyers answered just four minutes later on a three-play drive that ended with a 13-yard pass from Ammons to Colton Riggs to knot the score at 7.
It was during the second quarter that things began to go sour for West. During the course of that 12 minutes, the Colts fumbled the ball four times, two of which they lost. One of those was returned 39 yards by Franklin's Matt Stiles for a touchdown that gave the Flyers their first lead of the night, at 13-7.
On the following drive, the Colts fumbled twice in a row, both of which they quickly recovered. With two straight drops, however, they couldn't gain yardage for a first down, and they turned the ball over to the Flyers, who quickly crammed it in the end zone for a 21-7 halftime lead.
And although the Flyers had more yards lost to penalties (85 for Franklin and 47 for West), the Colts' penalties often came just as they were gaining steam. For example, a touchdown reception by Eli Darby was recalled because of a penalty stating that five men on the line must have a jersey number between 50 and 79.
The true nail in the coffin came early in the third quarter, when the Colts fumbled on their own 41-yard line and Ammons recovered and ran it in for a 28-7 lead.
"They're up 28-7 against a team that is not real great at throwing the football," Johnson said. "We're not a come-from-behind football team. We're a run, ball-control team. If we get down three touchdowns, we're in trouble."
The Flyers scored on every drive in the third, burying the Colts under a 40-point deficit at the end of the quarter. The teams traded touchdowns in the fourth, but Franklin would ultimately get revenge for their 28-14 loss to the Colts last season.
"I don't think this is a reflection of how we are as a team," Johnson said. "This is not something that will reoccur. It's something that we learn from and continue to come out and play hard."
The Colts will have another tough match-up this weekend when the Lexington Catholic Knights come to town. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.
The East Jessamine Jaguars' fate was nearly identical to their crosstown counterparts, losing to the Knights last Friday by a score of 54-7.
The Knights have an offensive set that also relies on the pass, but at the helm is shotgun triggerman Justin Burke, a senior who will be suiting up for the N.C. State Wolfpack next season. Burke threw for 263 yards for six touchdowns against the Jaguar defense.
The 10th-ranked Knights scored on every drive in the first half, running up a halftime score of 47-0.
As tough as the Catholic offense was, their defense was just as effective against their visitors. The Jaguars couldn't get in sync behind the ball, losing two fumbles and turning the ball over three times on downs in the first half alone.
They held the Jags to 207 yards of offense, and their only touchdown came in the fourth quarter, when Tim Niswander rushed for one yard into the end zone.
They will travel to Franklin to take on the Flyers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.|10/6/05|***
