Class 2A State Final: Frankton vs. Crawford County

Crawford County will be having nightmares of the Frankton pressure defense for days to come. Frankton forced 26 turnovers on its way to the class 2A state title.

Frankton applied pressure from start to finish Saturday afternoon. The Eagles aren’t known as a pressing team, but they were able to get 20 steals in the state title game. Four players – Maurice Knight, Kayden Key, Landon Weins, Patrick Spillman – finished with four or more steals in the game.

The Frankton defense allowed the Eagles to get easy opportunities on the offensive end. Frankton scored 32 points off of the Crawford County turnovers. Spillman came off the bench to spark a few of the early steals that turned into layups.

Senior forward Maurice Knight led Frankton with 23 points. Knight had more points than Crawford County for most of the second and third quarters. He was 9-17 from the field. Knight also had four rebounds and a couple blocks.

The bright spot for Crawford County was Tyrell Nickelson. He made some plays with his athleticism including a slashing dunk in the first half. He scored 10 of the 14 points that the Wolfpack in the first half. Nickelson finished with 14 points in the game.

Adam Beasley added six points and six rebounds in the loss.

This was the first state title for Frankton. The Eagles lost to Park Tudor in the 2015 state championship games.