FRANKLIN — Brad Davis knew his Eaton football team was going to have to play a near flawless game to hang with unbeaten Franklin last Friday, Sept 15.

But five Eaton turnovers (three interceptions and two fumbled center/quarterback exchanges) and Franklin’s ability for the big play on offense lead to a 45-6 setback for the Eagles.

With the loss, Eaton falls to 2-2 overall and 0-1 in the Southwestern Buckeye League Southwestern Division. Franklin improved to 4-0 and 1-0 in the SWBL.

“We came into the game knowing that we could not turn the ball over offensively, and defensively we had to limit their explosive plays,” Davis said. “Unfortunately, we did not execute those parts of the plan very well. Franklin is a really good team. You can’t give really good teams extra possessions by turning the ball over and certainly when #22 (Ryan Montgomery) in the backfield you have to play disciplined, gap-sound defense which helps to limit the seams and creases that he can turn into a touchdown.”

Offensively, the Eagles were held to less than 200 yards. Jordan Lewis led the team in rushing with 44 yards and quarterback Ryan Venable completed 12-of-19 passes for 118 yards.

The Wildcats jumped out to a 17-0 lead after the first quarter and lead 38-0 at halftime. Montgomery carried the ball nine times for 181 yards and three touchdowns.

The second half was played with a running clock as Franklin pushed its lead to 45-0 after three quarters.

Eaton avoided the shutout when Seth Hodapp scored in the fourth quarter.

Despite the loss, Davis felt his team, at times, showed promise.

“We did some good things in all phases of the game,” he said. “We drove the ball offensively at times, we got some stops defensively, we did some nice things in the kicking game, but we just aren’t executing consistently enough right now.”

The Eagles will look to get their first league win of the season when they travel to Bellbrook (3-1, 1-0 SWBL) on Friday, Sept. 15. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.