Onward Franklin!
Ian Haynes and family at Kutztown's Senior Day activities on Nov. 9. (Photo by Amy-Jo Heltebridle Quinones)
Injury-jinxed Haynes understudy
at third-ranked Kutztown
It appears a foot injury in September 2022 did a number on the college career of Franklin's Ian Haynes.
Haynes is a backup on Kutztown's NCAA Division II juggernaut that is ranked No. 3 in the country.
The 6-3, 235-pounder, now a red-shirt senior, has appeared in seven games this season after not playing at all in 2023.
Haynes broke his foot in a game against Mercyhurst and then underwent months and months of rehab.
Donny Blaine was the quarterback when Haynes went down and since then, Judd Novak, a sophomore, has become the starter for the Bears, who are 11-0 after beating Cal, 21-14, Nov. 16 for their second straight PSAC title. Haynes' career ended when they lost to Slippery Rock, 25-24, in the Division II playoffs on Nov. 30.
Hayes completed six of seven passes for 58 yards in his career -- all this season. Haynes said in a Nov. 10 text that this will be his final year of football and he'll graduate in December.
"I'm healthy now and have no regrets with anything I've done," Haynes said. "I'm prepared to play big-time football if they need me to do so."
Haynes entered Kutztown as a much heralded prospect after passing for 9,471 yards and 95 touchdowns coming out of Franklin in 2019.
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Blane Gold's team stays
with WPIAL champ but
fell in 2023 state semis
District 9 champion Redbank Valley, coached by 2007 Franklin graduate Blane Gold, gave WPIAL champion Fort Cherry all it could handle, but bowed to the Rangers, 33-23, Dec. 1, 2023, in the PIAA Class 1A semifinals.
The Bulldogs, who closed at 12-3, were hoping to reach the state final for the second time in three years. They lost to Bishop Guilfoyle in the 2021 state final.
Redbank led much of the way against Fort Cherry, which is led by sophomore Matt Seig, a Division I safety prospect who is being looked at by Penn State, Pitt and Syracuse among others. Seig is is dual threat high school quarterback who has more than 3,000 yards total offense this year and runs a 10.9 100 meters in track. He scored three touchdowns and ran for more than 120 yards in the fourth quarter alone.
The Bulldogs led 16-13 near halftime, but Fort Cherry began imposing its will in the third quarter. Still, Redbank was within 26-23 with 2:29 left to play.
Fort Cherry then recovered an onside kick and went on to score again.
Gold is in his sixth season as coach of the New Bethlehem school, where he is 59-14, from 2019-24. The Bulldogs were coming off a 44-0 romp over D-10 champion Cambridge Springs, which beat Lakeview, 32-29, for the right to play Redbank.
Gold, a state co-Coach of the Year in 2021, played college football at Grove City and had been an assistant coach at Oil City.
He applied for the head job at Franklin, but the school board felt he was too young and offered him an assistantship. But when the Redbank head job opened up, he took that instead.
