The Franklinton Demons are a team located in Franklinton, Louisiana. They are in the 4A classification and are currently sitting at a 1-1 record through the first two weeks coming off of a loss to Convington, but they look forward to this Friday, where they play Pine on the road. With a 3-7 record from last year, Franklinton looks to grow and establish themselves as credible contenders in their division under Coach Saltaformaggio. Coach Saltaformaggio will utilize his key players such as DJ Anders, Beau Webb, and Avery Brumfield.
“This is the most 7on7 we’ve ever been in to. We’ve kind of readjusted our weight lift schedule, we go Monday through Thursday and maybe hit a 7 on 7 every other week. Every Wednesday morning we throw with St. Paul and then we got into a couple of tournaments. I just think we needed it more from a defensive install than an offensive install, so we didn’t go into it with any great expectations, we just wanted to see if we could play the coverage’s that we’re going to play during the year and I thought we did well. We got better as we went through it all and got to see some good football players and some good 7on7 teams along the way.”
Coach Saltaformaggio when asked about summer preparation
“Spring really went well. We went down to New Orleans and had a spring game against Newman, a really good football program, Nelson’s got a great program. We came out of there really feeling good about ourselves it was kind of a ‘what and what’ type of scrimmage, we controlled it all the way through. Nelson and I have been friends for a long time, but to go against that level of competition, that ability level was really good for us. To know that we’re able to play and I told our kids that after, “we’re not going to play anybody on our schedule, unless we get to a Thanksgiving weekend game, that’s going to be better than what you just played in the Spring because they’re really good.” So, we came out of Spring with nine really good practice days and a really long and tough spring game. We felt good about ourselves coming out of that.”
Coach Saltaformaggio when asked about the Spring preparation
“The biggest jump for us was our Quarterback, Jacob Crain. Jacob started for our team last year the first three games as a sophomore. I kind of got a philosophy when playing those sophomores. Everyone you put on the field, you’re going to lose that game. It kind of went that way for us but Jacob took a huge leap through the Spring and I really believe because of his physical size, he is a rising junior like I said, he’s about 6’2 175 pounds. He’s got a big arm, he’s very cerebral, he watches a lot of film, understands coverage, Joe Burrow is his idol. He was the guy, for me, that made the biggest jump from where we had him last year, having to bench him three games in, to where he is now which is the undisputed leader of our football team offensively.”
Coach Saltaformaggio when asked which players made the biggest jump
“Another guy I was really really proud of, who made a huge jump because he had to make a position change, is our Mike linebacker Elisha Hart. Elisha was a Nose Guard last year, lost a lot of weight, we stood him up and people think that’s easy, to take your hands off the ground and all of a sudden you’re going to be a better player at the second level. It is not an easy transition, he had a fantastic Spring for us. He truly did. Position-ally, we needed those guys to be good and they had really good Springs for us.”
Coach Saltaformaggio when asked which players made the biggest jump
Avery Brumfield is a versatile, dual-sport athlete that will be this team’s Free Safety. As a senior, he will be one of the team’s leaders of the defense and will play a massive role in this team’s potential success. With a 6’0, 170 pound frame, his length will be crucial in stopping other teams passing game. Not only a solid frame, but someone who Coach Saltaformaggio trusts with calling and relaying plays for the defense.
“Guys that we knew were going to be good, really had excellent Springs. The three guys I brought with me here today. Avery Brumfield is our Free Safety, we’re a 3-3 Stack team so he was an ‘in the box’ roll down safety for us, I moved him to Free. He’s a basketball kid, who plays against your best player. So, if we were going to play Newman in basketball, their best guy would have been guarded by Avery. He’s athletic and ‘rangy’ and we moved him back to the top of the defense and he calls all of our coverages. He’s had a really good summer and a good camp for us going through the Spring and in 7on7s”
Coach Saltaformaggio when asked which players made the biggest jump
Beau Webb is the teams right tackle, as one of the most valuable positions on the field, it is crucial to have a high motor and competitiveness. According to Coach Saltaformaggio, Webb has exactly that, as he was described to have a dominate spring with massive improvements on his game. A senior with a solid frame of 6’3, 230 pounds, Webb looks to continue his dominance from the Spring to the regular season and through the Gridirion Football Bowl Game as well.
“Beau Webb, who plays Right Tackle for us, has had a dominant, dominant Spring. It was interesting watching him go against Bor in the Spring game. Those two guys really knocked each other around a little bit so that was good for us to see.“
Coach Saltaformaggio when asked which players made the biggest jump.
DJ Anders is another standout senior player that Franklinton and Coach Saltaformaggio will be relying on throughout this season. With a 5’10, 220 pound frame, he will be used as the Sam Linebacker and his explosiveness will be needed for big run stops and tone setting for the entire defense. He was one of the players that Coach Saltaformaggio bragged about for taking a big leap coming into his final season with the team.
“DJ Anders play our Sam Linebacker, our strong side backer in our stack. He walks down a lot so he’s got to have a little bit of flexibility and explosiveness to him. Those three guys, have been off the charts for us.”
Coach Saltaformaggio when asked which players made the biggest jump
“We open up(our schedule) with Amite, Covington, then Pine. Pine and Franklinton need to play. When Coach Bradley and I were talking about it, I’ve been lucky to coach in some big rivalries. I’ve coached in what I consider the biggest rivalry in the state in Hahnville vs Destrehan. I told him how that week goes(rivalry week) and what goes into it. It’s going to be a big rivalry game and we needed that. I don’t think we had that at Franklinton. It kind of gotten away, cause our program had slipped a little bit…”
Coach Saltaformaggio when asked about the scheduling process.
As previously stated, the Franklinton Demons are currently sitting at a 1-1 record through the first two weeks of their season with a big rivalry game coming up against Pine. This game against Pine is a necessity for Franklinton to play, according to Coach Saltaformaggio. Pine is going into this game with a 3-0 record and they will be hosting Franklinton this Friday Night. Nonetheless, the Franklinton Demons have a team full of talent and potential that is ready to succeed and buy in to the message and schemes that Coach Saltaformaggio is instilling in them, and they have hopes of making the playoffs and competing once they get there.
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