Salmen’s Spartans travel to Franklinton tonight to take on the Demons in the District 9-4A opener for both teams.

The Spartans enter tonight’s contest with a 2-2 record, while Franklinton is 4-1.

Both teams are coming off blowout wins. Last week, Salmen knocked off Sarah T. Reed, 53-13, while Franklinton blanked Pine 55-0.

Salmen'€™s Daniel Sams goes up for a catch as Sarah T. Reed'€™s Roy Thomas (31) defends the play during last Thursday'€™s game held at Salmen. (File Photo by James Elorriaga)

If this year’s contest is anything like it was last season, fans attending the game will get more than their money’s worth. Franklinton won that game, 19-14. The final tally came when Scott Mitchell blocked a Salmen punt with his team down, 14-13, and 1:19 remaining. The ball was recovered at the Spartans’ one-yard line and the Demons scored on the next play.

Franklinton coach Shane Smith said Salmen is a good team.

“They’re extremely athletic, play with a lot of speed and they play a physical style of football,” Smith said.

Salmen runs a spread offense with senior Julien Troullier playing quarterback.

Last week, he showed his versatility in a first half that saw the Spartans take a 46-0 lead into intermission. He accounted for four touchdowns, two running, one passing and one receiving. His first one came when he hit Daniel Sams for 21 yards, which made it 21-0. Then Troullier ran for a yard and a score. After that, he caught a pass from Matt Lipham for 37 yards. Later on, the all-purpose player capped off the half with a 1-yard run.

Defensively, Franklinton will give a lot of looks and rotate a lot of players.

Middle linebacker Joshua Marks is the Demons’ leading tackler 24 total. He has 16 individual and eight assists. Chazz Tate has 23 stops, 16 solo, seven assists and leads the Demons with five sacks.

Franklinton has also intercepted three passes, two by Jermaine Barnes.

Offensively, Franklinton bases out of a spread with sophomore Terrance Magee calling signals. This season, Magee is leading the team with 393 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. He has also completed passes for 441 yards, while adding two scores.

When Magee attempts to pass, his leading wide receiver is junior LeSean Williams, who has 14 catches for 166 yards. Sophomore Vincent Wilson has made five receptions for 126 yards and two scores. Sophomore Chris Briggs has tallied seven catches for 85 yards and a score.

The running backs are junior Devonta Flowers and sophomore Jeremy Burton.

This year, Flowers has run for 269 yards and four TDs. Burton has 130 yards on 28 carries for Franklinton.

Defensively, Salmen runs a 3-3. Last week, the defense scored a touchdown when Curtis Owens recovered a fumble and brought it back 36 yards. Also in the game, Sams blocked a punt for the Spartans.