SHEVVY FRANKLIN was a workhorse for the Panthers on Friday night, rushing for 146 yards on 31 carries in Benicia’s 36-28 victory over Vanden.

Fighting with their backs to the wall and a potential Solano County Athletic Conference championship on the line, Benicia High’s varsity football team brought its postseason hopes back to life with a stunning 36-28 victory over the Vanden Vikings in Fairfield on Friday.

Senior running back Shevvy Franklin, who had only 37 carries all season coming into Friday, ran for 146 yards and a touchdown on 31 carries. Cavon Etter’s 39-yard fumble return for a touchdown with 5:30 remaining put Vanden back on its heels, and Jalen Lane came up with a big defensive stop on fourth-and-1 with 2:04 left to seal Benicia’s first winning streak of the season.

Benicia improved to 4-4 overall and 2-1 in the SCAC, pulling into a four-way tie for first place with Vanden, American Canyon and Bethel. The Panthers, who take on Bethel (4-4) at Corbus Field this coming Friday, must win their final two games to reach the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs and earn at least a share of their third straight conference title.

“This was basically a playoff game for us and it meant everything,” Franklin said of the win over Vanden.

“Our kids fought the entire time,” said Benicia head coach Craig Holden. “They played loose, they played fast and they played aggressive. Our backs were against the wall and they responded. That was the best game I’ve seen them play all year.”

The Vikings (4-4), who were celebrating their Homecoming, did everything they could to stick a dagger in Benicia’s season. Jemaurri Bailey returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown only 53 seconds into the game, and later in the first quarter, the senior captain hauled in a 76-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Stefan Koss. When Estavon Jernigan returned the second-half opening kickoff 76 yards for a touchdown and a 21-13 Vanden lead, it looked like it wouldn’t be Benicia’s night.

But the Panthers fought back each time. Jeremiah Lane responded to Bailey’s pick-six by sneaking through a hole in the middle of Vanden’s defense and going untouched for a 25-yard TD. After Bailey’s 76-yard TD catch, Benicia marched 80 yards in 20 plays, chewing 9:25 off the clock to pull within 15-13 just before halftime. Franklin’s 5-yard TD run was his ninth carry on a drive that saw him convert three times on fourth down.

“He’s a stud,” Etter said of Franklin. “He helped our offense really get it going.”

“I didn’t expect to get the ball at all in this game,” Franklin said. “I thought I’d just be blocking for Cavon. I was just grinding the ball and it kept working.”

“He ran his butt off,” Holden said. “He hasn’t had that many opportunities this year but it was working and we just kept pounding him. He was running harder and harder as the game went on.”

Down 21-13, Benicia quarterback Devin Holden connected with Mario Ferreira for a 32-yard pass on third-and-33. Facing fourth-and-1, Holden ran up the middle for a 4-yard touchdown, and a juggling catch by Xavier Judkins on the two-point conversion tied things at 21-21.

Vanden took its final lead early in the fourth quarter on a 9-yard touchdown run by Eurijah Ports. Benicia responded with two big third-down catches by Franklin and Ferreira and a leaping catch by Judkins for a 21-yard TD that trimmed the deficit to one. When Vanden was penalized just before the point-after attempt, the Panthers elected to go for two instead and Franklin bulled his way into the end zone for a 29-28 Benicia lead with 7:47 remaining.

On Vanden’s next possession, Benicia cornerback Matthew Larks forced a fumble that Etter scooped up at the Viking 39 and returned down the right sideline for a touchdown, breaking a tackle along the way. Now clinging to a 36-28 lead with just over two minutes left, Benicia’s defense stopped Vanden on a fourth-and-1 when Jalen Lane tackled Ports at the Viking 40.

Benicia was playing without five regular starters due to injury or illness but got a huge performance from linemen Brian McRae (who was carted off on a stretcher late in the game), Jordan Carro, Tre’Verre Stone, Mark Shafer, William Portello, Barry Washington, Joseph Lee and Kenyi Turner.

The Panthers ran 75 plays and picked up 20 first downs to only 36 plays and five first downs for Vanden.

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