IN THE ZONE: Hun School football star Ian Franzoni races up the field last Saturday as Hun defeated Canada Prep 50-8. Senior running back Franzoni rushed for 275 yards and three touchdowns on  nine carries in the victory as Hun improved to 2-0. The Raiders head south next weekend to play at Life Christian Academy (Va.) on September 21. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Over the last three years, Ian Franzoni paid his dues for the Hun School football team as a back-up running back.

Playing behind Josh Henderson, Franzoni didn’t get a lot of carries but he was productive when he did get his chance, steadily increasing his workload.

With Henderson graduating and joining the University of North Carolina football program, senior Franzoni was primed to make the most of his final high school campaign.

“Last year Josh was here but when I got my carries, I felt like I did a lot of good running,” said Franzoni. “This year, I knew it was my time and I had to step up when I could.”

Getting his chance, Franzoni has stepped up in a big way, rushing for 202 yards and two touchdowns in an opening day 44-7 win at Chesire Academy (Conn.) on September 7 and then exploding for 275 yards and three touchdowns on nine carries in a 50-8 win over Canada Prep last Saturday.

Franzoni and his teammates were determined to seize momentum early on Saturday against their visitors from the north.

“We knew we each had to come out with energy from snap one,” said Franzoni. “We had to bring it from the beginning, we prepared all week for them.”

That preparation paid dividends for Franzoni as he scored the first TD of the game on a 1-yard plunge and then produced dazzling scoring jaunts of 74 yards and 85 yards in the second quarter as Hun built a 42-0 lead by halftime.

“Our line did a great job, coach [Todd] Smith puts us in a great position,” said Franzoni. “We just had to come out and execute. I know what my job is and I just try to come out and execute whenever I can.”

With several Hun players working out together over the summer, the team came into the season with an edge.

“We had a good core of guys who came in and worked hard in the weight room in the summer,” said Franzoni.

“I think it is making all the difference for us right now and for myself personally.”

Franzoni, for his part, supplemented that training by connecting with former Hun star and NFL veteran Nick Williams.

“I trained with Nick Williams, who was with the Falcons for a couple of years,” said Franzoni.

“I give him a lot of credit for the success I am having. He is a great guy, he helped me a lot. That was definitely helpful for my confidence and everything.”

Hun head coach Todd Smith was  confident that Franzoni could emerge as a star this fall for the Raiders.

“We are fortunate to have had some really good players here at Hun,” said Smith.

“Ian just got stuck behind Josh. It wasn’t that we didn’t know how good he is, we knew how good he is. Now he is getting a chance to shine out here and it has been a great first two weeks for him. We are real proud of him because there are probably not too many guys in the country who have put in the time and effort he has.”

While Smith was happy to see his team roll to the win over Canada Prep, he was hoping for a more competitive contest.

“I wanted a little more; we came out healthy and we did some good things,” said Smith. “We found some things we need to work on.”

Senior quarterback Logan Clouse did some very good things in the win, connecting on 11-of-16 passes for 223 yards and three touchdowns.

“Logan is definitely sharper,” added Smith. “He is so much further ahead of where he was last year. We want to make him keep getting better and better every week. All in all, it is really good stuff.”

Hun’s mammoth offensive line laid the foundation for the victory, dominating in the trenches.

“The biggest thing is we just want to make sure that they play physical,” said Smith. “I thought they did a good job of that today.”

On the other side of the ball, the Hun defense totally stifled Canada Prep. “We are humming on all cylinders at all levels of the game,” said Smith.

The Raiders will need to raise the level of their game as they hit the road to play a formidable foe.

“Next week is a whole different challenge, we are down in Richmond, Virginia playing Life Christian Academy,” said Smith.

“They are very good. They play a national schedule so we are going to go down there and give it our best shot. It is just keep shoring up things and don’t make any mistakes on our end. We just need to keep moving forward and make sure that it is next play, great play.”

Franzoni, for his part, believes Hun can keep moving in the right direction.

“We just need to keep working hard,” said Franzoni. “We have a tough schedule going forward so it is coming into practice and just punching the clock every day. If we don’t let up, I think we will be fine.”