The fourth ranked Dundalk Owls, sitting at 4-2, hosted the second ranked Franklin Indians in a top eight Baltimore County football showdown in week seven. After starting the season with a pair of losses, Dundalk entered on a four-game win streak, most recently earning a narrow 12-6 win at home last week against the Parkville Knights. Franklin, who entered at 5-1, won big at home last week against Catonsville, taking down the Comets 50-6. The game was tied at six early and Dundalk was driving, but with the ball at the Franklin 36-yard-line, the Owl’s quarterback’s pass was intercepted by Franklin senior linebacker Trevor Watson returned the pick 75 yards for an Indian touchdown, putting his team ahead 13-6 with 88 seconds left in the first quarter. Midway through the second quarter, Franklin’s offense drove downfield, and with the ball at the Dundalk 20-yard line, quarterback Jacob Howard rolled to his left and threw a strike into the back corner of the end zone to sophomore Tyrae Richburg, extending the Indians’ lead to 20-6 with five minutes to play in the second. Just three plays into Dundalk’s ensuing drive, their quarterback threw another interception after airmailing his receiver, and a personal foul against the Owls gave Franklin even better field position. On third down, Howard had an open receiver in the end zone, but that receiver dropped an open touchdown. After the failed touchdown, the Indians lined up to kick a 35-yard field goal, but the snap was low and the ball didn’t clear the line of scrimmage. Dundalk’s Gilbert Stewart returned the failed field goal, giving the Owls the ball at the Franklin 45 with just under two minutes to play. Despite having strong field position with time to play with, the first play of Dundalk’s drive was a pass intercepted by senior Cruz Fleet and returned 70 yards for a Franklin touchdown, making it a 26-6 game at halftime. Most of the second half went scoreless, but the Owls had the ball at the Franklin 35-yard line with less than a minute to play, and Logan Alderson unloaded to Damari Moore for the Owls’ second score. Dundalk’s two-point try was unsuccessful, and Franklin ran out the final 38 seconds to earn a 26-12 road win. In all, the Franklin defense came away with four total interceptions, including one each from Nathan Damiano, Cruz Fleet, Bakari Johnson, and Trevor Watson, ultimately leading to them earning the victory. Each team has a pair of games left on their schedule. Franklin is set to host New Town next week followed by a game at Randallstown while Dundalk will look to bounce back at home against Dulaney in week eight before traveling to Hereford to round out their season.