Pushing for more yardage on the biggest drive of the game, Franklin Regional quarterback Santino Birty felt an Armstrong defender rip the ball from his grasp inside his own 40-yard line.

An initial moment of nervousness turned into relief when Birty saw center Bryce Lauer recover his fumble.

Franklin Regional made the most of its second life as the Class AAA No. 8 Panthers drove another 65 yards to score an insurance touchdown late in the fourth quarter of its 35-26 Greater Allegheny victory over Armstrong on Friday at Davis “Red” Ullom Field in Kittanning.

“Our quarterbacks coach told us to hold onto the ball. We can’t fumble. And what do you know? I was driving forward and got stripped,” Birty said. “You’ve just got to keep moving forward.

“It’s awesome playing close games like this instead of blowing teams out because that’s where you find out what you’re made of. That’s where you dig deep inside and find out what the team’s really made of.”

Jacob Ross scored a 6-yard touchdown that put the game away with 2:17 left, capping his 101-yard, two-score performance. Birty rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 124 yards and another score to help Franklin Regional (4-1, 4-1) overcome a 19-14 halftime deficit.

Armstrong (2-3, 2-3) suffered its second straight narrow loss to a ranked opponent.

Zane Dudek rushed for 195 yards and a touchdown, and Michael Lhote threw for 106 and two scores but penalties and a costly fourth-down play doomed the River Hawks in the second half.

“We’re close, but unfortunately, close only counts in hand grenades and horseshoes,” Armstrong coach Frank Fabian said. “We’ve got to get it fixed, and we’ll do our best.”

Franklin Regional and Armstrong traded touchdowns throughout the first half, with the Panthers opening the scoring on Birty’s 26-yard pass to Nate Leopold midway through the first quarter.

Dudek scored on a 64-yard run, and Lhote found Nick Croyle for an 18-yard touchdown to give Armstrong a 13-7 lead early in the second quarter.

Birty countered with a 22-yard scoring run, but Armstrong took the lead into halftime when Jacob Robb stripped Birty on a sack and Nate Baillie returned the fumble 24 yards for a touchdown.

An Armstrong mistake allowed Franklin Regional to retake the lead in the third. River Hawks punter Kolton Crissman sensed a rush and tried to run for a first down inside his own 25-yard line. The Panthers stopped him short, and Ross capped the ensuing drive with a 5-yard run.

“I’ll never question our kids’ courage or their heart,” Fabian said. “They give you everything they have for 48 minutes. It’s just we seem to be having lapses in judgment at times on the field, and it starts with me.”

Birty made it 28-19 with a 64-yard run, but Lhote, who played most of the game for injured starter Dawson Porter, threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Dockum to cut the lead to 28-26 with 6:11 remaining.

That set up Franklin Regional’s do-or-die drive, and the Panthers did.

“We knew how good (Armstrong) is. I have a lot of respect for Frank and what he did with his program,” Franklin Regional coach Greg Botta said. “At halftime, I just challenged them that they’ve got to come out here and play and not give up. They did that.”

Doug Gulasy is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at dgulasy@tribweb.com or via Twitter @dgulasy_Trib.

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