Author: Bill Beckner Jr.
Sunday, October 27, 2024 | 5:53 PM
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Franklin Regional punter Joey Bain punts during a game against Upper St. Clair on Sept. 6, 2024 at USC.
christopher horner relive
Franklin Regional’s Joey Bain moves the ball during a game against Latrobe on Oct. 8, 2024 at Greater Latrobe High School.
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Joey Bain recently changed his hairstyle, going from wavy brown hair to a blonde buzzcut with dark tiger stripes.
Bains can instantly transform your look during the fall season.
One day, he plays an active role as a fast-footed forward who can score goals for a soccer team. Next, he initiates a touchback into the end zone on the football and is kicking a field goal.
He will participate in two playoffs, with the football team competing in two rounds of the postseason and the football team opening the playoffs later this week.
“I’m really proud of him because he’s been battling injuries all season and now he’s getting healthy again,” Franklin Regional Soccer Coach Nick White said. “He has worked very hard all season. He is a very technically dynamic player and very strong on the ball. He has great distribution skills and a great shot.
“His drive and determination to do his best has helped him improve his game.”
Bayne has eight goals and eight assists for the soccer team. The seventh-seeded Panthers (12-3-2) will play the sixth-seeded Mars (14-1-4) in the WPIAL 4A semifinals Monday night at 6 p.m. at Dormont Stadium.
Bayne and his teammates defeated No. 2 Thomas Jefferson in the quarterfinals, 2-1, and Bayne recorded an assist.
Fabrizio Costa and Jovan Sankoulikal scored the goals, with Sankoulikal adding an assist.
“We were a playoff seed and our opponents were ranked very high, so our players were very motivated to prove what a strong group we were,” White said. Ta. “I’m very proud of their efforts.”
Bain is part of a triplex of goal-scoring talent.
Danny Cristafano led the team with 23 goals and 11 assists, and Sankoulikal also had 11 goals and 11 assists.
Bane filled that role in what was the year of the WPIAL kicker.
Bane made six field goals and had a touchback percentage of 70.2%. He made a 37-yard field goal and a 22-yarder beat Latrobe 3-0.
Bane made 6 of 10 field goals and 32 of 33 extra points.
Of his 47 kickoffs, 33 resulted in touchbacks. He is averaging 38.8 yards per punt and a long of 61 yards.
“I think a big reason (my kicking has improved) is because a lot of kids go to camp and practice with coaches,” Bain said. “Standard Rising and Kicker see that too, and we strive to be better than each other. We also believe that the WPIAL has a very deep and special collection of kickers, more than ever, this year. You could even say it’s the best year ever for a kicker in the WPIAL.”
Bain receives private instruction and attends Kick’s camp.
“I have also put in a lot of time and effort to get to this point, and I have focused more on getting better at kicking than soccer.”
When it comes to that hairstyle, Bain is having fun.
“I wanted to do something different,” he said. “I’d rather it look like a zebra or a tiger, but a lot of people say it’s a leopard (with stripes), so I’m really leaving it up to other people’s interpretation.”
Bain said she had discussed the design haircut with a friend. The friend refused, but Bain went to the barbershop.
“I just wanted to do it because I thought it would be cool to do it before the playoffs,” he said.
Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.
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