The Franklin Football team took on the Eastlake Falcons for their first game after their bye week. They put a good comeback together after they went down 12-3 early but came back to win 26-12 against the Falcons.

Senior Wide Receiver Beau Sparks found the end zone first for the cougars when Junior Quarterback Shay Smith threw it to him on a 21-yard hitch-and-go pass to put the cougars up 12-10. To end the first half, Sophomore Kicker JP Soto made his second field goal of the night from 32 yards out to make the score 13-12.

Quarterback Smith found receiver Sparks again for a 57-yard touchdown on a post route to make the score 20-12. Then Smith threw it to Sophomore Wide Receiver Elias Rangel for an 81-yard touchdown on a slant route to ensure a 26-12 Franklin victory.

The team then took on a tougher opponent in the Pebble Hills Spartans loosing 34-14. Franklin went down 21-0 early then Quarterback Shay Smith threw it to Wide Receiver Beau Sparks for a 43-yard touchdown on play All Curl. But the Spartans were too much scoring two more touchdowns to put themselves up 34-7. Then the cougars found the endzone one more time with Smith throwing to Sparks again this time from 18-yards out on play Snap to make the score 34-14.

On Senior Night at Cougar Stadium, the Eastwood Troopers showed their firepower beating the cougars 55-36. The Troopers got out to a hot 21-3 start, but Junior Quarterback Shay Smith took off for a 64-yard rushing touchdown to make the score 21-10. Eastwood put up three more touchdowns, but Smith didn’t give up running it in from five yards out to make the score 35-16.

The troopers tacked on two more touchdowns but Quarterback Smith score again rushing from 11 yards out to make the score 49-22. Then Smith threw the ball to Wide Receiver Beau Sparks for another touchdown, this time from 25-yards out to make the score 49-28. But Eastwood’s Curtis Murillo scored on a kick return showing they were just too much for the cougars. Junior Quarterback Shay Smith found Beau Sparks again for another touchdown making the score 55-36 in favor of the Troopers.

“It felt good to have those big runs, to hear the crowd cheering as I ran down the field, felt great and it energized the team,” Shay Smith said.

To rebound after the two tough losses, the football team showed El Dorado they couldn’t hang with them beating the Aztecs 42-24. To start it off, the offense drove right down the field and Junior Quarterback Shay Smith ran the ball in from 1-yard out for the touchdown to make the score 7-0. Then the cougars scored again after the defense forced a punt. This time Quarterback Smith threw the ball to Junior Wide Receiver Patrick Powers from 13-yards out on a slant route making the score 14-0.

“Those touchdowns felt pretty good, and for playoffs, I think is depends on how we do in practice, if the energy is good, we should be good,” Powers said.

The Aztecs put their first touchdown on the board but on the ensuing kickoff, Franklin’s Junior Running Back Jordan Morales received the kickoff and ran it in from 72-yards out for a touchdown to make the score 21-7. But El Dorado came back and tied it up with two touchdowns. The cougar offense stayed strong though, Shay Smith found Patrick Powers again in the endzone for a 9-yard passing touchdown making the score 28-21 going into halftime.

After halftime, El Dorado tacked on a field goal, but the cougar offense stayed hot scoring another touchdown. Quarterback Shay Smith threw the ball to Senior Wide Receiver Beau Sparks who caught a screen pass from 17-yards out for the score. Sparks then intercepted an El Dorado pass on the ensuing drive which he took to the endzone for another Franklin touchdown to seal the game 42-24.

“The win felt good, cool to make the playoffs and get the team going again, Beau Sparks said.”

It was a great way for the Franklin football team to bounce back after three tough games. The team now has to contend with Midland Legacy from the Permian basin in the first round of the playoffs.