Regional semifinal: Franklin 52, Academy 27
By Douglas Pils
TOMBALL – Something clicked when Franklin lost its 39-game win streak on the last play against Lorena on Oct. 20, and now the Lions have a shot at redemption.
It’s hard to say a two-time defending state champion needed motivation, but it has been found in the five weeks since that happened.
Franklin (12-1) stormed past Academy 52-27 in the regional semifinal on Nov. 24, setting up a rematch with Lorena (11-2) for the Region III-3A, Division I title. They will meet at 7 p.m. Friday at Georgetown ISD Athletic Complex with the Lions looking to advance to a fourth straight trip to the state semifinals.
“The Lorena team, when they beat us, kind of changed our mindset this year,” said coach Mark Fannin, who’s now 56-4 in four seasons as Franklin’s head coach. “They’ve been playing at a different level ever since that loss. They’ve been wanting to play them and get their revenge back. I told them as a group that we’ve got to come in all business like, go to work and have a great week of practice. I’m glad we get to take them on again.”
When Lorena beat Franklin 52-49 on a field goal as time expired, it was the most points the Lions had allowed since a 60-33 loss to Crockett to close the 2019 regular season. That year ended with a loss to Whitney in the area round and Fannin took over as head coach the next year.
Since the loss on Oct. 20, Franklin has averaged 52 points per game. Meanwhile, the defense has held opponents to a 21.4 average, including two games against the Bumblebees’ high-powered offense.
“We’re playing so much better. We needed that loss,” said junior Jayden Jackson, who rushed for 217 yards and three touchdowns, passed for a touchdown and made five tackles on defense against Academy. “Back then when we lost to Lorena, it was a good loss. We knew that we needed to work on stuff and be tougher than what we were. I feel like ever since that loss, we’ve been playing tough and better every week.”
A ‘good loss’
The notion of a “good loss” is shared up and down the Lions’ roster.
“We’re tremendously better,” said senior linebacker Colby Smith, who had 7.5 tackles against the Bees. “We’re a lot more dedicated. We work a lot harder in practice. I think it’s going to be a very good game (this week).”
Franklin took care of Academy again by jumping out to a 24-7 halftime lead and stomping out a small comeback in the third quarter with a steady dose of Jackson and big defense when it counted.
For the third straight playoff game Devyn Hidrogo struck first, turning a Cort Lowry pass to the flat into a 36-yard touchdown sprint, racing away from three Academy defenders.
Major Kimbrough’s 10-yard sack on third-and-15 stopped Academy’s first drive. Jackson’s 3-yard score produced a 14-0 lead with 3:10 left in the first quarter.
Academy gained two first downs, then turned the ball over on downs at the Franklin 20 early in the second quarter. Hidrogo fumbled after a hard hit, but junior defensive back Wade Stallones got the ball back three plays later with an interception at the Franklin 9.
Fourth-down decision pays off
That set up the most crucial drive of the game. Facing a fourth-and-1 at the 18, the Lions lined up to punt, but Fannin called timeout. He decided to go for it deep in Franklin’s own end, and Jackson made the decision look like a no-brainer with a 21-yard run.
Three plays later, Jackson took a pitch to the right, pulled up and lofted a spiral down the sideline to a waiting Hidrogo. That 45-yard touchdown pass was Jackson’s first of the season and Hidrogo’s fifth receiving score of the year.
Jackson raced down the sideline screaming “I told you I had you!”
“We’ve been working that all week,” Jackson said. “We just put that pass in. In practice, I would underthrow him and I kind of did today. But it was way better than in practice. I told him today during the walkthrough that if we run that today, I got you. I’m going to lead you on and you’re going to score a touchdown.”
Both of Hidrogo’s receptions went for touchdowns and it’s his 10th straight game with a catch.
“That’s just him right now being Devyn,” Fannin said. “There might be something a little extra different in there now, but I love how he’s playing football right now.”
Academy responded with an eight-play drive that ended with a 21-yard touchdown pass with 1:09 left in the first half.
The Lions put up their own eight-play drive after Matthew Bell’s 20-yard kick return to the 30. Franklin worked the sidelines for three first downs and Lowry nailed a 40-yard field goal as time expired for the 24-7 lead.
“I feel like we came out and played hard from the jump,” Jackson said. “It was full speed, all effort. … We left no doubt that we were the better football team.”
No chance for comeback
Hidrogo stopped Academy’s opening drive of the second half with a 4-yard tackle for a loss on a complete pass. Two plays later, Jackson sprinted 79 yards through the right side of the line for a 31-7 lead.
The Bees pulled with 31-14 and recovered an onside kick with 5:23 to go in the third quarter. The Lions responded to that small bit of adversity with a 2-yard tackle for a loss by Smith on first down, junior Oscar Torres’ first sack of the season for a 5-yard loss on second down and Landon Labouf breaking up his 10th pass of the season on fourth-and-17.
Six plays later, Jackson raced 27 yards for his third score and a 38-14 lead with 49 seconds left in the third quarter.
Academy had two fourth-quarter scores, but then so did Franklin. Colin Smitherman hit the left side of the line for a 33-yard score on his only carry, and Walker Anderson scored from the 3 after Hidrogo nearly returned a punt for a touchdown.
Before the teams met to shake hands, word had already reached the sideline that Lorena had beaten Columbus 42-21 to set up a District 11-3A rematch for the regional title.
“It’s a big win because it gets us back to Lorena,” Smith said. “They beat (Columbus) pretty bad, so we’re going to have a good week of practice and get locked in. It’s a big game because they knocked off our winning streak and we’re ready to get back at them.”
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