State semifinal:
Franklin 52, Edna 14
By Douglas Pils
CYPRESS – The “Kings of Class 3A” have earned a shot at a third straight title, joining just 16 other schools in Texas high school football history to advance to four straight state championship games.
Franklin (14-1) rolled over Edna 52-14 in the Class 3A, Division I state semifinals on Dec. 7, setting up a match with Malakoff (15-0) at 3 p.m. Thursday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The Tigers survived a back-and-forth 38-31 battle with Brock, the team Franklin beat on the final play in 2022 for its second title.
That made the Lions “Kings of Class 3A,” as they added a Division I crown to the one they won in Division II in 2021. Now, they’re back to finish off another championship.
Seniors Devyn Hidrogo, Major Kimbrough, Braden Smith, Colby Smith and Brayden Youree will end their careers the same way they’ve ended each season – playing for the state title.
“I thought coming into high school, we’d be lucky to get one and now we’re going into our fourth one,” said tight end Braden Smith, who’s committed to play at Tarleton State next year. “It’s just something kids dream of, and I’m not gonna take it for granted at all.”
Nothing but state finals
The quintet started as freshmen on the team that lost to Canadian 35-34 in 2020 and they’ve added more and more members of their class each year. There are 19 seniors who will suit up for the final time Thursday. One of the reasons Franklin has gone 58-4 over the past four seasons has a lot to do with the growth and maturity it has seen from this class.
“I mean, we’re like family,” Smith said. “We can call on each other for anything.”
One of those family members is senior quarterback Cort Lowry, who kicked the game-winning field goal to beat Brock for the 2022 title. Lowry completed 11 of 13 passes for 227 yards and three touchdowns in the Edna victory. All of those numbers are career highs.
Lowry, who has signed to play baseball at Tarleton, has thrown for a combined 1,800 yards and 22 touchdowns in two seasons. That includes 1,118 and 13 scores this season after his big day against the Cowboys. He said it’s been fun to watch his class contribute more and more each season to the Lions’ success.
“It means everything you know,” Lowry said. “It’s a special thing that not many people get to experience to even go once to state, but to go four years in a row is really extraordinary. And it’s been great to watch his team grow together and the brotherhood and the bond that we’ve grown over the years and I’m gonna really miss it when it’s all over.”
Hidrogo’s night to shine
Hidrogo, who has committed to play at Wyoming next year, was the beneficiary of Franklin turning to its passing attack against Edna. He caught seven passes for 163 yards and touchdowns of 42, 52 and 28 yards. The last one gave the Lions a 38-0 lead 27 seconds before halftime.
The 52-yard score came on a wheel route and no one was within 10 yards of him. On the 28-yard pass, he was allowed a free run off the line. On the other one, he turned short bubble screens into touchdowns. That’s a play the Lions have used with great success this year.
“We used to run a pitch out there, but our bubbles kind of replaced that,” Lowry said. “We have great athletes that can make moves and I’ll take them one on one with the safety any day. So when we get the ball in their hands, I think we can do great things.”
With that 38-0 lead, coach Mark Fannin was able to rest most of his starters for a large portion of the second half
Hidrogo added 73 yards rushing with a fourth score. That meant that leading rusher Jayden Jackson didn’t need to carry much of a load a week after gaining 311 yards on 34 carries to beat Lorena. He had a season-low 54 yards and one score to give him 2,315 rushing yards and 33 touchdowns this season.
Jackson’s helmet sat on the bench for the fourth quarter, as backups gained state semifinal experience and members of the junior varsity and freshman teams were able to play. Junior Collin Smitherman scored his fourth touchdown of the season, while senior David Henry scored his second touchdown of the year late in the fourth quarter.
Defense sets the tone
Defensively, Colby Smith led the way with 6.5 tackles. Youree had five tackles, while he, Jackson, Kimbrough and Cameron Zamora all had part of a sack. Jackson and R.J. Fulton recovered fumbles caused by Blake Autrey and Kimbrough and Noah Tart ended Edna’s final possession with a leaping interception.
Smith, Youree, Autrey, Zamora and Kimbrough are part of that group of 19 seniors and they allowed a playoff low 209 yards of total offense.
“Man, what a special group,” Fannin said. “This group of seniors right here kind of set the tone you know, with the sophomores kind of above them. But when they came in as freshmen, we knew this group was going to be pretty special. And were we right about that? There’s some special players and I love them all to death.
“You know football season is a grind. And when you play this long each and every year, you gotta have a special group to come out here and do that. And these guys, they embrace the grind. And I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Turning attention to Malakoff
For Hidrogo, getting back to Arlington is just business as usual.
“It’s just a mindset for us,” said Hidrogo, who has 910 yards rushing and 722 receiving with catches in 12 straight games. “We know we’re not just gonna let somebody beat us. You know, we want it more than every other team.”
Malakoff presents the same offensive challenge Franklin has seen this year from Lorena. The Lions split two games with the Leopards, winning the playoff rematch 49-27 after Lorena ended the team’s 39-game winning streak in the regular season.
“Malakoff is really fast,” Braden Smith said. “Offensively, I think we can gash them. They haven’t seen a Slot-T like us, but I think defensively we’re gonna have to really shut down their playmakers.”
When asked what he thought about Franklin finishing off that 164-mile trip to Arlington with another title in their hands, Smith was quick.
“If the Green and White are on the field, I like our chances,” he said.
Part of that goes back to the Lorena loss. Since then, the offense has scored seven touchdowns in each game, while giving up an average of 21.1 points in the seven wins. The Lions showed no dip in motivation against Edna a week after gaining revenge against the Leopards.
“I think the last two weeks we’ve really stepped our game up,” Lowry said. “We’ve brought a lot of intensity to practice. We played angry and it’s a dangerous thing when a team plays angry. I think going into next week, we just got to stay focused. And keep our head down and work hard every day at practice, and we’re gonna go out and have a good game.”
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