Franklin 31, Diboll 14
Area Playoffs
Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024
By Douglas Pils
TOMBALL – Franklin needed something from all three phases to secure a 31-14 area round playoff victory over Diboll last Thursday at Tomball ISD Stadium.
Senior running back Jayden Jackson led the way with 165 rushing yards on 21 tough carries, but the offense only produced 294 yards and two touchdowns. Senior defensive back Wade Stallones stepped up with an interception return for a touchdown in his third straight game and he blocked a field goal that was returned for a score.
Throw in junior Gavin Martinez’ confidence-boosting 33-yard field goal near the end of the game and it adds up to Lions (9-2) preparing over Thanksgiving break to face Hitchcock (10-1) in the regional semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday at Randall Reed Stadium in New Caney.
“I thought it was a physical football game,” Franklin coach Mark Fannin said. “I preach to my teams that the most physical team is going to win in the end. I thought we were the most physical team tonight.”
Hitchcock has won 10 straight since opening the season on Aug. 30 with a 37-36 loss to Houston Legacy, including a 37-36 overtime victory over Columbus in district on Oct. 25. Franklin fell to Legacy 48-41 in a thriller on Sept. 27 at Hedrick Field.
Taking on stiff defense
Against Diboll, both Fannin and Jackson lauded the game plan devised by coach Blake Morrison to stop the Lions’ Slot-T attack. The first drive netted just 15 yards before a punt.
“Coach Morrison at Diboll always defends us very well,” Fannin said. “… We’re very familiar with each other and he does a good job of defending the Slot-T. I just hope he doesn’t share his secrets with anyone.”
Franklin’s second drive lasted only four plays, and the Slot-T didn’t end it. Senior quarterback Noah Tart lofted a spiral to a wide-open A.J. Phillips for a 63-yard touchdown with 4:51 left in the first quarter. Erick Lopez’ extra point gave Franklin a 7-0 lead.
Breaking down big catch
It was the sophomore tight end’s third catch of the year and his first touchdown since the area-round victory over Shepherd in 2023.
“Whenever I went out for my route, I saw nothing but green grass,” Phillips said. “I saw the safeties shift over to the receiver. I looked back and wondered if Tart was going to throw it. I thought he might have overthrown me, so I kicked it into second gear to go get it.”
The Lumberjacks responded with a 15-play drive that stalled at the Franklin 7 and set up for a 24-yard field goal attempt. Stallones blocked it, and then junior Bubba Jackson picked it up and started to run.
Stallones’ block starts the fun
As Diboll players closed in, he spotted his brother, Jayden Jackson, and flipped the ball to him. The ball hit the turf, but it bounced right back into Jayden’s hands and he was off for a 14-0 Franklin lead with 8:42 left in the half after Lopez’ extra point.
“Since it worked out, it was a heads-up play,” Fannin said. “If it didn’t work out then we might have had a problem. But I didn’t chew on them at all because it worked out. That was a great play. And the blocked field goal was kind of a momentum change for us.”
Jayden Jackson knew pretty quickly what his younger brother would do.
“Bubba, that’s a risky dude,” Jayden said. “He’s started that since we were playing pee-wee. He threw that ball back to R.J. (Fulton once) and R.J. ran the ball back instead. I just knew once he turned around and his eyes got big, I said “here, here, here.” I knew he was looking for someone to throw it to, so I took it and ran it back.”
Slow start for offense
Jayden Jackson went into halftime with just 13 yards rushing and the offense had only three first downs. Diboll had eaten up the play clock with 23 plays around the blocked field goal. Even though it led 14-0, Franklin had run just 16 plays in the first half.
That led to some stern talks in the locker room.
“I kind of jumped on my linemen, because I didn’t think we played very well in the first half up front,” Fannin said. “We weren’t dominant like we needed to be. They came out in the second half and played their style of game. That was the difference.”
That happened, but first Diboll got back in the game with an 89-yard pass from quarterback Brayden Wilson to Jaydan Miller on the first play. Stallones fell while defending the throw, which was caught around midfield.
Time to get going
The Lions turned that adversity into their best drive of the night. Jayden Jackson carried the ball for five of the seven plays with gains of 14, 4, 18, 16 and the final 21 yards fighting all of the way to the goal line.
“In the first half, we were struggling on the offensive line,” Phillips said. “Coach Fannin kind of chewed us out, so that sparked it. We figured it out.
“I think that was just the adjustments we made at halftime. Also, that chewout probably sparked it. We just came in there more confident and tried to get more movement in the second half.”
Not getting beat again
Now trailing 21-7, Wilson figured he would attack Stallones once more, but the senior made him pay. Stallones read the pass, caught it at full speed at the Franklin 40 and sprinted 60 yards to the end zone for a 28-7 lead with 8:15 left in the quarter.
“He’s a heck of a player. I’ve been with Wade since we were little kids in second grade, so I know what he’s capable of,” Jayden Jackson said. “When that play got made on him, I knew he was going to respond. He had another pick-6 to go with the blocked kick.”
Stallones now has a team-high five interceptions on the season.
Diboll wouldn’t go away, capping a six-play drive with another Wilson-to-Miller score, this one from 24 yards. The Lions still led 28-14 with 5:28 left in the third quarter.
They gave the Lumberjacks some hope when a 12-play drive ended when Jackson fumbled at Diboll 6. Wilson led an 11-play drive that ended with two incompletions at the Franklin 42 with 4:57 left in the game.
Big kick seals it
The Lions responded with an eight-play drive that led to Martinez’ 33-yard field goal with a little less than a minute to play.
That sets up a rematch of the regional semifinal from 2022 when Franklin took down Hitchcock 53-18 on a rainy night in Shenandoah. Everyone knows they’ll need a good week of practice over the Thanksgiving break to beat a team that’s already beaten Columbus once this year.
“Mindset is to go in and defeat the team standing in front of us,” said Jayden Jackson, who now has three straight 2,000-yard seasons. “We’ve been down this road before when we have to play on Thanksgiving week. We’ve got to come to practice and we’ve got to work hard.
“Coming into next week on Friday, we’re going to have a good matchup and it’s going to be the same battle. We have to have a great game plan and execute it well.”
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