By ANDREW FAISON/CORRESPONDENT
andrew.faison@yahoo.com

FRANKLIN—For the fifth time in six years, Franklin High School’s junior varsity football team had “a perfect season.”

The Broncos on Thursday night defeated Surry 40-0 with Latrell Lane leading the charge, scoring touchdowns on runs of 78, 65 and 37 yards. The junior varsity squad finished 7-0, outscoring its opponents 220-30 for the season.

“We are very blessed to be around such a great group of young men,” said Franklin JV Head Coach Travis Councill.

It is the consensus of the coaches that it is not about the coaches; it is about the kids, and the coaches have just been lucky to be around a great group of athletes. The entire season, the kids played hard, played together and competed hard on every single play, Councill said.

“It’s just been a fantastic year and a blessing to coach these young men as well,” he said. “It has been a pleasure to mentor these young men.”

Councill also attributes the success of the program to local little league teams combined with instilling the skills and mindsets in players at a young age so they can build off those skills.

Franklin Varsity Coach Darren Parker couldn’t be happier about the junior varsity squad’s undefeated season.

“First off I must say that God is great,” said Parker, whose Broncos as of last Friday were 7-0 on the season. “The only reason that we are as successful is because of the grace of God.”

Parker attributes the success of the entire program to the fact that junior varsity and varsity coaches are one unit. They have a lot of kids who believe in their coaches as the coaches believe in the kids as well as teaching them the right thing.

“We believe in building winners because if you win out here on the field, you’re going to win in the classroom, and then you’re going to win at home as well as when you get in the real world,” Parker said. “We want to teach the boys that everything that they get into in life, they should want to win it. Because of the success on the field it has spilled over into the classroom as the kids are doing great in school.”

He believes that overall program is great but has a long way to go.

On Thursday the junior varsity Broncos amassed 332 yards of offense on 21 plays, 237 of which came in the first half.

The Broncos began the game with possession of the ball. After a mere 53 seconds, it was Marcus Stephens who found the end zone with his feet from 33 yards out. Stephens ran in the 2-point conversion. Surry held onto the ball for the rest of the quarter, but never scored.

“Our defense played fast and physical,” said Councill.

In the second quarter, Lane, with 4:05 left on the clock, scored on a 78-yard run. Lane ran in the 2-point conversion.

With 59 seconds left in the half, Lane scored on a 65-yard run. Terry Warren ran in the 2-point conversion.

On a botched backwards pass by Surry with 45 seconds left in the half, Lane recovered the fumbled ball and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown. Stephens ran in the 2-point conversion.

With 9:20 left in the game, it was Stephens who found the end zone from 17 yards out. He ran in the 2-point conversion.

“Coach Parker has put a great system in for us,” said Councill, “And we run the system, and the young men just execute.”

“God is great for blessing us with these young men, and all the success that we have had both on the field as well as off,” Parker added.