The Franklin Cougars will be playing in front of their home fans against the El Dorado Aztecs at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Given that the pair suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this match.
Franklin pushed their score all the way to 31 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell 38-31 to Eastwood. While losing is never fun, Franklin can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Texas football rankings (they are ranked 367th, while Eastwood is ranked 163rd).
Franklin's defeat came about despite a quality game from Shay Smith, who rushed for 170 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 8.5 yards per carry. Smith was no stranger to the big play, taking off on a dash that went for 50 yards.
Meanwhile, El Dorado was the victim of a rough 41-21 loss at the hands of Montwood on Friday. The last quarter was a mere formality, since the game's final score was reached by the end of the third quarter.
Despite the loss, El Dorado saw an underclassman step up: Ryan Estrada rushed for 195 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 12.2 yards per carry. Elijah Issa also helped out as he racked up 104 rushing yards.
Franklin's defeat ended a four-game streak of away wins and brought them to 5-4. As for El Dorado, their loss was their sixth straight at home (dating back to last season), which dropped their overall record down to 1-8.
Franklin strolled past El Dorado in their previous matchup back in November of 2022 by a score of 42-24. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was El Dorado's Quincy Estrada, who rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown on only 13 carries. Now that he won't be playing on Thursday, will it be that much easier for Franklin to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
