GAMES
RANKINGS
INSTANT REACTION: Canadian Wins Back-and-Forth Thriller
ARLINGTON - After having the lead for the majority of the game, Canadian needed a missed PAT and a last-minute touchdown to edge past Franklin 35-34 to capture the school's fifth state championship.
Offensive MVP Josh Culwell threw four touchdowns, and got Canadian off to a hot start with a 14-0 lead at the end of the first. Franklin then began to settle down defensively and then get its offense going, thanks to the great effort by Seth Spiller, who got Franklin on the board early in the second quarter.
It became a defensive struggle from there as there wasn't another score until the 8:18 mark of the third when Culwell passed for his third touchdown to extend Canadian's lead back to 14.
From there, it was all Franklin as it scored four times in the final quarter and a half to take the lead, largely thanks to Spiller's three rushing touchdowns and one throwing score. The latter put Franklin in the lead with 1:02 to play in the game. However the PAT was off the right upright, which would loom large.
On Canadian's final drive, Culwell hit a streaking Reagan Cochran for a 52 yard touchdown with 28 seconds left. Edgar Salazar nailed the PAT and Canadian was back in front.
CANADIAN SAID, "HOLD UP, Y'ALL" 🤯@reagan_c5 reels in a deep pass from @JoshuaCulwell and just like that, @CanadianISD regains the lead on a made PAT! WOW!#TXHSFB | @uiltexas | #UILonFSSW | #UILState pic.twitter.com/BuuD8XfGJD
— FOX Sports Southwest (@FOXSportsSW) December 17, 2020
Franklin was able to get into Canadian territory but a sack ended the game, preserving the Canadian win. In total, five touchdowns were scored in the final 8:10 of the game with two lead changes in the final 62 seconds.
STATE PREVIEW: 3A DII Canadian vs. Franklin
After downing the defending state champs last week in pretty convincing fashion, Canadian enters the state championship look for its fifth title. It's opponent, Franklin, is in the state finals for the first time and seeking its first-ever title - a bit of a recurring theme this year in some of these games.
Canadian (13-1, Region I champion), has put up gaudy, six-man numbers averaging an even 58 points per contest. Canadian hit 70 points five times this year and its season high was 81 against Amarillo Highland Park. The defense has been solid as well, holding five opponents to 7 points or less with three shutouts on the year.
In the playoffs, Canadian has outscored teams 252-53, with the closest game being a 27-point win in the last round over Gunter.
After dropping its first two games, Franklin has rattled off 12 straight having won 11 of those by no less than 15 points. Franklin got a measure of some revenge last week with a 14-13 win over Waskom, the team that beat them in Franklin's lone championship appearance back in 2015.
In the regular season, Franklin allowed more than 28 points per game, but in the playoffs, it has dropped that averaged down by 10.
HOW CANADIAN GOT HERE
- BI-DISTRICT: Beat Coahoma 62-14
- AREA: Beat Bangs 56-13
- REGIONALS: Beat Idalou 56-6
- QUARTERFINALS: Beat Childress 45-14
- SEMIFINALS: Beat Gunter 33-16
HOW FRANKLIN GOT HERE
- BI-DISTRICT: Beat Van Vleck 58-19
- AREA: Beat Natalia 49-20
- REGIONALS: Beat Lexington 40-7
- QUARTERFINALS: Beat Buffalo 56-33
- SEMIFINALS: Beat Waskom 14-13
LINE: Canadian favored by 17