The beauty of high school football – when measuring height and weight – is this: Size is relative.

But heart? That counts.

Take Nathan Di Donato, a defensive end, pass-rush specialist for the Franklin Wildcats. He's 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds of relentless fury. Di Donato was in on three sacks – he has 201/2 on the season – to help spearhead Franklin's 41-16 triumph at Nevada Union on Friday in a Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoff game.

So size up your player, coach.

"Nathan's got a ticker," Franklin coach Mike Johnson said.

Ticker, of course, means motor and heart rolled into one.

Franklin, seeded ninth after finishing third in the Delta Valley Conference behind Elk Grove and Grant, now has the attention of the large-school playoff field. Next for Franklin is a big challenge in Stockton against top-seeded Lincoln on Friday.

Di Donato is already revving his engine.

"We're feared, and that's all you want," Di Donato said. "We're loving this."

Franklin was 0-4 in the postseason before winning last Friday and is hungry for more victories. Di Donato is flanked by twins Blake and Jordan Owensby, who do a little bit of everything for the Wildcats. Blake plays quarterback and Jordan, a linebacker, is the school's all-time leader in tackles. He's also the team's punter.

And Brothers Owensby watch after each other. Blake is a personal protector of sorts for Jordan on punts, sacrificing his body to make sure an opponent doesn't tee off on this brother. They even unravel yards of tape from each other after games.

"It's cool having twins," Di Donato said before Tuesday's practice. "Those guys, Blake and Jordan, they're my best friends off the field. And we all have each other's back, those guys especially. If something goes wrong, it's on."

It's been on for three other teams from Elk Grove as well – in three divisions.

Defending section champion Pleasant Grove, which is seeded second in Division I, has two sets of brothers: quarterback Cody Demps and receiver Wyatt Demps, and cornerbacks Brandon and Desmond Lewis.

Elk Grove, winners of five D-I section titles but none since 2001, is rolling at 11-0 behind its throwback wing-T offense and two defensive stoppers in brothers Josh, a senior, and Noah Letuligasenoa, a sophomore.

Elk Grove is looming as a state-bowl contender in D-II under coach Chris Nixon.

Cosumnes Oaks, located barely two miles east of Franklin, has already made some noise in D-III with its second senior class and first playoff win.

Coach Scooter Gomes preaches family within his program. He learned that from his high school coach at Delta in Clarksburg, Steve Robards, during a championship run in the early 1990s. Robards is now on Gomes' staff.

Editor's note: This story was changed Nov. 17 to correct that Pleasant Grove has two sets of brothers, not two sets of twins.

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