Last year, Franklin's season ended in disappointment against Lincoln of Stockton.
The Wildcats couldn't stop then-junior standouts Zach Greenlee and Justin Davis in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I quarterfinals.
Greenlee passed for 329 yards and three touchdowns and Davis rushed for 201 yards and four touchdowns in a 56-27 pasting of the Wildcats.
But most of the Franklin players were juniors, and they learned well under coach Mike Johnson.
Top-seeded Franklin, using a punishing rushing attack and swarming defense, dominated Lincoln from the start Friday night en route to a 42-6 rout at Cosumnes Oaks High School.
Christian Fonbuena rushed for 125 yards and three touchdowns, Kyran Harris went for 118 and two scores, and the Wildcats' defense was superb in shutting down the prolific Trojans. USC-bound Davis was held to 62 yards and no touchdowns on 21 carries for Lincoln (8-4).
The win moves Franklin (12-0) into the semifinals next Friday against defending champion Granite Bay, which beat Downey in Modesto.
Division I
No. 5 Granite Bay 56, No. 4 Downey 20 in Modesto – The Grizzlies (9-3) dominated offensively and stymied Hawaii-bound quarterback Aaron Zwahlen of Downey (10-2) as the defending champions move on to the semifinals.
No. 3 Oak Ridge 17, No. 7 Pitman 16 in El Dorado Hills – Jason Samuels threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Tanner Hughes, Ryan Lamb had a 34-yard field goal, and the Trojans (11-1) stopped the Pride's two-point conversion attempt late in the fourth quarter to prevail.
Division II
No. 5 Buhach Colony 35, No. 4 Antelope 28 in Antelope – The best run in the brief history of the Titans (10-2) ended as they couldn't stop the potent fly sweep attack of the Thunder (10-2), led by 6-8, 340-pound national recruit Aaron Cochran.
No. 15 Del Oro 21, No. 7 St. Mary's 10 in Stockton – Brandon Monroe rushed for touchdowns of 65, 33 and 11 yards to lead the Golden Eagles (7-5) over the Rams (9-3). Del Oro's defense had two stands inside its five-yard line in the first half.
Division III
No. 4 American Canyon 28, No. 5 Cosumnes Oaks 20 in American Canyon – In a battle of two of the newest schools in the section, the Wolves (11-1) defeated the Wolfpack (9-3) behind Chris Seisay's 96-yard touchdown return of a fumble recovery. American Canyon is in its second varsity season, Cosumnes Oaks its fourth.
No. 6 Inderkum 69, No. 3 Sierra 47 in Manteca – Brandon Powell rushed for 202 yards and four touchdowns, Terence White 178 yards and four touchdowns, and Josh Montes 138 yards and two touchdowns as the Tigers (10-2) defeated the Timberwolves (10-2). White also intercepted two passes, including one deep in Sierra territory with just over six minutes left in the game.
No. 2 Vista del Lago 35, No. 10 El Camino 31 in Folsom – Vista del Lago (11-1) scored 21 fourth-quarter points to beat El Camino (8-4).
Division IV
No. 8 Escalon 27, No. 1 Placer 26 in Auburn – Thomas Diniz's 23-yard field goal with two seconds left led a big fourth-quarter comeback for the Cougars, who handed the Hillmen their first loss of the season.
An Isaac Brahce interception return set up a 20-yard field goal by Dominic Granieri to put Placer ahead 26-17 with 1:57 left in the third quarter.
Escalon closed within two points on an eight-yard touchdown pass from Phillip Kimble to Alec VonAlvensleben with five minutes to go, then the two connected on a 38-yard pass play to set up the winning field goal.
No. 5 Los Banos 42, No. 4 Capital Christian 14 at Capital Christian – James Sams rushed for three touchdowns, and Chris Corpuz completed two touchdown passes to lead the Tigers (11-1) past the Cougars (10-2).
No. 10 Center 19, No. 2 Argonaut 14 in Jackson – A D'Juan Bellarie touchdown run and a 15-yard scoring pass from Tyrel Anderson to Matt Cooper led the Cougars (10-2) past the Mustangs (11-1).
Editor's note: This story has been edited to make the following changes: The field goal kicker for Oak Ridge was incorrectly reported to The Bee, and the mascot for Escalon has been corrected.
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