ENGLEWOOD — Jaden Franklin knew he was going to love being a high school running back after his first carry — even if the play didn’t go exactly according to plan.
“The very first time he got the ball in a varsity game, he dropped the ball,” said Scott Yates, Franklin’s coach at Kent Denver. “But then he picked it up and ran for a touchdown.”
“It was just crazy,” Franklin said of his scoop-and-score play as a freshman. “I didn’t even know what I was doing. I found a seam and just ran.”
Franklin has run for 69 more touchdowns since that improvised highlight four years ago. Midway through his senior season, the 5-foot-10, 180-pound back is poised to finish his career among the top 10 in Colorado history in rushing touchdowns.
“It’s an honor,” Franklin said. “I didn’t think it would be ever come to this. Looking back on it, it’s been a crazy ride. I give everything to my linemen, because they’ve done it all.”
At the high school level, particularly in Colorado, running the ball is still king. While the college and pro game are evolving more and more to the passing game, running is still the way to move the ball at the high school level.
A Denver Post survey of 35 of the top 40 ranked high school teams in the state from the 2A to 5A classifications (five schools didn’t have statistics available) showed those teams are running the ball 71 percent of the time. Only one school in that group — Class 5A Fairview — passes the ball more than it runs. Compare that to the FBS level of college football, where teams have a 54-46 run-to-pass balance. Or to the increasingly pass-happy NFL, where teams are passing 56 percent of the time this season and no team has drafted a running back in the first round since 2012.
“The run game is easier to execute for high school coaches,” Sand Creek coach Rod Baker said. “In the pros, they are going to go get their quarterback. In high school, you’ve got the guy who walks through the door.”
Baker was on the sideline Friday for one of the wildest games in state history. Sand Creek beat Air Academy 68-62 behind a rushing performance by senior Daniel Quin that produced the following eye-popping line: 64 carries for 553 yards and nine touchdowns.
No, that is not a typo.
“He was like tackling a fire hydrant,” Baker said. “After the game, I was thinking he had around 45 or 50 carries. When we looked at the numbers, I was like, ‘Oh, my goodness.’ “
Quin’s 64 carries smashed the previous state record of 59, and while his once-in-a-lifetime game certainly isn’t the norm, the first half of the high school season in Colorado has been defined by incredible rushing totals.
Overland running back Josh Wright rushed for 313 yards and six touchdowns in a 47-14 win over Rangeview this month. Standley Lake’s Michael Kerr and Cherry Creek’s Milo Hall ran for 99-yard touchdowns in consecutive weeks. Brandon Martinez, a senior at Denver West, has rushed for 1,024 yards and 10 touchdowns — in four games. And Cherokee Trail running backs Arsean Wilbon and Kyree Herron combined for 407 yards and five touchdowns last week in a 34-20 win over Rangeview.
Want explosive plays? Look no further than the backfield.
“If you had the same kind of hours in the day to sit and meet with your quarterbacks and your receivers (as college and NFL coaches do), then I think you might see that change a little bit,” Yates said. “There are some teams that are very pass-happy in high school. Not many. But I think it’s pretty hard for them to sustain that. High school kids can learn and do some really good things, but sometimes if you keep it simple, they can just go and play hard.”
Franklin, who has rushed 5,366 yards in his career at Kent Denver, knows he’ll never have more fun than playing football than he has as a high school running back. He’s received some recruiting interest from small colleges, but he knows he could be asked to change positions.
Even if he does remain a running back, chances are he won’t have the same opportunity to run wild, as he has the past four years.
“I don’t know what college will bring,” Franklin said, “but I’ve loved running the ball for Kent.”
Nick Kosmider: 303-954-1516, nkosmider@denverpost.com or
