ENGLEWOOD — When Kent Denver senior Jaden Franklin finishes his high school football career Saturday against top-seeded Brush (12-0) in the Class 2A state championship game, he will certainly be remembered as one of the top running backs in classification history.
But he is more excited about a chance to help the school win its second state title in three years than personal accolades.
“It’s honestly an amazing, euphoric feeling that I really can’t describe,” said Franklin, 18. “Being able to get to the last possible game that you can play in high school is something that not many people can say that they’ve done, so I’m just really proud to say I can be in that category.”
The 5-foot-10, 180-pound running back enters Saturday’s game ranked fifth all time in Colorado regardless of classification in career touchdowns (107) and sixth in rushing yards (6,566).
“He hits the hole hard, and he’s also capable of being a slasher,” Kent Denver coach Scott Yates said. “He sees the field real well, so when he gets out to the open, he finds different seams. He can shake it a little bit and make people miss him.”
Franklin uncharacteristically struggled on the ground in a semifinal against Platte Valley last week. On the snowy, bitterly cold Saturday afternoon, Franklin was held to a season-low 54 yards.
“It was so icy, you couldn’t make cuts,” Franklin said. “So whenever I was slipping, I just tried a hand plant and to fall forward for 3 or 4 yards.”
Yates added, “They really loaded the box up and did everything they could to keep Jaden from getting loose.”
But that didn’t stop him from finding his way into the end zone. Franklin caught two touchdown passes, which helped second-seeded Kent Denver (12-0) win 19-16.
“It hurt my hands. Even with gloves on, it still hurt my hands,” Franklin said, laughing. “My pinkies were frozen in the first quarter. It was miserably cold.”
Yates compared his star’s competitive nature to that of 1980s Kent Denver great Jay Barry, who went on to play for the University of Washington. That drive has been evident since Franklin stepped onto the field as a freshman. On his first carry in a varsity game, he dropped the ball, picked it up and ran it in for a touchdown.
It has carried throughout his high school career. He trained all summer for this moment, he said, motivated by a heartbreaking 9-7 loss to Manitou Springs in last year’s state quarterfinals.
“I was all in. You have to be all in,” Franklin said. “I was like, ‘I’m going to get a state championship.’ “
Joe Nguyen: jnguyen@denverpost.com or
