Franklin High School football returned to the postseason last year for the first time since 2017 behind an explosive offense that averaged 37.9 points per game.
That offense will have some pieces to replace, including starting quarterback and PIL Offensive Player of the Year Will Reid, but there’s still plenty left in a program that continues to grow in Southeast Portland.
For second-year head coach Adam Grimes, building on that momentum is key and he’s seen the growth in his group from the summer and into the first few days of fall camp.
“The great thing is carrying that momentum into this year with our increased enrollment,” Grimes said. “Players had a really good Linfield team camp, been working hard in 7-on-7 over the summer and really good participation out here to start practice.”
The most notable piece back for the Lightning is senior wide receiver Cash Landau, an Idaho commit and a First Team All-PIL player a year ago.
Landau caught 64 passes for 1,108 yards and 17 touchdowns, all first on the Franklin squad except for catches, which he was one behind Ethan Aman at 65.
Grimes also pointed out a strong junior core at receiver in Evan Roseborough, Artai Hardnett and Cooper Haug who have some varsity experience from last year.
Franklin also has senior IJ Marsh back on the line, a First Team All-PIL pick at center last season, along with Siosaia Tuiileila who was an honorable mention guard and a Second Team defensive lineman.
Junior Silas Combs is set to be the next QB1 for the Lightning after being the backup last season. He went 15-for-20 passing in two games played last season for 185 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions.
“We’ve always had a really strong offense, but obviously with our QB leaving last year, we need our new guy to step in, which I think he’ll do,” Landau said. “We’ve got other guys who I think will step up and fill that role.”
Defensively, Grimes knows his squad needs to improve after seeing his team on the wrong end of some shootouts last season, like a 74-60 loss to Ida B. Wells or the 68-40 loss in the first round of the Columbia Cup to Newberg.
One big change Grimes noted is the added depth in the program will allow for full-time starters on each side of the ball, giving his guys time to rest between shifts rather than having to pull a full game.
“This is the first year since I’ve been here where we have depth in our secondary and our linebacker corps,” Grimes said. “Those last three games obviously weren’t great, but the good thing this year is they understand the system more, they’re physical, guys put a lot of time in the weight room to bulk up their bodies. Our defense is going to be much improved this year.”
Most importantly, the Lightning have to keep carrying a chip on their shoulder. They suffered some heartbreaking losses to Grant (30-29) and Jefferson (53-51) last year that went down in the final seconds of the game.
Flip those games and Franklin’s final game of the season against Wells could have been a de facto PIL title game, and that’s where the Lightning expect to be this year.
“Be more competitive,” Marsh said of the lesson learned from last year. “The PIL is looked down a lot, especially by the other leagues. But we can come out, we can play.”
Franklin gets the season going on the road at 7 p.m. Sept. 6 at Sandy before hosting Beaverton at 7 p.m. Sept. 13 for its two nonleague games.
For PIL play, the Lightning will have Jefferson, Wells, Roosevelt and Grant at home while playing Lincoln and McDaniel on the road. Cleveland is also on the road, but the Warriors are playing an independent schedule this season.
After making the playoffs, Franklin is ready to make that next step similar to what Wells did last year in winning the league title. And with the kind of trajectory the Lightning are on, it’s more than a possible development.
“I think the biggest thing for us is we just need to have that belief,” Landau said. “I think with everything we put in last year, I think guys are starting to believe … We’re ready to get our get-back for the seniors last year and we’re ready to tear up the PIL.”
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