High in the air, junior Christian Gore has his sights set on draining a three pointer against El Dorado last Friday night. photo by Briana Sanchez

story by Ian Ekery

Last Friday night the varsity boys’ basketball team took down the mighty Aztecs from El Dorado by a score of 60-46. The Aztecs came out hot, ending the first quarter with a score of 17-9. However, the tables turned after that as the Cougars heated up, both on offense and defense, scoring 10 points and allowing only two, as the teams went into halftime tied at 19 a piece. The momentum shifted to the Cougars’ side as junior guard Milli Padilla drained a three-pointer with four seconds left in the first half and the big purple and black never looked back, as they took over in the second by a score of 41-27. Once the game clock hit 00.0, the final score read 60-46, with the Cougars coming out victorious and keeping their playoff hopes alive.

The Cougars continue their late-season run into the state playoffs tonight as they square off against the Coronado T-birds at Coronado at 7:30 pm. Last time these two matched up, Franklin stomped the T-birds by a score of 54-35 and they are looking for a similar outcome.

The Cougars must win tonight and next Tuesday at Americas in order to keep their playoff hopes alive. If they do this, they will slip into a playoff spot if Hanks drops at least one of their last two games or if Americas loses two of their last three, granted one of those losses would have to come against the Cougars next Tuesday.