By BUTCH HARMON
While the Laingsburg football team just missed qualifying for the playoffs this year, the future looks bright for the Wolfpack, with players like junior Cole Franks coming back next season.
Franks, a 6’1″, 160-pound wide receiver/defensive back, was voted Laingsburg’s team MVP this season and was also a first-team all-CMAC wide receiver. He led the Wolfpack in receiving, as he caught 33 passes for 754 yards (22.8 yards/reception average) and six touchdowns. Franks had 873 all-purpose yards this year and scored eight total touchdowns. Defensively, he totaled 27 tackles and intercepted three passes.
“Cole is a very talented athlete,” Laingsburg coach Brian Borgman said. “He has tremendous speed and agility. We test our players on their speed in the 40-, pro-agility, and L-drills, and Cole had the fastest time out of anyone in the program.”
Cole helped the Wolfpack to a 4-5 overall record this year. Laingsburg improved as the season went on and finished the campaign with three wins in a row.
“Our passing game improved as the season went on, and we look at the last three wins we had to close the season as leading into next year,” Franks said. “We have a lot of juniors coming back, and the sophomores coming up have been successful. These classes have been successful in the past. We lost some close games this year, and that kept us out of the playoffs, and our goal next year is to make the playoffs.”
Franks knows what it takes to have a successful team, as he was part of Laingsburg’s basketball team that made it to the Class C state championship game last season. The leading scorer on the junior varsity team, Franks was called up to the varsity last year for the final quarter of the regular season and for the state tournament. “It was an unbelievable experience,” he said. “We were all like brothers last year, and we played as one. It was something I will never forget.”
Franks is part of a strong junior class that is teaming up with some talented sophomores to keep the Wolfpack basketball team rolling this year.
“Cole is a very skilled and talented basketball player as well as football player,” Borgman said. “As good of an athlete as he is, he is an even better person. He is charming and well-respected by his teachers. He is a well-rounded, humble, and great young man.”