Franklin’s Brown honored
He led Sabers to title game
Oh, what might have been. That’s a sentiment Franklin coach Louis Brown has heard from some in the weeks since the end of the high school football season. What if that touchdown would have counted?
Sabers fans know what we’re talking about. Tied, 1414, with Kimberly late in the third quarter of the Division 1 state final, junior Max Alba rolled right and launched a deep ball that senior Kyle Lewis caught for a 78-yard touchdown that could have swung momentum back in Franklin’s favor.
An ineligible man downfield penalty wiped out the score, though, negating a play that could have sparked an upset of a team that finished the year ranked 25th in the nation by USA Today.
Win or lose, however, the 2016 season was an impressive one for Franklin. One year after losing 17 starters from a team that reached the state semifinals, the Sabers reached their third state final in school history and led, 14-0, at the half.
For their work, Brown and his assistants are the Journal Sentinel’s coach/staff of the year.
“I’m a firm believer in having great leaders, and we had great leaders here just buying into team,” Brown said after his team’s 29-14 loss to Kimberly in the title game. “There is no ‘me’ here. I’m unbelievably proud of what these kids accomplished.”
Franklin started the season needing to replace starters everywhere except for a couple of spots on the defensive line, at receiver and in the secondary.
Franklin (12-2) overcame a season-opening loss to win 12 straight games and capture its fourth straight Southeast Conference title.
The journey included a knee injury that sidelined allstate defensive end Latron Kirk-Sprewer for four weeks. Alba also suffered a knee injury that benched him for Games 2 and 4, resulting in the team turning to a freshman and sophomore at quarterback.
“We put some kids in different spots where we felt they could help us the most and then as time wore on kids got healthier and healthier,” Brown said. “And then the older kids started bonding with the young kids and vice versa, and then kind of a perfect storm grew.”
This was Brown’s sixth season as head coach. Previously, he was the school’s longtime defensive coordinator and ran that unit when Franklin won the 2006 state title.
The program is 60-14 (.811) with two state runner-up finishes and four conference titles under his watch.
Franklin is known for developing quarterbacks and linemen, and the program lived up to the reputation this season. Alba, a first-year starter who played some last year, earned all-state honors, while three starters on the offensive line claimed some level of all-conference recognition.
As for the penalty in the state final, Brown didn’t agree with it, but he also pointed out his team’s turnovers and missed opportunities as factors in the outcome. He also praised his players for their belief in and love for each other.
“You can see that’s a special group right there,” he said.
Franklin staff
Head coach: Louis Brown. Assistants: Jeff Klemp, offensive coordinator/quarterbacks; John Plewa, defensive coordinator/linebackers; Brent Thoen, special teams/outside linebackers; Mike Beck, offensive line; Buck Hughes, defensive line; Tom Thurin, receivers; Ken Wiske, running backs; Mike Kubes, offensive line; Evan Walton, receivers; Macon Plewa, running backs/special teams.