FRANKLIN, Texas — When head coach Mark Fannin took over the Franklin football program in 2020, the Lions had yet to win a single state title game.
Now, in his fourth season at the Helm, the Lions are attempting a three-peat — what was once a lofty goal has now become the expectation.
“That second year, the one that we won our first win, knowing we were going to come back and be good the next year again, it just became an expectation that we would be back and we wouldn't settle for anything less,” said Lions junior safety, Noah Tart.
“I think that kind of slingshot us in the glory — we're experiencing right now.”
164 — what started as a motivator for this Lions football team, a three digit number, has now turned into something the entire Franklin community lives by.
“We just thought it was cool and we brought it back to the coaching staff,” Fannin said.
“I didn't think that it was going to take off like it did, but it sure enough did.”
It's on the walls of the locker room, their practice shirts, their helmets, and now the Lions will make that 164 mile drive for the fourth time in as many years competing for the coveted state championship title.
“It's the ultimate goal — travel that 164 miles make it to AT&T Stadium,” said Lions senior linebacker, Blake Autrey.
“It brings us closer as a team. A lot of us have been playing football together for a long time, so we're great as teammates.”
Over the last four years, the Lions have played more games collectively than most teams in the state during that time.
Their brotherhood and trust in one another has continued to grow while gaining invaluable postseason experience.
“I'm not sure of a lot of high school kids that have played 64 games in their high school career,” Autrey said.
“A lot of these kids have started since their freshman year and whenever we play together, it just clicks."
“It's just easy,” Tart said.
“It's easy getting to come together, you know, and fight for your brothers on Friday nights.”
Malakoff is making their second state final appearance in program history and walking into AT&T at 15-0 this season.
“They've got athletes all over the field — the quarterback is a really good football player — running back is really good,” Fannin said.
"They've got a couple of receivers that are really fast and can run really good routes. They're big up-front, they're physical — it's going to be a great football game and that's what championship games are supposed to be about.”
In five of their last seven games, the Franklin offenses put 50 or more points on the board. Those other two weeks, they scored 49, and since giving up 52 to the Lorena Leopards in week nine, the Lions D is averaging 21 points allowed per game.
When it comes to the postseason, they simply know how to win, taking 22 of their last 23 playoff games.
“When you have that mentality, when you get a group of kids that expect to win, it goes a long way.”
The Lions will travel up to AT&T Stadium Thursday in the hopes of knocking off undefeated Malakoff and adding some more hardware to their already heavy hand.
Kickoff in Arlington is set for 3 p.m. on Thursday.