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Lorie Little's first season as coach of the Franklin girls soccer team was impressive as the team won 22 matches, a District 1-6A title and two playoff games in 2019. This year hasn't been too bad either. The Cougars finished the regular season with a 16-2-1 overall record and an 9-1 record in district play. Franklin is scheduled to start the playoffs on April 14 as the University Interscholastic League has suspended all activities for at least two weeks. Last week all UIL sanctioned contests were suspended due to the outbreak of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) in Texas. The suspension runs March 16-30. The original start day for the playoffs was March 26. "The team has been focused," Little said. "We have a strong team this year with lots of experience. I believe heading into this part of the season, we are getting healthy and the team wants to build off of last year." Last year included a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Wolfforth Frenship in the Class 6A regional quarterfinals. This year's team has plenty of talent including New Mexico State commit Bianca Chacon and team captains Victoria Fernandez and Dominika Rubalcvaa. Rubalcava and Fernandez have been on the Franklin varsity team since they were freshmen. ...

Franklin defeated Americas 36-31 on Saturday afternoon to claim the championship in the Franklin Holiday Tournament. Trailing by eight points late in the third quarter, the Cougars used an 8-0 spurt to tie the game entering the fourth quarter. It was a back-and-forth affair in the final frame, but Franklin guard Roman Garcia took over down the stretch, scoring the go-ahead bucket with 1:20 remaining. Garcia was named the MVP of the tournament. Americas guard Jordan Hernandez joined him on the five-player all-Tournament team....

Americas and Franklin advanced to the championship game of the Franklin Holiday Tournament on Friday afternoon. The host Cougars defeated Horizon 50-34 in the first semifinal clash. The Trail Blazers followed that up by defeating Coronado 37-29 in the other defensive-minded semifinal. Americas and Franklin will meet for the tournament championship at 1 p.m. Saturday at Franklin....

This year’s quarterback crop in El Paso was as good as its been in a long time. Record numbers were put up across the city as the game continues to evolve in the area. That talent was on display Saturday afternoon at Sun Bowl Stadium for the Annual Greater El Paso Football Showcase Quarterback Challenge. When the dust settled, Franklin senior Danny Walther took the top spot. Walther, who threw for nearly 2,500 yards and 25 touchdowns this season for the Cougars, edged Americas’ Michael Nowell and Pebble Hills’ Sebastian Ochoa. “It’s cool. It’s a nice way to go out,” said Walther. “It was one of the last challenges that I had, other than the game next week, but it’s a great way to go out. I’m having a blast out here. It’s my senior year!” Quarterbacks competed in challenges that tested their arm strength, accuracy and mobility. Next up for the Greater El Paso Football Showcase is next week’s combine, followed by the much-anticipated All-Star Game on Saturday....

The fastest 400-meter runner in El Paso history is taking his talents to Aggieland. Franklin track & field star Omajuwa Etiwe signed a national letter of intent with Texas A&M on Wednesday, officially sending the fastest quarter-miler in the state of Texas last year to one of the premier track & field programs in the nation. The reigning 6A state champion in the 400 meters, Etiwe not only broke the El Paso record by running a 46.51 to win gold at state, he logged the fastest time in Texas in doing so. His state-winning time was also the fifth-fastest time by a high schooler in the entire country las year. Etiwe was overcome with emotion on Wednesday after signing with A&M. “Just the moment, knowing how hard everyone has worked and how hard I’ve worked, and looking at my parents and seeing their faces, it broke me, so I couldn’t hold back my tears,” Etiwe said. The 400-meter star will join one of the top track programs in the country. Pat Henry’s Aggies have won five national championships since 2009 and are arguably the top program for 400-meter runners in the country. Just in the last five years, A&M has produced quarter-mile stars like Fred Kerley, Bralon Taplin and Deon Lendore. Etiwe hopes to be the next in a long line of Aggie track stars. “On my visit, I felt at home with the team. It’s a close-knit community. Everyone is there to try to improve each other. That’s what I look for in a program,” Etiwe said. Etiwe said he hopes to repeat as the 400-meter champion at state next May. He will also run the 200-meters and hopes to win that as well. Long term, Etiwe has aspirations of running at the 2024 Olympics....