Adversity hasn’t shaken resolve of Haynesville’s David Franklin
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
Within a four-month span of this year, David Franklin lost his two biggest influences.
He found the strength for the 24th season to coach Haynesville’s football program because of the guidance provided and work ethic instilled by Alton ‘Red’ and Beth Franklin.
They were selfless people whose personalities filtered down to David, who, despite his personal losses, managed to lead the Golden Tornado to a perfect season, No. 1 seed, and 27th appearance in a state championship game.
“It’s been a tough year,” Franklin said. “I guess the way I got through that is by the grace of God. They were both Godly parents that led me in that direction. I’m just thankful for who they were and the influence they had on my life. They’re also the type of people that would never put themselves first in anything. Never did either of them do that.”
Franklin’s father passed away at the age of 89 on March 9, while his mother, 85, died of a stroke on July 30.
“They want me to worry about football because they know that was important to them and this community,” Franklin said. “There are some sad times. I also know that we have to move on.”
Haynesville (13-0) is back in the Division IV non-select state final for the third straight year, seeking its 18th state crown and first since 2014. The Tornado, second to John Curtis’ record number of 27 titles, meets No. 2 Mangham (11-2) at noon Thursday in the Caesars Superdome.
The Dragons are making their sixth trip to a state final and won the school’s only championship 69 years ago in 1956. They’ve also been state runners-up four times.
“We’ve been to four semifinals and the Superdome three times,” Franklin said of his 11-member senior class. “That’s pretty good for those seniors, but it’s not about that. It’s about winning, and that is what’s on their mind now.”
Haynesville has steamrolled its competition, outscoring the opposition by an average of 42 points and finishing with a running clock nine times this season. The Tornado faced back-to-back rematches in the second and third rounds of the playoffs with arch-rival Homer and Jonesboro-Hodge, advancing with victories of 36-19 and 48-12, respectively.
Last week’s semifinal at Red Franklin Memorial Stadium with fourth-seeded Jeanerette turned into a 47-6 rout for Haynesville with a pair of interception returns for touchdowns from LSU signee Isaiah Washington and Donnie Critton.
“Ideally, that’s what you want to do,” Franklin said of his team’s increased level of play in the postseason. “Getting Homer for the second time was a tough ballgame for us. We haven’t had to play in a game for four quarters yet, and that really challenged us with our conditioning. We’ve gone through a couple of those games since then, and that’s helped us more than anything.”
Mangham’s has hummed along at an efficient clip this postseason. The Dragons, who have won five straight games, have had a 30-point margin of victory, including a 49-14 semifinal triumph over third-seeded South Plaquemines, Division IV’s reigning champion.
Haynesville’s last state title in 2014 was a 16-0 win over Mangham.
“Mangham’s schedule was a lot tougher than ours,” Franklin said. “I’m not knocking anyone on our schedule whatsoever. They’ve been challenged a lot more than we have. That’s been part of my concern throughout most of this year. Not that we were great, but we haven’t been challenged like they have, and that still kind of concerns me.”
Mangham dropped a marathon 64-48 season-opening game to Jena, a finalist in the Division III non-select contest. The Dragons split a couple of competitive District 2-2A games, defeating Ferriday (56-48) before falling to Ouachita Christian (35-14) in a meeting for the District 2-2A championship.
“I think they’re a little more battle tested than us and, in a way, I wish that we had gone through some of that,” Franklin said. “It is what it is. I thought we played well last Friday night. Sometimes it’s hard to duplicate that. I saw something Friday night that I really liked, and I’m hoping we can play that well again.”
Mangham’s averaged 47 points, scoring 40+ points in six games, and allows 24 points.
“They have a really good football team,” he said. “Offensively, they do a lot. They run it well and have a good quarterback, an experienced running back that sees things and runs very well. They have some receivers that can fly. There’s not a whole lot of weaknesses in their defense and special teams.”
Franklin said no matter how many times you play in the Superdome, the cavernous arena, some adjust to it.
“The Superdome’s different,” he said. “It’s like you’re in a different time zone. It’s not like playing at Haynesville. It kind of throws you off a bit, but I’m glad that we’ve had that experience the last couple of years. That really helps. You never get used to playing there, but we’re familiar with it.”
Haynesville was on the cusp of a state championship in 2024, bringing in the No. 1 seed and 13-0 record into the game against South Plaquemines.
The Tornado took a 7-6 halftime lead on Washington’s touchdown pass, but did not score again.
“I thought that we were evenly matched and thought we had a real chance to win,” Franklin said. “We were certainly in a good position. Things just didn’t go our way. We had some injuries that happened, and next thing you know, it’s kind of slipping away.”
South Plaquemines regained a 14-7 lead near the end of the third quarter with a touchdown and two-point conversion. Then, the Hurricanes recovered a fumble with nine minutes left in the game, leading to another touchdown pass a minute later, and a final interception with just over four minutes left sealed the game, 20-7.
“I think in some of those years we had the better team,” Franklin said of Haynesville’s state runners-up finishes in 2015, ’16, ’23, and last season. “That’s just not always the way it works. There’s a lot of things that have to happen, such as injuries and playing the game itself.
“There are a lot of things that go into winning a state championship,” Franklin said. “Not always does the best team win the game. We’ve been that best team when we’ve won it, and we’ve not been the best team, and we’ve won it. That’s why you have to play the game.”
Franklin saw a group of determined players in the offseason with the intent of becoming bigger, stronger, and faster with the goal of returning to the Superdome for a different outcome.
“We had a great summer, kids showed up for workouts, achieved goals in the weight room,” Franklin said. “We’ve been down there the last two years. It’s great to go, but it’s not as much fun to go and not win. We’d like to change that if possible.”
The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Washington, also a standout basketball player and force on the track, was the team’s marquee player, starting at both quarterback and safety, where he was a Class 1A All-State selection on defense. He was the Class 1A state champion in both the triple jump (45 feet, 9 ¾ inches) and 110-meter hurdles (14.77 seconds) in the spring.
“It doesn’t happen a lot; we only have 135 kids at the school,” Franklin said of Haynesville producing Power 4 Conference players. “It’s happened twice in 10 years (along with LSU signee Joseph Evans in 2018). It takes a unique individual who is talented to play at that level. It’s not just talent because we have a lot of kids that are talented. We’re excited for him, and we know he’s going to succeed on the next level. He’s just a good kid, fun to coach, that’s going to be missed. He’s the kind of guy that can do a lot of things.”
Washington, who is projected to play defense in college, has directed Haynesville’s familiar Wing-T offense, totaling nearly 1,200 yards with 26 touchdowns. He’s completed 32 of 51 passes for 804 yards with 15 TDs and three interceptions to go with 367 yards and 11 TDs on 43 carries.
Critton, a 5-8, 170-pound junior, is the team’s top rusher with 106 carries for 978 yards and 16 TDs from his halfback position. Sophomore wingback Ethan Henderson (5-10, 170) has 53 attempts for 828 yards and 10 TDs, while senior fullback Yasin Meadors (5-10, 190) tops the Tornado with 14 rushing touchdowns, having carried 83 times for 779 yards.
Three returning seniors lead the offensive line with senior right guard Dakota Davis, a Class 1A honorable mention All-State choice in ’24, senior right tackle Andre Brooks – the biggest member at 6-5 and 345 pounds, – and senior left guard Tre Fielding, who made the switch from tackle.
Junior Drake Goodwin is the center, and sophomore Jeremiah Evans (6-1, 315) is the left tackle. Senior tight end Kaylen Payton (6-7, 215) has caught 16 passes for 262 yards and 4 TDs.
Haynesville has relied on a number of two-way starters once again, helping to bolster a defense that’s recorded four shutouts in the regular season.
Fielding, a linebacker, leads Haynesville with 52 tackles and two sacks, with production from the team’s other two linebackers in Henderson (40 tackles, 3 sacks) and Critton (44 tackles, 3 sacks).
Washington is second to Fielding in tackles with 47, to go with four interceptions, and Andre Brooks is leading the interior front with 42 tackles, followed by Evans with 41. L’travious Brooks has 38 tackles and a team-best seven interceptions, two of which he’s returned for touchdowns to go with three fumble recoveries, which have also produced another score.
“Going into the year, we were a little concerned,” Franklin said. “We lost some really good football players, but we knew we had some really good players coming back. We had to fill some really key spots and move some kids around. At a small school, you’ve got to do that sometimes.
“We also had to take some kids used to playing one way and now they’re having to play two ways,” Franklin said. “That’s been challenging, especially in the first part of the year when it’s really hot.”
Haynesville football became a fixture in the rural Clairborne Parish community during the three-plus decades ‘Red’ Franklin led the Tornado to prominence.
They won 27 district titles and 11 state champions under Franklin, who took over the program in 1967 until his retirement in 2002.
His career record of 367-76 at the time of his retirement was the third best in Louisiana history, and he’s since been inducted into four Halls of Fame, including the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.
Haynesville had a stretch of 33 consecutive winning seasons under Franklin, eight perfect seasons, and enjoyed a 96-4 mark and six state crowns from 1990-96. His wing-T offense, which was introduced during David’s senior years in 1986, remains a staple 39 years later.
David said his mother’s death was a shock, considering her good health and rarely had to make trips to the doctor.
“She was the one that was supposed to live until she was 100,” he said. “She never had any issues, never in the hospital.”
While she never coached a game or installed any offensive or defensive schemes, Beth Franklin also had a profound impact on the lives of her three children, especially David.
David Franklin’s won 79% of his games, and his 245-65 record makes him the state’s fifth active winningest coach and 28th all-time. He’s led the Tornado to three state championships in 2009, ’13, and ’14.
“My mom attended more than 800 games. I can’t imagine all of the years that she was there for him,” David said of his mother’s support of his father’s career. “She was such a supportive wife/mother. She never missed any of my games; never missed any of his games. It didn’t matter where it was or the situation. She was going to be there.”
David learned humility at an early age, and that part it played in his life. He recalled how he was raised and the example set by his parents, enabling him to keep his emotions in check with Haynesville on the doorstep of the school’s 18th state title, a legacy built by his father.
“I remember the first one we won when I was head coach (2009), that was special for him,” Franklin said of his father. “I also knew it was never about him, and it’s never about me now. For me, that would be special. The most important thing is this team, and that’s the way we look at it.”