By By Richard Dark/The Meridian Star
Sunday, December 3, 2000
CLEVELAND Jason Franklin has provided plenty of big plays for this magical season with the Delta State Statesmen.
Probably none was bigger than his 74-yard TD catch in the first quarter that boosted the DSU margin to 20-0.
Franklin, the former Meridian Wildcat and Scooba standout was platooning at quarterback at the beginning of last season, before being moved over to wide receiver at the end of the season when the system went to more of a wishbone attack.
His three catches for 90 yards brings his season total to 1,020 yards on 39 grabs with 12 touchdowns, an average of more than 26 yards per catch.
Franklin came out of high school playing quarterback and has since developed into the No. 1 target for Bright.
The shining moment that saw hordes of fans all over the field and Franklin rejoicing with his family, led to a prediction from father Larry.
Franklin wasn't the only local player to make an impact on semifinal Saturday. Tanny Flowers, another East Mississippi Community College Lion, had the game's first score of the day, a 26-yard TD snag.
Flowers admitted that this senior class sort of had a chip on their shoulders entering the season.
Former East Central Warrior and current linebacker Brian Jones came up big on reserve, batting down several passes.
Richard Dark is a sports writer for The
Meridian Star. E-mail him at rdark@themeridianstar.com.