Franklin pulls away from Gunter to win 3A DII State Championship 49-35

ARLINGTON, Texas (KBTX) - Malcolm Murphy rushed for 4 touchdowns and 280 yards on offense and had 2 interceptions on defense as the top-ranked Franklin Lions (16-0) beat 2nd ranked Gunter (15-1) 49-35 to claim its first state football championship at AT&T Stadium Thursday night.

Murphy was named the offensive Most Valuable Player in the game while linebacker Colby Smith was the defensive Most Valuable Player.

With the game tied 35-35 in the fourth quarter, Murphy scored on a 61-yard run to put the Lions up for good. He would later score on an 86 yard run that took the wind out of Gunter’s sails as the Lions cruised to claim the 3A Division II championship.

Franklin is known as a team that can run the football and that’s exactly what they did against the Tigers. They had 523 yards of total offense with all of it coming on the ground.

The win came a year after the Lions lost a heartbreaker to Canadian on a touchdown pass in the final 30 seconds of that game.

That loss in 2020 served as motivation for the Lions as they adopted a ‘Finish’ mentality in hopes that 2021 would see them win it all which they did with a perfect record.

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