ARLINGTON - After having the lead for the majority of the game, Canadian needed a missed PAT and a last-minute touchdown to edge past Franklin 35-34 to capture the school's fifth state championship.
Offensive MVP Josh Culwell threw four touchdowns, and got Canadian off to a hot start with a 14-0 lead at the end of the first. Franklin then began to settle down defensively and then get its offense going, thanks to the great effort by Seth Spiller, who got Franklin on the board early in the second quarter.
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It became a defensive struggle from there as there wasn't another score until the 8:18 mark of the third when Culwell passed for his third touchdown to extend Canadian's lead back to 14.
From there, it was all Franklin as it scored four times in the final quarter and a half to take the lead, largely thanks to Spiller's three rushing touchdowns and one throwing score. The latter put Franklin in the lead with 1:02 to play in the game. However the PAT was off the right upright, which would loom large.
On Canadian's final drive, Culwell hit a streaking Reagan Cochran for a 52 yard touchdown with 28 seconds left. Edgar Salazar nailed the PAT and Canadian was back in front.
CANADIAN SAID, "HOLD UP, Y'ALL" 🤯@reagan_c5 reels in a deep pass from @JoshuaCulwell and just like that, @CanadianISD regains the lead on a made PAT! WOW!#TXHSFB | @uiltexas | #UILonFSSW | #UILState pic.twitter.com/BuuD8XfGJD
— FOX Sports Southwest (@FOXSportsSW) December 17, 2020
Franklin was able to get into Canadian territory but a sack ended the game, preserving the Canadian win. In total, five touchdowns were scored in the final 8:10 of the game with two lead changes in the final 62 seconds.
