Week Eight 9 Overtime Game of the Week: Eastlake vs. Franklin

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – With just four weeks remaining in the Texas high school football regular season, it’s now crunch time in El Paso for district championships.

Perhaps no district battle in town is as heated as District 1-6A, where as many as seven teams are vying for one of the four playoff berths.

In the week eight 9 Overtime Game of the Week, Eastlake (6-1, 5-0 District 1-6A) will pay a visit to Franklin (4-2, 3-1) looking to stay in the driver’s seat for a district title.

The Falcons are the only remaining undefeated team in District 1-6A action after demolishing Montwood 48-20 last Thursday night. Led by KTSM Fine 9 linebacker Hector Hinojos and perhaps the best defense in El Paso, Eastlake scored two defensive touchdowns in the win over the Rams.

Their offense has shown signs of improvement in recent weeks; if the Falcons can continue to play well defensively and keep improving on the offensive side with quarterback Luke Lomeli, Eastlake could win the district title.

As for Franklin, the defending 1-6A champions had a week seven bye after a disappointing loss to Montwood in week six. The Cougars are still firmly in the hunt for a district championship and a win over Eastlake would help Franklin’s case.

Franklin has been an offensive juggernaut all year, thanks to junior quarterback Shay Smith, a Division I prospect. Throw in wide receiver Beau Sparks and running back Jordan Morales and this will likely be the toughest offense the Falcons have faced so far.

Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. Friday night at Franklin. The 9 Overtime crew will have previews throughout the week on KTSM and full coverage and analysis at 10:15 p.m. on Friday on 9 Overtime.