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Franklin High School’s varsity soccer team fell 6-0 on Tuesday, June 6, in the VHSL Class 1 State Tournament quarterfinals to eventual state champion Northampton High School.

Nevertheless, the Broncos demonstrated a trait they have embodied to a significant degree this season — resilience.

Juan Quiroz, Franklin’s head coach, noted that Northampton’s players were highly experienced.

“All of them are travel team players,” he said. “But we were able to hold (the score at) 0-0 for the first 30 minutes.”

Prior to the state tournament, the Broncos made a notable impact in the Region 1B Tournament. They upset Central Lunenburg High School 2-1 in the semifinals to reach the championship game against Riverheads High School.

The Broncos and Gladiators held each other scoreless through 80-plus minutes of regulation play, two five-minute overtimes and one five-minute golden goal period.

This meant the regional title would be determined in a shootout.

Junior Greyson Councill and freshman Benjamin Harrison were able to score for Franklin, but Riverheads put three goals in to narrowly claim the championship.

The Broncos finished the season with an overall record of 10-12.

“We started the season with five losses and one win,” Quiroz said. “I know it didn’t look good for us, but they never gave up. They gave 100%, and something that I like about this team is how they came back in the standings.”

He said the Broncos made several changes to the lineup that proved key to the turnaround. He pulled Greyson Councill back on defense, and he assigned senior defender Micah Daniel-Scott and junior midfielder Antwan Warren the task of shutting down opponents’ star offensive players.

The Broncos accumulated the following individual accolades for their performances during the 2023 season:

ALL-STATE

Second team

• Junior defender Greyson Councill

ALL-REGION

First team

• Freshman forward Benjamin Harrison
• Junior defender Greyson Councill
• Senior midfielder William “Win” Councill II
• Junior forward Cameron Moody
• Senior defender Micah Daniel-Scott

Second team

• Senior forward Derrick Perry
• Senior defender Solomon Moody
• Senior midfielder Kemajae Morgan

ALL-DISTRICT

First team

• Senior midfielder William “Win” Councill II
• Junior midfielder Antwan Warren
• Senior midfielder Micah Daniel-Scott

Second team

• Freshman forward Benjamin Harrison
• Junior forward Cameron Moody
• Junior midfielder/defender Greyson Councill
• Senior defender Salvatore Colao
• Sophomore defender Eli Brummel
• Senior defender Kevin Williams