Franklin High soccer’s move to varsity level successful as program continues rebuild

Thomas Nason was just an eighth grader when Franklin High restarted its soccer program at the junior varsity level. This fall, the senior finally got his shot as a starting center back in varsity play.

The Golden Tornadoes moved up to Division IV competition this year after four years of rejuvenating the program. The Franklin squad is co-ed and still building up toward a bright future with just two seniors on the team, but this season has still been special for everyone.

“I’d rather have a season like ours, not as successful but playing at a higher level to get the program better,” Nason said after the Golden Tornadoes’ 6-0 loss to Epping on Monday.

Playing at junior varsity soccer got too easy for the Tornadoes; at a certain point they had multiple upperclassmen playing much younger competition. Nason knew going into their season that they would struggle, but he was happy they did.

Junior midfielder Kayla Adams and goalie Joseph Dougherty feel the same way. Adams is much smaller than some of the large players from opposing teams but had a tireless work rate out there. Dougherty is new to the goalie position, but he held his own with 12 saves in Monday’s defeat to Epping.

Although the Blue Devils (13-2-1) — a D-IV finalist last year — were tough, there was still plenty of potential apparent from the Tornadoes. Franklin moved the ball very well in moments and generated a few shots on target in the second half.

Despite the losses in this first varsity year since before the pandemic, the Golden Tornadoes have already matched the school’s all-time soccer win record (three) and are looking ahead to next season.

“Next season will be a lot better because we’ve tested the waters and now we’ve seen what strategies work, what don’t and we’ve adjusted,” Adams said.

For coaches Charlie Chapple and Matthew Blouin, this is exactly what they envisioned when they restarted in junior varsity. Declining enrollment and the pandemic significantly impacted interest in the program, but now they have 17 players.

Despite not winning some games they wanted, they’ve still seen improvement throughout the season. On opening day the Golden Tornadoes were thrashed 10-0 by Holy Family Academy. In their next match-up, Franklin took a one-goal lead and only lost 2-1 in the end.

The nine-goal improvement is all the proof they need that Franklin (3-12-0 entering Wednesday’s finale against Newmarket) will continue to trend up, Chapple explained.

“We have a huge junior class that is very skilled. It’s really a matter of getting them to work together, and I think we can compete with a lot of teams,” Chapple said.

As the season closes out, Franklin will have no glory or playoffs. They don’t want nor need it yet. The Golden Tornadoes want to keep building up and up and up.