It’s been several years since the Franklin High School football team has made the playoffs. That drought is now over.

Franklin defeated Bishop Brady, 17-7, under the lights at Concord’s Memorial Field on Saturday to claim its first-ever Kaplan Kup and the fourth and final spot in the Division IV playoffs in a winner-take-all contest.

Last year, the two programs were in the exact same position, and a fourth-quarter field goal was all that stood between the Golden Tornadoes and the playoffs. Brady won the game, 3-0, to make the postseason, but Franklin has shown time and again this isn’t the same team of seasons past.

The Tornadoes (4-3) opened the fourth annual Kaplan Kup — named in memory of Jeff Kaplan, a longtime coach, teacher and community member at both schools — with a 13-play, 68-yard drive that chewed up most of the first quarter.

Senior captain Harrison Kaplan (116 yards on 21 carries) and junior Cameron Labrecque (68 yards on 16 carries) traded handoffs and junior quarterback Nate Holmes (37 yards on 12 carries, 9-yard completion on his only pass attempt) eventually punched the ball in the end zone from the 2-yard line. Senior Cole Johnson kicked the extra point to give Franklin a 7-0 lead with 4:52 on the clock.

Bishop Brady’s defense didn’t let the Tornadoes go far on their next drive, though, and Franklin penalties helped the Giants (3-4) advance their possessions, culminating in junior quarterback Joey Richardson (5-for-7, 64 yards passing; 82 rushing yards on eight carries) finding fellow junior Ian Miller (26 yards on four catches) in the end zone on a 7-yard pass. Senior Anthony Dow kicked the PAT to tie the game, 7-7, heading into halftime.

“We ground out the win. They really played hard right from the first snap,” Franklin head coach Tim Snow said of his players. “We made our mistakes, but got over them, which is the biggest step this team has taken in the four years I’ve been here. They’ve been able to make mistakes and get over them right away. It’s congratulations to them.”

The Franklin defense pinned Brady in its own end to open the second half, setting up good field position for Franklin’s first drive, which ended in a 37-yard field goal from Johnson to make it 10-7.

Richardson was injured on the final play of the first half and spent the second half on the sidelines with a wrapped shoulder, forcing Miller (0-for-2 passing; nine yards on nine carries) and sophomore Jack Sheppard (2-for-4, 16 passing yards) under center instead. The Giants still moved the ball fairly well, but Franklin’s defense was better and only committed one penalty in the second half.

Senior captain Matt Nason (two tackles for loss), junior captain George Sarkis (sack, tackle for loss) and fellow juniors Tyler Bennett (sack, tackle for loss) and Jacob Adler (tackle for loss, 10 yards on three carries on offense) made big plays defensively for the Tornadoes.

Offensively, Franklin’s ground game ate up a lot of clock, with Kaplan finding the end zone on a 9-yard run to make it 17-7 with 8:43 left in the fourth quarter.

Sheppard found Miller on a couple of pass plays to give the Giants some momentum, but Labrecque recorded an interception with 1:42 left and Franklin ran for a pair of first downs to secure its playoff spot since 2018. That was also the last time the Tornadoes ended the regular season with a winning record.

“A lot of these kids have been with coach (Jamie) Roy and I for the four years that we’ve been here,” Snow said. “They understand that mistakes happen every game. It’s how you get through them and get over them, and act on the next play.”

“There were times we definitely could have done better,” Kaplan said. “But we pulled it together in the second half. It was well-earned; we worked hard for this. We’ve waited for this for a long time. It feels good.”

For Brady, it’s the end of the career for a group of seniors who have kept Giant football alive, even with limited roster numbers.

Senior captains Luke Jackson (two tackles for loss) and Jason Doyle (tackle for loss), and senior Bohden Etsy-Lennon (sack, tackle for loss) anchored Brady’s lines on both sides of the ball and played especially well defensively against Franklin.

Dow, Caleb Goldstein and Hayden Lafleur (sack, tackle for loss) are the Giants’ other seniors.

“Really special group of guys,” Brady coach James Pierce said. “I’m honored to have coached them. It’s an absolute privilege.”

Franklin will travel to No. 1 and undefeated Raymond (7-0) sometime this upcoming weekend for the Division IV semifinal. Brackets and schedules will be released by NHIAA on Monday.

Raymond 20, H-D 12

HILLSBOROUGH – The Hillcats are headed to the playoffs in their inaugural season and closed out regular season play by giving the undefeated Rams their best battle of the season.

Junior Ethan Franklin had three interceptions and recovered two fumbles and fellow junior Joshuwa Perron also had an interception, but Hillsboro-Deering’s offense couldn’t capitalize on its opportunities despite the six takeaways.

Raymond, which averages 45 points per game on offense, picked off Perron’s only passing attempt and the Rams scored on their second play from scrimmage to take a quick 7-0 lead.

Raymond quarterback Ethan Deroche (8-for-16, 138 passing yards, four interceptions) threw three touchdown passes to Jonathan Martineau (49-yard reception at 7:39 in the first quarter), Colin McGovern (11-yard reception with 6:34 left in the half) and Jaiden St. Jean (38-yard catch with 3:22 left in the half) to give the Rams a 20-0 lead.

Deroche and Martineau (126 rushing yards on 14 carries; 60 receiving yards on four catches) moved the ball well to build an early lead, but Hillcat junior captain Robert King (135 yards on 18 carries) scored on a 60-yard run to make it 20-6 at halftime.

Junior Dan Richard (121 yards on 17 carries) helped King move the chains, and both players had strong games defensively, with Richard (six tackles, one for loss, pass knockdown), King (five tackles, pass knockdown) and Micah Adams (six tackles, knock down) joining Franklin as key players who kept the Rams off the board in the second half.

King punched in a 2 yard TD with 5:31 left in the game to make it 20-12 and Franklin had his second fumble recovery of the game to give the Hillcats the ball again with five minutes left, but McGovern (four tackles for loss, plus two sacks) had some big plays to stall the final drive, forcing a punt.

“We played man ball and challenged the ball,” H-D head coach Jay Wood said. “We were ready to drop back into a base defense. The kids play well, we just didn’t’ capitalize a couple of times. But I’m proud as hell. A first year team to make the playoffs, more than half the kids haven’t played football before this year, and we put on a nice display today.”

H-D (4-3) will be the No. 3 seed for the playoffs and travel to No. 2 Mascoma (6-1) for its semifinal game sometime this weekend.