Coosa Christian football's duo wins ASWA Class 2A Players of the Year honors

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Coosa Christian football had a special day Tuesday with Kylen Johnson and Zayden Franklin earning player of the year honors.

Johnson earned Class 2A Back of the Year and Franklin was named the Class 2A Lineman of the Year during the ASWA Football Banquet in Montgomery. It wraps up a historic season for the Conquerors who won the program’s first AHSAA state title in December.

Johnson, who was named the Gadsden Times Small Class Player of the Year, accounted for almost 3,000 yards and 41 scores, adding 77.5 tackles with 24 pass breaks and nine interceptions as all-around player for Coosa Christian. Franklin earned first team offensive line honors after allowing just one sack on the year with 16 pancake blocks. He added 91 tackles, including 27 for a loss and three sacks.

Franklin has been a team-first guy, usually deflecting personal awards toward the greater team. So when he accepted the lineman of the year award, it was unusual for him to focus on his own accomplishments, not just what the Conquerors accomplished as a group.

“That’s all the work that I put in through the year, that’s what it lead up to,” Franklin said. “Me being a team guy being recognized for just what I do myself is really out of the ordinary for me. I was actually really surprised.”

Johnson was more of a favorite to bring home his award heading into the banquet, but still was grateful to be named back of the year.

“It was a blessing taking home Back of the Year,” Johnson said. “The hard work that I put in through the offseason, I’ve been working hard, so its a blessing.”

For Franklin, he spent the time after hearing his name called reflecting on three key factors that helped him cap off his senior season with one of the top honors in the state. It’s the same trio that he has thanked all year and made sure got the credit for his success.

“It’s definitely one of those things that you feel like you’re one of the best but at the same time you can’t stay prideful about it. You got to stay level-headed and remember what got you here and for me it was God, it was number one and my parents and all my coaches helping me get there,” Franklin said.

Maxwell Donaldson covers high school sports, Jax State athletics, the outdoors in Alabama and more for the Gadsden Times and USA TODAY Network. Find him on Twitter/X @_Max_Donaldson and contact him at MDonaldson@usatodayco.com.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Coosa Christian duo wins ASWA football player of the year awards

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