{"id":338694,"date":"2026-06-16T18:26:36","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T18:26:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/338694\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T18:26:36","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T18:26:36","slug":"el-paso-franklin-cougars-2026-season-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/338694\/","title":{"rendered":"El Paso Franklin Cougars 2026 Season Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/content.riddell.com\/InSite\/?utm_source=txhsf&amp;utm_medium=digital&amp;utm_campaign=iaaxiom\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-109503 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Riddell-1000x600_3003635942652486626-600x360.png\" alt=\"riddell helmet tech for texas helmets\" width=\"600\" height=\"360\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Head Coach: Ruben Torres (2nd season; 8-3 record)<\/p>\n<p>Last Season: 8-3; 5-1 in district (Lost to Midland Legacy in bi-district)<\/p>\n<p>Returning Lettermen: 20 (3 returning starters on offense; 8 on defense)<\/p>\n<p>Franklin Key Players and Storylines<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-86159 alignright\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/el-paso-franklin-cougars1.png\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-86159 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/el-paso-franklin-cougars1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\"\/>Franklin comes into 2026 hungry. Ruben Torres led the Cougars to a second-place finish in District 1-6A in his first season a year ago. Now this year\u2019s group is determined to finish one spot better, and it could be the defense that makes the difference.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s because the offense is going to take some work after losing key graduates at quarterback, receiver, and on the offensive line. The good news is Torres has full confidence in sophomore quarterback Elijah Barrientos, who he describes as a \u201chigh-ceiling\u201d player with an outstanding ability to \u201cread defenses.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Barrientos has a sparkplug to aim for in receiver Santiago Perez, who led the team with 545 receiving yards and six touchdowns in 2025. Center Gerardo Pone will be the glue in the trenches. Torres will need him to lead what will be a young group up front.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Great week 6 district win against Montwood<br \/>2 td, 140 receiving yards<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RTorres_lll?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">@RTorres_lll<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Coach_MattReyes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">@Coach_MattReyes<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/epfranklinfb?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">@epfranklinfb<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/EpfranklinTf?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">@EpfranklinTf<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/915Preps_FB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">@915Preps_FB<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LfcyUEdhe3\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/LfcyUEdhe3<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Santiago Perez\u2019 27 (@SP9_Santi) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SP9_Santi\/status\/1974668406394892658?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">October 5, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Last year, several Franklin games devolved into shootouts as the Cougar defense gave up 32 points per game. That unit should be improved this year with the speed and experience it has returning. It\u2019ll all start with linebacker Daniel Martinez (110 tackles, nine TFLs), who shifts to the mike position where he\u2019ll become the quarterback of the defense.<\/p>\n<p>Defensive lineman Anthony Meraz (65 tackles, eight TFLs) brings power to the trenches with his size at 6\u20191\u201d and 260 pounds, while safety Tyson McDavitt (53 tackles) is a great leader on the back end. Torres said he\u2019ll be expected to mix it up this year as a key run defender too.<\/p>\n<p>Momentum is growing in Cougar Country after last year\u2019s impressive campaign. Torres wants to capitalize on that as Franklin looks to take its next step and win its first playoff game since 2018.<\/p>\n<p>El Paso Franklin 2026 Schedule<\/p>\n<p>*Denotes District 1-6A Contest<\/p>\n<p>August 28 vs. Chapin<\/p>\n<p>September 4 @ Midland Lee<\/p>\n<p>September 11 @ Andress<\/p>\n<p>September 17 vs. Parkland<\/p>\n<p>*October 1 vs. Socorro<\/p>\n<p>*October 9 @ Montwood<\/p>\n<p>*October 16 vs. Eastwood<\/p>\n<p>*October 22 @ Eastlake<\/p>\n<p>*October 30 vs. Pebble Hills<\/p>\n<p>*November 5 @ Coronado at Sun Bowl 6:00 p.m.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/texashsfootball.com\/category\/multimedia\/podcast\" title=\"Catch Up with Texas HS Football Podcast with Taylor Arenz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-92593 size-medium\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\" alt=\"texas high school football podcast\" width=\"600\" height=\"360\" data-lazy- data-lazy- data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/texas-hs-football-podcast-600x360.png\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-92593 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/texas-hs-football-podcast-600x360.png\" alt=\"texas high school football podcast\" width=\"600\" height=\"360\"  \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"245\" height=\"39\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/texas-hs-football.png\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"245\" height=\"39\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/texas-hs-football.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Head Coach: Ruben Torres (2nd season; 8-3 record) Last Season: 8-3; 5-1 in district (Lost to Midland Legacy&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":338695,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[138,140,139],"class_list":["post-338694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-el-paso","tag-el-paso","tag-el-paso-headlines","tag-el-paso-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=338694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338694\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/338695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=338694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=338694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=338694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}