[Blau Vogel]

http://bgdailynews.com/articles/2011/11/.../news1.txt

FRANKLIN — Charles Weldon DeWeese joined a few other locals at lunch Tuesday at the Townhouse Restaurant, looking ahead optimistically to Franklin-Simpson High School’s appearance in the state football championship game this weekend.

It’s been 16 years since the Wildcats reached a football state final, and spirits in the Simpson County community are high as the Class 4A title contest against Highlands High School of Fort Thomas approaches.

“I think it’s great,” DeWeese said. “We’re going to win it. We’ve got a good team.”

Across Franklin, residents and businesses are gearing up for the title game at 3 p.m. Saturday at Western Kentucky University’s Houchens-Smith Stadium. This is Franklin-Simpson’s seventh trip to a state championship since 1975; the most recent was in 1995, when the Wildcats played in Class 2A.

Franklin-Simpson won state titles in Class 3A in 1979 and 1980.

Franklin-Simpson enters Saturday’s game with a 13-1 record, while Highlands - which won the last four Class 5A titles before moving to Class 4A - is 14-0.

Steen Larsen works in Bowling Green, but on Tuesday, he shared lunch in Franklin with DeWeese and others from the town.

“This is a big deal,” Larsen said of the Wildcats reaching the championship. “This is a small community. Everybody’s proud.”

Phillip Pinson, a lifelong Franklin resident, said he doesn’t keep up with football, but he remembers Franklin-Simpson winning the championship in 1979 when he was a junior. He said he’s glad the team made it to the championship this year.

“Football’s a big thing in this town,” Pinson said. “I know everyone involved in it is really excited.”

John Estep, who owns Franklin Sporting Goods, provides the uniforms for many of Franklin-Simpson’s sports teams. Cheerleaders from the school paint his window for home games.

“I think it just gives the whole town a boost,” he said of businesses showing school spirit.

Estep said hometown pride has swelled because of the successful football season. “I think any time the sports teams excel, it’s good for everybody,” he said. “In a small town and small community, I think it’s great that our sports are so good.”

Billy Patterson, 18, a junior football player at Franklin-Simpson, came into Estep’s store Tuesday. Patterson said the community has been supportive of the team - everywhere he goes, people offer congratulations and get him hyped up for the title game.

“It’s definitely the big news,” Patterson said. “Everybody’s ready for it.”