TREY FRANKS ORANGE LEADER ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

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Franks named Leader's Male Athlete of the Year

Van Wade

The Orange Leader

WEST ORANGE — It was a whirlwind junior year at West Orange-Stark to say the least for a young man named Trey Franks.

It all started on the gridiron way back in August of 2008 as Franks was a key cog in the Mustangs’ run to a fifth straight district title.

Very seldom did Franks, the son of Natasha and Kerry Franks, Sr., not see the field for the Mustangs, who advanced all the way to the Class 3A Region III semifinals.

On offense, he was the squad’s leading receiver, hauling in 34 receptions for 605 yards and five touchdowns.

On defense, he picked off five passes from his secondary spot and on special teams he brought three punts back for three more TDs.

In the spring, he hit the track and hit it fast.

Leading Southeast Texas throughout the season in the 100 meters, Franks capped off an amazing year by picking up three medals at the 3A State Track Meet. He earned a gold as part of the 400-meter relay team and a silver for the 800-meter relay team and gained more recognition by becoming 3A’s “Fastest Man†by winning the 100 meters in 10.36 seconds. His effort helped enable the Mustangs to capture the overall state title.

For his efforts, Franks has been named The Orange Leader’s Athlete of the Year.

“It has been a great year,†said Franks. “It seems like everything happened so fast. The last week or so I’ve been able to relax and look back on what we accomplished as a team, both in football and track. Hopefully, we can do it all over again next year.â€

Right now, Franks is getting back into the football groove, participating in 7-on-7 after the long track haul, getting himself back in football shape.

“Football is right around the corner and we have a lot to prove, especially after being ranked No. 3 in the state by Texas Football,†said Franks. “We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us but that’s what being a Mustang is all about.â€

Franks has that ultimate football goal floating around in his head.

“We want to win it all and with our work ethic, that goal is achievable,†said Franks. “The top priority will be trying to win the district. Since we dropped down to 3A, we’ve always won district and there is that win streak (29 games) in district that we want to keep.â€

Like so many Mustangs before him, Franks has no problem taking the field for WO-S and taking very few breaks.

“I love the game and if I could be out there for four full quarters, it wouldn’t bother me a bit,†said Franks. “Here, you do anything you can to help your teammates and be a part of the Mustang family. Coach Hooks, he’s a great motivator. Then you have Coach (Cornel) Thompson working us out so hard in the offseason program. The whole coaching staff is great.â€

Of course, Franks, along with Mustang teammate James Haynes, is getting plenty of looks from NCAA Division I colleges, including Oklahoma, Baylor and Texas A&M as he heads into his senior year.

“I’ve had a chance to attend several college football camps and a lot of schools have expressed interest,†said Franks. “It’s something I think about but my main goal is to stay focused and prepare for the upcoming football season. We have a lot of goals we want to achieve and that’s top priority.â€

Franks has a superb background to keep his priorities and focus straight ahead.

His father Kerry, starred at WO-S and was the Football Player of the Year of the Leader’s in 1980. Kerry went on to play well at Oklahoma State.

His brother Kerry Jr. was a Mustang standout earlier this decade and just recently completed a superb run at Texas A&M where he is just about closing out his degree. Brother Jacoby, who was an excellent receiver for the Mustangs just a couple short years ago, is entering his third season at Texas Tech.

“Football and sports is just in my blood,†said Franks. “My Dad was such a great athlete and he achieved great things. I guess you can say we were all born to be Mustangs. To have two great brothers to help you grow up and mature has been a great thing too. Each one of them helped me stay on the right path and I’m grateful for that. They’ve all been through the same things I’m going through right now as far as the recruiting process and that’s been a blessing.â€

Perhaps the one that holds it all together is mother Natasha.

“What more can you say about her, she’s our rock,†said Franks. “She’s there for all of us 100 percent of the time. As far back as I can remember, she was dragging all of us all over the place, from practice to practice and camp to camp. She’s qadded so much balance to our lives. She loves sports and she gets right in their and mixes it up with us when we talk about and watch football. The biggest thing about her is the way she stresses academics and making your grades. She keeps us all balanced and I love her for that.â€

It’s not far-fetched for Franks to hit the track at the college level eventually too.

Franks is still soaking in the accomplishment of the Mustang track unit this year.

“At the beginning of the track season, we thought we had a chance to win the state title,†said Franks. “Coach (Toby) Foreman kept liking what he saw and kept liking it and kept pushing us to be the best we could be. After the district meet, he talked to all of us and pumped us up saying that we could do it. At that point, we weren’t just thinking it, we went out and accomplished it.â€

Franks, Haynes, along with Josh Gloston, and Phillip Jones ran a school-record time of 41.31 to win the 400-meter relay and then Franks, along with Haynes, Gloston and Ed Ivory placed second in the 800-relay with a 1:27.02.

“In the 400-meter relay, we knew we were faster than everybody,†said Franks. “We knew the key was getting the stick around. We had problems with that earlier in the season but we executed perfect at state. That was the first race of the day and all, so I was so nervous. It was so hot, plus I was sweating nerves.â€

The 400-meter relay win smoothed Franks’ nerves as he prepared for the 100 meters.

“In the 100, I just went out there and ran my race,†said Franks. “All the jitters from the relay were gone and I just went out and ran as hard as I could.â€

Now Franks has turned his eyes toward having an excellent senior campaign.

“It’s my senior year and people say that’s the best time of your life,†said Franks. “It’s a chance to spend a lot of quality time with friends you grew up around before you move on in the world. There are plenty of goals to be reached. We want to bring home a football state title like we did in track this year. It would also be great if we could repeat as state champs in track. That would be a great way to finish.â€

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[WOSgrad]

Congrats, Trey!  Now it is time to start on your campaign for a repeat! 8)

[KFDM COOP]

He should be a Beast this year!

[bojofootball]

definately not looking forward to playing him 

[skipper]

maybe his brother can to one of his games

[KFDM COOP]

Gabriel Pruett/The Orange Leader

[stang4life]

Awesome article and pic with him and his shoes/medals!  Great, genuine family!  Failed to mention that his mom's dad was an awesome athlete himself...so, looks like it was just destiny all the way around! 

LET'S GO MUSTANGS!!!