FRANKLIN – Saul Brady collapsed to his knees, head coach Doug Preston was brought to tears and the town of Franklin breathed a sigh of relief when the track meet was finally over.

Franklin-Simpson is headed back to state, and the Wildcats had to scratch and claw their way to get there.

Fullback Carlos McKinney’s second touchdown run gave Franklin-Simpson the go-ahead score with 2:25 to play and linebacker Cade Harvey recovered a fumble to seal the Wildcats’ 42-38 shootout win over Collins on Friday night in the Class 4A semifinals at James Mathews “Shadetree” Stadium in Franklin.

The Wildcats (11-3) led by two touchdowns after one quarter before quarterback JR Lucas powered the Titans (11-3) ahead to eventually lead 31-28 going into the fourth quarter. Both teams traded scores before Brady’s 84-yard kick return set up McKinney’s go-ahead 6-yard touchdown run.

Franklin-Simpson is back in the 4A state championship game for a rematch with Johnson Central, which defeated Wayne County 43-24. It’ll be Franklin-Simpson’s sixth appearance in the state final and second time the program has played for a championship in back-to-back seasons (1982-83).

“You hate to say it feels better than last year, but just the way with this game to have to fight and come from behind, it felt better,” Preston said. “Last year was awesome, but this felt better. This team had to come from further down in terms of where they started the year with the kids we had to replace. I couldn’t be more proud.

“I told them this is only the second team ever that’s brought me to tears. They really did at the end. Just a great group of kids.”

The battle-tested Wildcats pulled off a come-from-behind victory for the second straight week. They had to fight from a 20-0 hole against Hopkinsville last week, then fought the Titans for three ties and seven lead changes.

It’s why Franklin-Simpson has a much different approach going into next Saturday’s championship rematch with Johnson Central at Kroger Field in Lexington. Last season, the Wildcats entered the game undefeated and were shell-shocked by the Golden Eagles’ size and strength in a 48-0 shutout loss.

“This is what we’ve planned since the beginning of the year to get back and show everyone that loss was just a fluke,” Harvey said. “We want to show everybody up and go out there and win this time and not let down our town.”

Franklin-Simpson busted out of the gate with touchdown runs from McKinney and Brady on their first two drives to lead 14-0 after one quarter.

Lucas got the Titans’ passing game in rhythm with big completions to set up two short touchdowns to bring Collins back to a 14-14 tie with 7:06 left in the second quarter.

James Baker busted out his first carry for a 73-yard run to push Franklin-Simpson back in front.

The Wildcats pinned Collins back at its own 4-yard line on the ensuing drive, but Lucas took advantage of the open field ahead by hitting Sicari Toole over the middle for a 96-yard touchdown pass.

Collins got the ball back with 1:53 in the half looking to go up before the break. Lucas scrambled left and was picked off downfield by Saul Brady with 20 seconds left.

On the very next play, Tre Bass took a run to the left, split two defenders down the sideline for a 59-yard touchdown run to go up 28-21 with eight seconds left in the half.

The Wildcats ran for 298 yards in the first half. Lucas completed 12 of 17 pass attempts for 243 yards.

“He has crazy lateral movement,” Harvey said. “Unreal. We were hoping to contain him with the formation we were running, then he started hitting us with the pass.”

Lucas tied the game on the Titans’ opening drive of the second half with an 11-yard strike to Nick Eades, and Webb Bates’ 30-yard field goal gave Collins its first lead at 31-28 with 1:37 left in the third quarter.

The third quarter could be best described as a 12-minute disaster for Franklin, which drew six of the eight penalties in the quarter, had one drive stall and lost a fumble before starting the fourth quarter.

“We just didn’t have the football,” Preston said. “We were moving the football so I felt confident in that. We just needed to keep battling. I just told them we’re going to win the game, we just have to keep fighting and not focus on anything other than the ballgame.”

Franklin-Simpson’s first drive of the fourth quarter included a fourth-down conversion on a direct snap to Tre Bass on a fake punt. The Wildcats chewed seven minutes off the clock and ended with a 9-yard strike from Rylan Thomas to Jevon Covington with less than five minutes to play.

Lucas pushed Collins back in front with a long 45-yard touchdown pass to Cameron Harris with 2:41 left.

Brady shook off defenders down the right sideline and set up Franklin-Simpson with prime real estate at the 6-yard line where McKinney punched in the final score with 2:25 left.

The Titans looked good on the first play of the comeback drive with a 38-yard completion from Lucas to Dshawn McBroom, but Lucas fumbled on the next play while scrambling in the pocket and Harvey recovered.

The senior quarterback completed 24 of 36 attempts and nearly 400 passing yards. Franklin-Simpson ran the ball for 393 yards, led by 138 yards from Tre Bass.

Saul Brady eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the third straight season, which gives Franklin-Simpson three 1,000-yard running backs between Brady, Bass and McKinney.

“It was a great game to win,” Brady said. “I came out here and played my heart out. I’m really emotional and happy to win this game.

“I’ve been dreaming of this ever since we lost and ever since we were leaving Western. I’ve dreamed about it ever since I was a little kid. I plan on us going and giving it a good fight.”

FSHS 14 14 0 14 – 42

MLCHS 0 21 10 7 – 38

First quarter

FS – McKinney 17 run (Hollingsworth kick), 8:50

FS – Brady 23 run (Hollingsworth kick), 3:24

Second quarter

MLC – Lucas 2 run (Webb Bates kick), 11:23

MLC – Eades 1 pass from Lucas (Bates kick), 7:06

FS – Baker 73 run (Hollingsworth kick), 5:41

MLC – Toole 96 pass from Lucas (Bates kick), 5:17

FS – Bass 59 run (Hollingsworth kick), 0:08

Third quarter

MLC – Eades 11 pass from Lucas (Bates kick), 7:00

MLC – Bates 30 kick, 1:37

Fourth quarter

FS – Covington 9 pass from Thomas (Hollingsworth kick), 4:40

MLC – Harris 45 pass from Lucas (Bates kick), 2:41

FS – McKinney 6 run (Hollingsworth kick), 2:25{&end}