A willingness to give maximum effort no matter the score or circumstances might be the Franklin golf team’s best quality.
The 12th-ranked Grizzly Cubs need to lean on this characteristic now more than ever.
Franklin was recently dealt a major blow when it was discovered No. 1 player Javan Johnson would miss the rest of the season with a torn right ACL. The senior sustained the injury in January playing pickup basketball.
He underwent surgery at OrthoIndy in Greenwood on May 23 and is out a minimum of three months.
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“My doctor gave me the option to do it as soon as possible or after the season, and I chose to do it as soon as possible,” said Johnson, who will play golf at Taylor University. “Just walking downhill is the toughest part and the knee being sore when I’m done (playing).
“I just wanted to do it and be able to get back on the golf course as soon as possible. It’s hard, but things happen. I just plan on coming back stronger for college golf.”
Johnson played through most the regular season, averaging 73.5 shots per 18-hole round. However, the pain in his knee gradually worsened, making it hard for him to twist and apply weight to his right leg despite wearing a protective brace.
The timing of the injury is the type of misfortune that leaves a coach shaking his head.
“I still think we’re capable of getting out of the sectional, but that’s about as far as we can go without Javan,” said Franklin coach Andy Findley, referring to the Center Grove Sectional played at Hickory Stick on June 4.
“With Javan moving out of the lineup, I’ve got to replace the No. 5 position with somebody.”
Senior Matt Jordan is likely the new No. 1 player, with freshman Damon Dickey second and junior Blake McIntire third. The final two varsity spots will come down to three players — senior Luke Stultz and freshmen Ian McCullough and Quin Edwards.
The last time a Franklin boys team made it to state was in 1986. The Grizzly Cubs, led by Todd Hicks and Jerry Tharp, finished 20th.
Being one of the top three teams in the sectional and possibly the Providence Regional three days later is going to require everyone’s best efforts, from the left-handed Jordan on down the lineup.
Familiarity could benefit Franklin’s players.
“This is our second year at Hickory Stick, which is a layout we know better than some,” Jordan said. “And we’ve played practice rounds and tournaments at (regional course) Champions Pointe, so we know where to hit it and where not to hit it.
“What I like most about this team is that we don’t seem to give up. We could shoot 20 over on the front side and come back and shoot 3 under on the back side. It’s just knowing our game and having the grit to get through the rounds even when you’re playing bad.”
The Cubs’ talent pool doesn’t start and stop with Johnson, who will likely miss Taylor’s fall season due to the surgery.
Jordan, McIntire and Stultz all were postseason starters a year ago. That squad’s third player, Emerson Downing, would be a junior this season, but his family moved to Florida.
Stultz was Franklin’s No. 5 player last season during a postseason that ended with the team’s ninth-place finish at regional.
“If (Downing) had played this year, even if he shot what he shot last year and with Damon, we would’ve been really solid at all five spots,” Findley said. “It’s the way it goes. This could have been a really good year.”
The coach quickly corrects himself, adding it’s already been a good year. Even without Johnson in the lineup, it can still get even better.
