Congratulations to our very own Coach Tony Grijalva as he was inducted into the 2020 El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame.
In his Hall of Fame high school football coaching career, Coach Grijalva had tremendous success at Franklin High School. In 1999 as the defensive coordinator, his “Black Swarm” defense shutout all district opponents by a combined score of 214-0.
He become the head coach in 2000, and in the seven years under his leadership, the Cougars had two undefeated seasons and won or shared five district titles, one area championship and one regional championship.
In 2005 Franklin was the first El Paso area team to defeat two out of town opponents during the Texas high school playoffs in the same season. The Cougars went on to play Euless Trinity in Texas Stadium.
Coach Grijalva was named the “Coach of the Year” by several media outlets in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005. He was also named Regional Coach of the Year by Texas High School Football.