'Storybook ending.' Franklin Unified basketball wins Special Olympics gold
FRANKLIN — As the clock ticked down in a tie game, Payton Boudreau of the Franklin Unified basketball team dribbled upcourt. He then spotted teammate Tyler Morrill, who had just tied the gold medal Special Olympics basketball game against a team from Oregon with a bucket moments earlier.
Morrill let it fly, and as the buzzer sounded ... swish!
The locals were national champs.
“If there was a word bigger than pride, I would use it,” said Lisa Burger, the team’s co-coach, after they returned home from Orlando, Florida. “To see all of their hard work pay off in the final seconds of the game, it was like a storybook ending.”
After the victory, team members asked coaches if they could go back and cheer for the other teams that were still playing, Utah and Connecticut.
“It speaks to the great compassion that these kids have,” Burger said.
Franklin Unified basketball — which was established five years ago — is comprised of 10 players, six special athletes and four neurotypical partners who, she said, are “like a little family.”
Their bond transcends the court. Outside of weekly practice, Burger said players will go bowling or grab breakfast together.
“One of the top highlights of my whole teaching career was to have them show such sportsmanship, excellence, build friendships and laugh … watching them come together on and off the court,” Burger said.
The journey to the Special Olympics started last summer, when coaches filled out an application showing their interest in going for the gold. In November, the team won both games in a statewide jamboree — consisting of all teams that were considered for the games — which led to them being selected to represent Massachusetts at the Special Olympics.
Franklin’s team is the first in the state to qualify for the games, which Principal Joshua Hanna called “truly an honor.”
“It’s surreal. This team has worked incredibly hard, played to their strengths, and formed an incredible bond,” he said.
On Sunday, Hanna joined students, staff, parents and state Rep. Jeffrey Roy, D-Franklin, in cheering and waving signs as the golden team’s bus returned to Franklin High, complete with police escort.
“We really felt like we were the Super Bowl champions coming home for a parade. It was absolutely phenomenal,” Burger said.
Burger had a hunch something was happening when people asked her to text updates on the team's progress home, but she and the team never expected to see "a packed parking lot with hugs and high-fives.”
“This win is especially important because it exemplified the value of inclusion…a priority within our community,” Hanna said.
This article originally appeared on The Milford Daily News: Franklin High's Unified basketball team brings home the gold
