The past few years have been crazy for everyone. But the past months have been even crazier for FHS Freshman Nick Gaspar. Diagnosed with a Brain Tumor last year, Nick has been undergoing treatment for it ever since it was removed. A common theme one might find with him is that he is a “fighter”.

Announcer Kevin Papa read off a letter from Nick’s parents describing their journey through Nick’s treatment and how grateful they are for the Franklin Community support. Afterward, the FHS boys team honored the Freshman Basketball and Lacrosse player with his own custom jersey. All of the fans from Franklin and Milford were on their feet cheering for Nick.

As I scanned the entirety of the gym my heart warmed up to an unbelievable peak. Nearly everyone was wearing Carolina Blue to honor Nick and everyone had a huge smile across their face. Through all the adversity Franklin has faced in the last couple of months, the community has stuck together. They band together for a greater cause accomplishing astonishing things.  Anyone would be proud to be part of this Franklin community.

To make the night even better for the Gaspar’s, the Franklin Boys’ Varsity team decided to absolutely obliterate Milford. Milford was also trying to give Nick a great night, with their coach donating a sizable amount to his fund. However, they didn’t need to forfeit the game to Franklin. At one point in the 4th quarter, Franklin had 3 times as many points as Milford.

Similar to Tuesday’s game, Franklin got out to an incredibly fast start. Senior Sean Vinson (F) and Sophomore Henry Digiorgio (G) both tacked on 5 early points to put Franklin into a quick 10-2 lead. The playstyle of Franklin today was vastly different from their playstyle on Tuesday. Instead of trying to dominate the paint, Franklin looked to get the outside shots going. They certainly did that with 14 3s throughout the game. They ended the 1st quarter off with a bang off of a Junior Justin Allen (G) Buzzer beater 3.

The 2nd quarter was more of the same. Digoirgio kept on tacking on 3s and so did Allen. Digiorgio ended the game with 21 points and 5 threes and Allen had 4 threes. By Halftime it was 40-17 with 2nd line players ending out the half.

The lack of experience from Milford was clearly shown throughout the game, unlike Franklin. The Hawks were throwing random shots at times with most of them being laughable. Whenever they would get an open shot Milford would fail to convert the FG leading to a disastrous scoring plan for them. On the other hand, Franklin was knocking down every shot they got. They got their open looks and made the most use of them. the Panthers were also able to make some tougher shots in the paint.

The 3rd quarter was more of the same. Franklin knocked down their shots and Milford failed to do so. But the highlight of the game came late in the 3rd when  Senior Will Tracey (F) made up for his almost-poster in the 1st quarter with a vicious 2-handed slam. Tracey would later dedicate that dunk to Nick Gaspar.

Overall the night was incredible for the Franklin community. To see the outpouring of support for an FHS Freshman showed how special this community is. It was also a class act by the boys’ team to set up this entire game and dedicate the night to Nick Gaspar.

To help out the Gaspar family further, visit their website